If the Stones can do the same for their next European Tour !!

[www.youtube.com]

Won't happen but I'm glad to see that R. Robinson has gotten rid of his obnoxious brother and started another good band. The man obviously lives and breahes music (unlike Chris who was into getting famous...).

Good luck to them!!

I'm utterly confused. What is a "magpie salute"? Or should that say "The Magpie salutes ..." with an "s" on the end of "salute"? After all, "The Magpie", if and whatever that might be, would/could be singular, not plural, so the verb to follow would have to be "salutes", not "salute". Anybody?

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stonesman87
I'm utterly confused. What is a "magpie salute"? Or should that say "The Magpie salutes ..." with an "s" on the end of "salute"? After all, "The Magpie", if and whatever that might be, would/could be singular, not plural, so the verb to follow would have to be "salutes", not "salute". Anybody?

There is an old counting rhyme which refers to seeing magpies. Like most old verse it has many hundreds of variations, but the first couple of lines are pretty much always the same. Below is how I was taught:

One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret
Never to be told.
So if you see one magpie then sorrow is coming you way. In the past this was obviously a huge problem (e.g. black death, fire of London, sinking of the Mary Rose). Since then however our forefathers came up with lots of solutions to this terrible issue!

If you see a solo magpie you have to do these things to avert the sorrow, in no particular order:
Saluting the magpie. (Its quite well known all magpies hold a honorary rank in the british army).
Saying "Morning general". (To save time, you can do this while you salute).
Saying "Where's your mate?" (Frankly I feel this is a bit imperitent to someone of that rank, but there you go).
A more formal version of the above is “Good morning Mr Magpie. How is your lady wife today?” (I would suggest using both until you know for certain how formal the magpie is).
Doffing your hat (I find this one quite difficult and time consuming, since I often have to return home to get the hat).
Spitting three times over your shoulder. (Check for saluters behind you beforehand).
Flapping your arms, shouting "caw caw" and generally doing your best to pretend to be the second magpie. (I'm not sure if this one helps you, but it does mean others get to count to two.)
Just follow these simple instructions and you will never suffer magpie related sorrow again!

Thanks for sharing!

Magpie salute? Possibly when the magpie shites on ya.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-06-03 16:23 by andrews27.

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andrews27
Magpie salute? Possibly when the magpie shites on ya.

Excellent suggestion. I'll take that as the best possible explanation for this otherwise unintelligible expression.