Harlequin Centre name to change (From Watford Observer)
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Harlequin Centre name to change to Intu Watford as part of a nationwide rebrand
9:34am Wednesday 16th January 2013 in News
By Mike Wright, Chief Reporter
Harlequin Centre's name is to change to Intu Watford as part of a nationwide rebrand
The Harlequin Shopping Centre is set to change its name to as part of a nationwide rebrand being undertaken by its operator.
The Watford Observer understands the centre's name will be change to Intu Watford.
The move comes after Capital Shopping Centres, which runs the centre, announced it is renaming a number of its 15 shopping centres by adding the moniker Intu into the names.
No date has yet been set for when the Watford rebrand will come into effect.
The move comes as Capital is in the process of taking over the Charter Place shopping centre, which adjoins the Harlequin.
Comments(87)
elvis78
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9:47am Wed 16 Jan 13
Oxhey-Moron
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10:00am Wed 16 Jan 13
Hornets number 12 fan
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10:15am Wed 16 Jan 13
jasonwatford
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10:25am Wed 16 Jan 13
overhere
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10:26am Wed 16 Jan 13
elvis78 wrote:IIRC it was originally going to be called Mars 2, then before it was finished they decided on Harlequin.
Born the Harlequin,,,,,,Die the Harlequin
Romo
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10:27am Wed 16 Jan 13
Its like when Newcastle United changed St James' Park to 'The Sports Direct Arena' - it just didn't work, and nor will this.
Andrew Turpie
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10:27am Wed 16 Jan 13
Andrew Turpie
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10:32am Wed 16 Jan 13
The same was attempted in the summer when coming up with Edinburgh's "Incredinburgh" slogan.
Let's just say it wasn't recieved well with by the residents and the "consultant" apparently resigned from the post...
comments
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10:39am Wed 16 Jan 13
not a regular
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10:42am Wed 16 Jan 13
Andrew Turpie
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10:49am Wed 16 Jan 13
Watfordengineer
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10:50am Wed 16 Jan 13
Personally I think "the harlequin" is a a good name. and branding it the same as the rest of their shopping centres so around the country you see Intu Uxbridge and Intu Gatehead wont make me think.. "got to shop there its like the one I have at home!"
Mohandas
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10:50am Wed 16 Jan 13
HertsPeter
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10:58am Wed 16 Jan 13
Pass the sick bucket!!!
Andrew Turpie
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11:08am Wed 16 Jan 13
Into-xicated
blonde demon
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11:12am Wed 16 Jan 13
pepsiman
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11:29am Wed 16 Jan 13
Victor Value
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11:55am Wed 16 Jan 13
circus
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11:55am Wed 16 Jan 13
PedroHornet
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12:11pm Wed 16 Jan 13
Watfordengineer
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12:12pm Wed 16 Jan 13
Victor Value wrote:really?! i think the harlequin has actually weathered the storm very well. Waterstones is nose diving as is alot of high street brands, this is nothing to do with the shopping centre. it moved some stores around to get a 3 unit wide Apple store in which I think is a great asset. not forgetting the new lego store!
How about doing something about the ever-increasing number of empty shops. There is nothing there which you won't find either bigger or better at Brent Cross, where parking is free. Maybe they could reduce the huge rents that apparently forced Waterstone's out and see if some independent shops could open. Otherwise I feel it is locked in a death spiral.
garston tony
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12:12pm Wed 16 Jan 13
It does smack or rebranding for the sake of it, but really stupid name
LSC
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12:38pm Wed 16 Jan 13
This makes no sense and therefore by definition is stupid.
miss_caz
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1:03pm Wed 16 Jan 13
watfordrick
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1:06pm Wed 16 Jan 13
Mohandas
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1:19pm Wed 16 Jan 13
watfordrick wrote:Solid Vicky Pollard & Catharine Tate thinks it's real cool 'Am I bothered?'
I think the name will suit more of the ethnic community as it is easier to pronounce. Its a good thing and will represent the community better.
Sara
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1:30pm Wed 16 Jan 13
TRT
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1:36pm Wed 16 Jan 13
Andrew Turpie
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1:38pm Wed 16 Jan 13
Mohandas wrote:"bovvered?"
watfordrick wrote:Solid Vicky Pollard & Catharine Tate thinks it's real cool 'Am I bothered?'
I think the name will suit more of the ethnic community as it is easier to pronounce. Its a good thing and will represent the community better.
hawkhorn
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1:44pm Wed 16 Jan 13
MarsLander
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1:53pm Wed 16 Jan 13
E.Coli
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2:01pm Wed 16 Jan 13
MJ1
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2:27pm Wed 16 Jan 13
In the event, the newly privatised railway company that won the franchaise for the line promptly dropped Harlequin, said they had no money for the station and of course we are still talking about the Croxley Link 25 years later. The MARS1 was built by Capital and Counties with WBC as 7% shareholders. CapCo as they were known were wholly owned in South Africa at the height of the apartheid regime . The Labour Party was committed to sanctions against apartheid South Africa which led to an irreconcilable spilt on the Labour Council with the right wing breaking away (having supported CapCo) and voting with Tories and the one Liberal. A quarter of a decade later Capital still own the Harlequin but now want to rename it 'Intu' - rather african sounding wouldn't you agree? Back to their roots?
Maclanx
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2:39pm Wed 16 Jan 13
comments wrote:Exactly my words!
what a load of crap!
Wacko Jacko
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4:03pm Wed 16 Jan 13
MJ1 wrote:Thanks for this history lesson Mike, very interesting, but I doubt the name is much to do with their roots, more one of those daft marketing ideas like O2, Corus, Axa and the rest which have no meaning at all. Names like this are equally at home branding a new car, an ailing company or a tired shopping centre. It's just more marketing cobblers, but if it means the place gets a makeover and loses the dated 1970's harlequin colour scheme that's one thing in its favour I suppose
Here's some history. The Harlequin shopping centre, orginally code named MARS1 when built in the 1980s, was named after the local (DC) railway route from Euston to Watford that was known in those days as the Harlequin Line. The plan was to restore the High Street station and name that also Harlequin. The Croxley rail link was also being talked about in those days so the station would become a hub for the new shopping centre with shoppers traveling by rail.
In the event, the newly privatised railway company that won the franchaise for the line promptly dropped Harlequin, said they had no money for the station and of course we are still talking about the Croxley Link 25 years later. The MARS1 was built by Capital and Counties with WBC as 7% shareholders. CapCo as they were known were wholly owned in South Africa at the height of the apartheid regime . The Labour Party was committed to sanctions against apartheid South Africa which led to an irreconcilable spilt on the Labour Council with the right wing breaking away (having supported CapCo) and voting with Tories and the one Liberal. A quarter of a decade later Capital still own the Harlequin but now want to rename it 'Intu' - rather african sounding wouldn't you agree? Back to their roots?
TRT
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4:17pm Wed 16 Jan 13
Andrew Turpie
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4:30pm Wed 16 Jan 13
E.Coli wrote:Ha Ha :D
Why not rename it TNUC after the person who thought the new name up
Claire2009x
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5:16pm Wed 16 Jan 13
KeithMercer
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8:37pm Wed 16 Jan 13
Cant wait for this to happen, a great day for the town !!
theturpster
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8:42pm Wed 16 Jan 13
KeithMercer wrote:I hope to god that is sarcasm, if not allow me to weep for the future.
I think its a great name ! one of the best shopping center names I have heard in a long time and it will indeed inspire me to visit on a regular basis .
Cant wait for this to happen, a great day for the town !!
theturpster
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8:51pm Wed 16 Jan 13
Hole Bottom in Yorkshire and Twatt in the Shetlands, that would put paid to their stupid plans.
E.Coli
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9:33pm Wed 16 Jan 13
theturpster wrote:What about bell end
They should be forced to open in :
Hole Bottom in Yorkshire and Twatt in the Shetlands, that would put paid to their stupid plans.
Jotyanne
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10:14pm Wed 16 Jan 13
daz1920
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11:37pm Wed 16 Jan 13
TRT
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11:39pm Wed 16 Jan 13
theturpster
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6:15am Thu 17 Jan 13
E.Coli wrote:Ain't that where the fresh prince is from?
theturpster wrote:What about bell end
They should be forced to open in :
Hole Bottom in Yorkshire and Twatt in the Shetlands, that would put paid to their stupid plans.
Razor Sharp
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8:11am Thu 17 Jan 13
crazyfrog
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9:06am Thu 17 Jan 13
i think somenbody has just wasted some money on a useless consultant
TRT
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9:56am Thu 17 Jan 13
Wouldn't be the first time.
I wonder if they will open a mall in Tooting?
Phil Drackley
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10:03am Thu 17 Jan 13
The owners can please themselves by having all their properties having the same made-up name and the public can still shop in the Harlequin.
After all, it's the shops inside that the people go to, not the name on the outside.
davesol
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11:25am Thu 17 Jan 13
Jotyanne wrote:what public money is being spent? it's the operator that has decided to change the name not the council.
Utter rubbish, another way to spend more of the publics money and divert attention away from the real issues - IT WILL ALWAYS BE The Harlequin!!!
Boosey
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11:27am Thu 17 Jan 13
watfordrick wrote:If some people can't pronounce Harlequin, then i'm sure they are not working, so whatever they call it, your so called ethnic community won't be able to afford to shop there. What **** **** you speak!
I think the name will suit more of the ethnic community as it is easier to pronounce. Its a good thing and will represent the community better.
keb77
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11:33am Thu 17 Jan 13
CaptainPC
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11:52am Thu 17 Jan 13
Roy Stockdill
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12:08pm Thu 17 Jan 13
A pity we can't turn back the clock, scrap these anonymous, impersonal shopping centres and re-generate town centres with lots of independent, individual shops that offer choice, value for money and something different. But, of course, it won't happen since we have allowed these big developers of shopping malls to take over the world.
Andrew1963
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12:37pm Thu 17 Jan 13
Roy Stockdill
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1:04pm Thu 17 Jan 13
I find The Harlequin dreary and impersonal and I am shocked to learn that Waterstone's has gone, since that was one of the few stores I did patronise. WH Smith and supermarkets are not in the same league when it comes to providing for book lovers because specialist stores like Waterstone's carry a much larger, more comprehensive stock.
I happen to believe we should be trying to keep the independent, specialist shops and stores alive, even if we do sometimes have to pay a little more. I find it very sad that Britain is becoming a desert of boring shopping malls.
Being a hi-fi fanatic, I recall Watford used to have two good specialist dealers, one on the corner of Station Road and St Albans Road (forget the name) and Sevenoaks H-Fi at North Watford near me, but the latter has decamped to Chorleywood.
I confess to using Amazon and other online retailers occasionally, but I fear internet shopping will kill off just about every shop in existence, just as it is killing off local newspapers.
TRT
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1:07pm Thu 17 Jan 13
davesol wrote:And they are going to pay for the changes to all the signage around Watford?
Jotyanne wrote:what public money is being spent? it's the operator that has decided to change the name not the council.
Utter rubbish, another way to spend more of the publics money and divert attention away from the real issues - IT WILL ALWAYS BE The Harlequin!!!
Roy Stockdill
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1:08pm Thu 17 Jan 13
Sounds like a tribe of pygmies in darkest Africa! In the good old days before barmy political correctness took over, I can just hear the Round The Horne cast doing a sketch on "The Intu tribe" and being up to their knees in the LImpopo.
MarsLander
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1:23pm Thu 17 Jan 13
Intu has no meaning whatsoever and is less pleasing on the ear.
May I suggest to the owners they change all their shopping centres to the better of the two names, "The Harlequin"? It sounds like dumbing down to have a name like Intu and therefore offends the sensibilities.
We could all organise a peoples boycott of the centre. How about boycotting the shopping centre on Sundays until they see reason? Once the shops fear a customer backlash the pressure will soon be on for the owners to rescind their frankly quite daft proposal for renaming.
People power!
Sly Si
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1:37pm Thu 17 Jan 13
CaptainPC
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3:46pm Thu 17 Jan 13
TRT
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4:07pm Thu 17 Jan 13
Andrew1963
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10:36pm Thu 17 Jan 13
Sly Si wrote:They have renamed the whole company.They are going to launch an online website called Intu where you can order goods from the companies in the shopping centres - a bit like an alternative Amazon.They intend to build an internet business to compliment the retail centres. Thats where they will make the money on the marketing spend. They are building the internet brand to make sure that the shopping centres are not the only egg in their basket.Already they offer gift vouchers - which are dodgy if you pick asingle retailer which has the potential to go belly up. With 30 million visitors to their centres every year they obviously think this is the way to go.
...and where do you think they'll get a return on the money spent on marketing? Through increased parking fees, of course. Forget free parking per-Xmas. They'll soon have premium spaces on floors 1-3 for a premium price...wait, did I just them an idea?!
LSC
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10:36pm Thu 17 Jan 13
Only partly. Price is a big issue and the big guys use loss leaders all the time to kill the opposition.
Your local butcher might well have made his own beefburgers, but Tescos are cheaper.
Well; we learned a valuable lesson on that this week didn't we? Horsemeat burgers from Poland processed and packaged in Ireland and sold as beef in the UK.
Thanks for all the local jobs Tesco. A local independent butcher wouldn't be sourcing meat like that.
Razor Sharp
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11:28pm Thu 17 Jan 13
LSC
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12:35am Fri 18 Jan 13
Razor Sharp wrote:To be honest, I'm not so worried about the horse meat itself, it is the lies and lack of checking that bothers me.
If Tesco can do that I wonder what the fast food chains include in their products.
The burgers had pork in too. Again, that doesn't bother me but some people think that makes the difference to whether they go to heaven or not.
While I might snigger at that belief, and why their god wouldn't cut them some slack in the circumstances, it is very real to them and not fair.
Razor Sharp
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8:13am Fri 18 Jan 13
As for heaven, that has very little to do with it if one considers the practical and contextual aspects of the religion. For instance, until refrigeration and modern preservation techniques, pig related meats had a high incidence of tape worm for most months of the year.
If I pay for a particular meat, I expect it to be as described, rather than as prescribed by religion or other morality.
Profit margins, lack of quality controls and quality assurance, a lack of due diligence checks of the supplier and supply chains, together with a low risk of detection of foreign meat contaminants probably led to a laissez faire culture and complacency. It's made me more cautious about beef burgers. I do not wish to eat pork and I definitely do not wish to eat horse meat. It's almost as bad as having dog meat in there. A horse is more like a pet rather than part of the human food chain. As for pork, it's too fatty.
Religion sometimes has a practical context, which others might overlook. I refuse to eat pork and bacon, because it makes me physically nauseous and is too fatty. I would normally buy fresh steak. At least there is less likelihood of foreign meat contaminants or at least not in any significant quantities.
Roy Stockdill
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11:52am Fri 18 Jan 13
Personally, I love a nice big juicy pork chop with lots of crackling on it. Sadly, because everybody has become obsessed with so-called healthy eating and political correctness, it's difficult to find crackling any more because supermarkets, playing nanny-knows-best, won't sell it. When I was a kid I also loved a slice of bread and pork dripping the next day.
A pork chop with apple sauce - or a nice Barnsley double lamb chop, being a Yorkshireman - with chips and a fried egg, washed down with a decent Merlot or Rioja, is my idea of heavenly eating! There's a lot of rubbish and nonsense talked about diet and no nannying minister, civil servant, NHS bully or doctor will ever stop me from enjoying what I eat. As for not eating pork and bacon because of fears it might not get you entry through the pearly gates.....well, what can I say? I wouldn't mind betting that if half a dozen Muslims were stranded in the desert or a jungle and the only animal around was a pig, they'd soon forget their religious principles!
Andrew Turpie
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11:53am Fri 18 Jan 13
Roy Stockdill
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12:23pm Fri 18 Jan 13
Let's face it, we would all do it if we could! I employ an accountant to do my tax returns, as I imagine most self-employed people do.
I presume you are talking about Amazon? I confess I buy things through them and last year I bought a hi-fi streamer to play my digitised music files on for just over £100 when the RRP at most dealers was £140, a saving of almost 30 per cent. Yes, I felt a bit guilty because I happen to believe in supporting High Street retailers, but what are we pensioners to do?
Razor Sharp
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12:32pm Fri 18 Jan 13
Intu is the Dealer in the high street, hiding in plain view, although small scale when compared to Westfield.
I buy from Amazon, as well as high street retailers. I'm a Tech Junkie and proud of it.
I still hate the name 'Intu'!
Andrew Turpie
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12:39pm Fri 18 Jan 13
I don't think I would avoid paying the proper rate of tax in any situation, because I clearly understand the need to keep hospitals, schools and infrastructure maintained. I also would like to see pensioners who have worked hard to be looked after in their twilight years as a reward for the sacrifices they made, generating tax and NI in their working life.
I know avoidance or dodging is not a new concept, but I reckon if "that" company paid the going rate from day dot in this country, then the savings to the customer would not be as generous, keeping the High Street outlets on a level playing field.
So really not only are those that buy from these online sites, killng the High Street, they are playing a big part in killing the whole economy and I get the feeling that either the majority don't look at that big picture out of ignorance, or just flatly do not care. If the latter, then I weep for the future (again).
LSC
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12:47pm Fri 18 Jan 13
Fair point. I'm sorry to hear you miss out on the delights of bacon though!
No-one will even convince me that Isambard Kingdom Brunel or George Stephenson did what they did without first having a good old bacon butty.
Razor Sharp
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1:52pm Fri 18 Jan 13
I wouldn't seek to change another's eating habits.
On the other hand, curried sheep's brains are quite a delicacy and one I've enjoyed.
theturpster
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2:49pm Fri 18 Jan 13
"Wee sleekit cowerin' timorous beastie"
BTW my account seems to be cached on my phone hence changing from Turpster to Andrew Turpie...need to sort that out me thinks!
Roy Stockdill
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3:26pm Fri 18 Jan 13
"Wild haggis (Haggis scoticus) is a fictional creature said to be native to the Scottish Highlands. It is comically claimed to be the source of haggis, a traditional Scottish dish that is in fact made from the innards of sheep (including heart, lungs, and liver).
According to some sources, the wild haggis's left and right legs are of different lengths, allowing it to run quickly around the steep mountains and hillsides which make up its natural habitat, but only in one direction. It is further claimed that there are two varieties of haggis, one with longer left legs and the other with longer right legs. The former variety can run clockwise around a mountain while the latter can run anticlockwise.The two varieties coexist peacefully but are unable to interbreed in the wild because in order for the male of one variety to mate with a female of the other, he must turn to face in the same direction as his intended mate, causing him to lose his balance before he can mount her. As a result of this difficulty, differences in leg length among the haggis population are accentuated. The notion of the wild haggis is widely believed, though not always including the idea of mismatched legs. According to an online survey commissioned by haggis manufacturers Hall's of Broxburn, released on 26 November 2003, one-third of U.S. visitors to Scotland believed the wild haggis to be a real creature."
Knowing Americans, this last statement doesn't surprise me in the least. But, then, they probably believe in the Loch Ness Monster as well!
As I said, I've never tried haggis but I am partial to an Arbroath smokie now and then with a couple of poached eggs.
theturpster
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3:48pm Fri 18 Jan 13
When I moved down here, one intrigued work colleague managed to be convinced that my dad actually bred them professionally for shows, so that wiki made me laugh.
Sadly, Halls of Broxburn who supplied Scotland with fine meats for generations have just folded, losing 200 jobs. They also produced another fine Scottish delicacy called Lorne sausage.
Shona1
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10:21pm Sat 19 Jan 13
Razor Sharp
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9:48am Sun 20 Jan 13
Roy Stockdill
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9:51am Sun 20 Jan 13
And that is precisely what will happen! You don't imagine the corporate moguls who run these shopping malls are remotely interested in offering choice or quality to customers or lower rents for more individual shops, do you? All they care about is pulling down as much cash as they possibly can. That is why Waterstone's have been driven out.
LSC
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12:37pm Sun 20 Jan 13
Razor Sharp wrote:I don't think I have ever eaten brain, but then I have eaten a Tesco beefburger so I expect I have tried more things than I am even aware of.
LOL! Different people have different tastes. I just don't like certain meats or how they are prepared, but that's me.
I wouldn't seek to change another's eating habits.
On the other hand, curried sheep's brains are quite a delicacy and one I've enjoyed.
mrsmoanalot
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4:56pm Sun 20 Jan 13
D.unstable
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10:20pm Sun 20 Jan 13
Shona1
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10:22pm Sun 20 Jan 13
D.unstable wrote:I agree!!!
Absolute rubbish, would be better off looking intu why the high street has closed. Why do people have to fiddle and diddle when it is not required.
Roy Stockdill
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5:10am Mon 21 Jan 13
Does anyone remember when the Post Office spent millions changing its name to something daft like Consignia and then spent millions more changing it back? Or when the BBC also spent millions on changing its logo from an italic typeface to an upright one?
As the Yanks say, if it ain't broke then don't fix it!
mkhornet says...
9:40am Wed 16 Jan 13