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I continued my H. Upmann kick today and had one those "Oh sh@t...this is seriously good" moments. Very similar to the video review of the Conni A...I could almost hear Ken's voice in my head Cheers All

SLR DC...smooooth and creamy! Have a great day, all!

the answer to this question ... derrek . '97 ryj tpc's '02 allones coronas '99 erdm pc's '01 partagas lonsdales '02 partagas coronas random party shorts ... have 4 or 6 more cabs but i am too lazy to find em all '97 du depute ;03 punch supe seleccion#1 random plpc's ... have 2 or 3 more just too lazy to search more random bolivar petit coronas ... about 4 cabs short here also

Mag 46. Great smoke Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mid 1980's HdM Particulares. Not the most complex aged CC I've ever had but a pleasure to smoke nonetheless.

Game 5 and a Mag 46...tasty!

BCG amazingly delicious! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

RASS

Found this photo on Facebook this morning and maybe I am late to the Cuban Free Gift Festival? The Havana Tissue Limited Release? The Cheap and Cheerful Cigar Present for anyone? I could go on and on. Reuse, recycle. I am so happy.

I dream of smoking hot gals! Does that count?

Yes...just a poster boy for decent living....

Morning paper and a Siglo II

Alex Groom and the future of Cuban Cigar Website JS: I’ve only got one more thing to discuss today about Cuban Cigar Website and that is in regards to Alex’s involvement. I guess when you started the site you couldn’t foretell where it is now could you? We’ve talked about the collection side of things, where you can put in your cigar inventory… TL: It’s particularly good because it ties into the website. They were other cigar inventory systems around and apparently some of the good ones have dropped out because no-one has kept up with updating the database. With Alex’s, if you’ve got the cigar and you’ve looked it up then you’re signed in you’ve got options to click, rather than typing in details. JS: Yes, I like how he’s done it because he has sixteen flavours profiled, I don’t know exactly what it is (It is actually sixteen – JS) and I smoked two or three cigars this week and I had to think… ”Is that leather?”” Is that Oak?”” Is that Earth?”” What type of Spice is it? ”What type of Pepper?” You put in two or three flavour profiles and there were six other different areas to rate. Elegance was one, balance another…it was easy, you just click through options. I’ll get in contact with Alex and I’ll get his opinion on it but I can see the website growing. TL: He’s the right person to carry it on because he has the technical knowledge, he has an interest in cigars and he has the flair in knowing what other people want and again a lot of the things he’s developed have come from requests from people saying, “Can we have this?” and a week later Alex will post, “Okay, I got that up now, give it a try, let me know if it works!” He’s very reactive to everything and he’s always been the same with me in that whenever we’ve wanted to do something I’ll shoot him off an e-mail and he’d then suggest what we could do. He always came up with a solution. That’s why he’s the only person I ever thought could carry on the website. JS: Thank you Trevor. TL: Thank you.

In my research of cigars last year I stumbled upon Cuban Cigar Website, an invaluable source of information on all things 'habanos'. I had the pleasure to meet the founder of Cuban Cigar Website in February this year, Trevor Leask. It was at a gathering at his home where I also met the current proprietor of the site, Alex Groom. It was a pleasurable Saturday afternoon, especially with such fine company. In the short time that I have known Trevor I have greatly benefited from his knowledge on cigars, his generosity with his time and I've enjoyed his and his wife Therese's hospitality. I consider Trevor a friend and mentor, not just to myself, but also to my teenage son, George, who has been grateful for Trevor's insight into his professional life, since he has aspirations to embark upon a similar career. Recently I asked Trevor to provide an insight into how Cuban Cigar Website came about. Last month, we sat down for a cigar (or two) and a chat based on about ten questions. The resultant 50-minute interview is what transpired. I'm sure you'll find it a unique revelation into what has been and is involved in making Cuban Cigar Website a stand-out resource in the world of Habanos. I want to thank Trevor for his assistance in bringing this about, especially in the time it took to edit the transcription. The next part of the story of Cuban Cigar Website will involve Rob Ayala (Part Two) and Alex Groom (Part Three).

I've had some interesting vintage smokes. I definitely smoke them slowly and pair them with nothing but flat or sparkling water to keep the palate clean. I've noted the following tasting experiences. Mustiness. Not necessarily bad but it does rear it's head when it comes to old cigars. Lemon zest. I'm talking a clear, distinct lemon citrus flavour. No mistake about it. Mint. I get this on vintage cigars a lot. Very enjoyable. Soap. A waxy, soapy flavour seems to be a hallmark of older cigars. Nutmeg. Another staple. Cinnamon. With a hint of cedar and possibly what I believe to be the dissipation of the cedar aromas over time on the cigars. Dry mouth feel, like the finish of a dry white wine.

Should put it up on 24:24 sales as a non-cigar item for when we miss out on cigars that sell out in 3 minutes! (PSP Partagas Serie D No.4's, Cohiba Robustos, H.Upmann Connoisseur A's anyone?)

Woooohoooo!!!! Something for Di to do in her spare time ............only kidding honey

Rainy afternoon in Zürich...picked up a fine 09 SCdLH Oficios single paired w a Starbucks Coffee.

Was winding up the weekend away and in Vancouver now and after enjoying an Andrea Bochelli concert and a late dinner, a PSD4 overlooking the city.

2009 La Gloria Cubana Tainos

I think so, but not 100% sure. I believe this was from a DC sampler purchased from Rob last year.

doesn't say it is one of ours. if it is a wandering spider, then yes. would not be fun to be bitten. poison quite deadly but very small mouth so hard to inject much and apparently they can dry bite - as in not inject poison. one effect is apparently severe and extremely uncomfortable priapism. but there are deaths. if a huntsman, and could be as hundreds of different species, then a little. uncomfortable but not likely to kill. but i still find something odd re the clip. how did it get in there? why didn't it go out the same way? they don't feed on banana so why go in there in the first place and what did it eat while in there? i've never heard of anything like it before.

You should try sporting clays. It's hard to describe. It's like golf and ***** combined. So there are different holes or stations that you shoot, it's pretty fun.

I've always understood it that "box pressed" cigars are pressed into their shape by the box as the name suggests and the NC "box pressed" cigars that are vice pressed have just decided to use the term 'box pressed' even though they don't really get their shape that way.

Speaking generally - Cuban cigars become pressed ( to various degrees ) in dress boxes, by the pressure of the lid ( this is why Cubans in non dress boxes are "round" ). Most NCs which are box pressed are intentionally pressed prior to boxing, to create a "squared off" cigar. Personally. I prefer roung cigars.

BRC ULA 14, smoking amazingly right now!

Afternoon RASCC w the local Falken Lager up in Schaffhausen at the RheinFall.

There just isn't anything prettier. Oh, and they smoke pretty good too.

What's not to like?

Thought that I would start this off for the new year. Good to see what people's favorite or current libation is. Tonight, The Balvenie Portwood 21...

this is a piece i did for a fishing mag - the fabulous 'fishing wild'. rob asked me to post it and the editor kindly gave permission. it is a terrific mag, with great stories from around the world and some of the very best fishing photography you've ever seen. the editor a former professional photographer, i believe, and it shows. check out the link - www.fishingwild.com.au. i've done a few stories for them though sadly they have all been in the disaster 'horror' section. this was from a trip a while back which included our very own freefall! All I wanted to do was catch a tarpon. Just one. A big one would be nice but any size would do. And so, a trip some three years in the making was under way. Sort of. Mates and I had made the trek from Australia to Cuba for a number of years, usually combining the annual Cigar Festival and bonefishing. Recent years, we'd branched out – trout in Chile (right next to the volcano that exploded, though fortunately, it had the good grace to wait until after we had departed) and peacock bass in the Amazon, though work stuffed that one for me. I reckoned I’d found the right place for tarpon – the Rio Colorado Lodge in Costa Rica. Half a dozen of us committed; I put things in motion. Flights booked (Brisbane/Sydney/Dallas/San Jose and the reverse), deposits paid. One by one, the mates fell by the wayside. Health, family, business, audits and something totally spurious. Fortunately, a couple of other friends – Gary from Victoria and Rob from Maryland, USA – immediately stuck up their hands, though it was far from plain sailing for our newbies. 'Can't you organise my cigars?' 'Will you be able to send emails for me?' My favourite was five emails about whether or not one should bring insect repellent. Seriously? Grown men? The Lodge is in a jungle – take a wild guess. A mate lent me his 15-weight rod as I’d been told these fish snapped 12's with ease. I’d tried practising but the results were so bad I’d almost decided to forgo fly and use the Lodge's conventional gear, when we noticed my idiot mate had put the fly-line on backwards, the shooting head at the rear, making it near-impossible to cast. I’d spent hours on the phone to a certain airline, best known as the 'Stumbling Wombat' (surely compelling evidence there is no God), to ensure all flights were linked, to minimise hassles, then arrived, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the Brisbane Wombat desk at a ridiculously early hour, to find all flights had been unlinked. The Wombat has me going to Sydney. Period. The poor woman spends ages rectifying this. Eventually, good to go, though neither of us are quite sure whether she has my luggage going to San Jose in Costa Rica or California. I ask if she has heard anything about my promised upgrade (last flight with the Wombat, they lost my luggage). She dissolves in fits of laughter. Who can blame her? Surely, this will now be a quiet, uneventful day in planes and airports (and airport bars)? You could not make it up. There, on the TV in the lounge - “Earthquake devastates Central America”. Anyway, apparently, it was several countries distant from Costa Rica and on the Pacific side, not the Atlantic, so we were still on track. I’m told Sydney-Dallas is the world's longest commercial flight – it certainly felt like it. Finally, the Dallas Airport and the first bloke I walk into is Gary. Things now going well – just need to find Rob. As Team Leader, I'm in complete control at all times. Except I missed the memo saying Rob decided to go via Miami (beat us to Costa Rica by hours). We just figured he'd catch up, as we headed to the gate to board the last leg. A delay, so we set up camp at the 'Blue Mesa Tequila Bar' and asked the waitress to 'surprise us' – you'd think adults would know better. We get Beerarita's! Whacko. They come in giant goldfish bowl-sized glasses – about a gallon of lime/lemon margarita with an upturned beer, which you can remove and drink or allow to meld in as you drink it. Apparently, 'Beerarita's' aren't well known locally, as strangers were coming up taking our pictures; more sensible strangers were coming up ordering their own. A mate from Texas later told me they were invented at a nearby college bar. God bless students. Finally, we land in San Jose. Chaos. Luggage due on carousel 3. We wait. After an hour, the crowd is thinning. Bloody hell! Then I noticed one of my bags happily going around carousel 2 – the flight from Panama. I don't ask. The rods pop out on carousel 4. Then the real fun starts. The crowd for immigration/security and its two x-ray machines is at least 120 deep. We do the polite thing, standing in line. Fools. No one else does. So it is trolleys forward! I'm bigger than most Costa Ricans and in no time, we have dodgem-car'd our way to the front. And out. Max, our driver/guide is waiting, although we are 2 1/2 hours late. 45 minutes later, we arrive at the hotel. Reception requests my passport. Sheer horror strikes. My documents bag is missing. I rip apart every piece of luggage I have, fling it around the lobby, swear endlessly (I'm usually so careful – about not losing things, not so much the swearing), kick the strewn mess, repack and rip it all apart again. I have an audience watching the frantic foreigner with a mix of amusement and bewilderment. They are treated to a great deal of very bad language. It is gone! That clawing from the depths of Hell starts tearing at my gut. There'll be no 'Hail Mary' moment here, no last second, run-the-length-of-the-field intercept try to save the day. I’m screwed. I can only think that someone in the heaving crowd neatly lifted the bag. The realisation sinks in. No fishing for me. No way can I fly off into the middle of a jungle, then front up for my flights back home without a passport. I will be spending the week desperately trying to sort this out – which will be fun, as almost all of my money and cards were in the same bag. Does Costa Rica even have an Aussie Embassy? Delays? I’ll need to book new flights as mine were locked in on points. How will I manage that? This is a nightmare. I’m tempted to see it as the worst thing that has ever happened to any human being in history, but the odd earthquake, flood, fire and holocaust, may just take precedence. Just. But it really is a nightmare. Max suggests returning to the airport to try 'lost and found'. Fat chance. Rob has joined us as he speaks Spanish and the three of us head back. I hold out no hope. Security will only let me back in – they send in the only bloke who can't speak Spanish? I’m trying to explain things to some uniformed woman, who speaks no English, at a desk next to the X-ray machines when, could it be, I happen to spot, yes it is, a small black docs case on the corner of her desk. I don't know or care how or why. From my reaction, she doesn't need ID to confirm it is mine. What other idiot would be doing a victory dance, and yahoo'ing, in Customs? I can go fishing. I’m tipping people like I actually have money! We head for a cold beer. Has the luck on this trip turned? Not quite. We arrive at the bar at 12.01am. It shuts at midnight. No, he won't serve us even one beer. Don't ask me why but mini-bars in Costa Rican hotel rooms are all locked shut. So no beer. But I’ll take that – it could've been so much worse. Next morning? Weight's critical as the flight into the Lodge is on some rubber-band propelled piece of balsa wood. The pilot was the spitting image of Caesar Romaro but he got us there – a smooth landing on the CIA-constructed runway at the tiny airport next to the Lodge. Seems the original purpose of the Lodge was to conduct covert activities into Nicaragua. We arrive to a welcoming committee of police armed with machine guns, who march us off towards the jungle. What is going on? Dan from the Lodge, a former Mississippi trial lawyer and surely Hunter Thompson resurrected, arrived in time to 're-direct' us. What next? Did I mention the rain? We are told that they had 'enjoyed' at least 12 inches of rain the previous day – they emptied their 6” rain-gauge twice and then gave up. Our first night, surely we matched that. The River was very high, flowing like a demon – no chance to cross the bar (actually, they have three bars as the River splits – all are as bad as each other). The grounds at the Lodge remained under water our entire visit – fortunately, there are a series of wooden walkways everywhere. They reminded me of the walkways at Hogwarts – I swear they moved whenever you stopped watching them. The fishing? Well, those staying at the Lodge that week managed to break a four-decade record. For its entire 40 years, the Lodge has kept detailed daily records of who caught what, how big, which guide, where (they fish both the River and just offshore over the bar) and how many tarpon were hooked and lost – a lot more than ever get to the boats, apparently. Seems the longest ever stretch, not for failing to catch a tarpon but for actually not hooking one, was three days. Our five-day visit? Not a single tarpon hooked by anyone. Not a sniff. I probably saw 200 of the monsters 'rolling', some approaching 200 lbs; others saw similar numbers. Some of these giant silver fish even had the audacity to breach over my fly line! One came so close to the boat I could've patted it on the back. Lure, bait, fly, trolling, you name it. Nada! We got the guides fishing as well. Even they came up empty. I later learnt the stretch extended into a Sixth day, before the Fishing Gods rested on the Seventh, allowing a single tarpon to break the drought. Rio Colorado Lodge is a wonderful place, albeit sans fish. Great staff, great fun and apparently usually great fishing. The wildlife is spectacular. I can't wait to come back but I might pick a drier month and chain my passport to me. KBG

That was a cracker lunch yesterday! Great food, great cigars and magnificent company Thank you to all the London lads for coming out and making it a great day. Thank you to Justin for organising the lunch at the Rose, and the back end. Brilliant. I love lunches that end at midnight! Post as many photo's as you like lads. There were some remarkable cigars smoked but this 1966 Por Larranaga Petit Lancero was perfect in every way. What a great gift and enjoyed immensely John De Costa decided to go with the more current trend of 70 gauge cigars I met some of the boys previously at the Soho Whisky Club. What a great night that was....an early one at about 3:30 am. Justin gave me a 1968 Por larranaga Petit Lancero this night. Silky smooth, sweet, long finish, flowers, caramel.....perfection. I do love the Soho Whisky Club. Members only, bottle shop downstairs. Super relaxed venue. Again, great people. Rob Fox managed to find some Irish Wine John De Costa...top bloke and owner of Cigar Sanctum (mens cigar jewelry) gifted me a Ramon Allones Hunters and Frankau Anniversario 225. I thought it was medium full, absolutely wonderful and Ramon Allones to its core. Congratulations to H&F on a great cigar! it was a great week for cigars and Rob Fox and I finally managed to find time for the early 1970's Por larranaga Magnum. My favourite cigar of all time and it certainly delivered yet again. Beautiful gift Rob and thanks again! On the question of old cigars can any one recognise this one that AJ gifted to Nobuhiro Nakamura? I was fortunate enough to have a few draws and it was magic. It was great watching Nakas face as he got further and further into the cigar Post any pics from London or Maiori! See you all soon. rob

Tiny Electric Backup Engine For Planes Kicks In When All Else Fails A commercial airliner with multiple engines can limp to a runway if one of them fails. But a small plane, driven by just a single propeller, is in more serious trouble when its engine stops. So researchers have created a tiny electric backup that kicks in during an emergency, ensuring the craft can safely get to the ground. Jointly developed by researchers at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and AXTER Aerospace, the tiny electric motor can be installed as an aftermarket upgrade because it’s designed to sit just behind the plane’s propeller. It’s also wired into its own dedicated backup battery that’s kept small for weight reasons. Since the system is specifically designed for small planes maxing out at around 750kg, keeping weight to a minimum matters. With such a small battery powering the electric motor, though, the emergency backup system isn’t designed to get a plane to its original destination should the primary engine fail. Instead, it gives a craft an additional range of just 20km to find a safe place to land in an emergency. In other words, it’s really only there to prevent a deadly crash. However, since the electric motor’s backup battery is constantly being charged by the main engine, it can actually be used outside of emergency situations as a sort of hybrid powertrain. Pilots can turn it on for an extra 40 horsepower for takeoffs, or to improve fuel efficiency during a long flight. But only as long as the plane’s main engine is running, to ensure the electric motor’s backup battery remains fully charged.

A dozen or so mint leaves muddled in a large glass 2 parts Havana Club rum 1.5 parts simple syrup (I like mine on the sweeter side) 1 part lime juice fill glass with ice top off with soda water Serve with Cuban Cigar of you're choice

That's pretty much what I was attempting to convey, that Cuba does not purposely "vice-press" cigars per the OP's point regarding that cigars that are pressed out of round by the box don't count. Your observation about Cuba rewriting their playbook rings true and we may see "vice-pressed" cigars before you know it!

Best thing about those blue pills, they get rid of wrinkles.

I need this to end on Monday night! Blood pressure spikes during these games can't be good for me. Go hawks.

In reading this article to click on about how venomous the female Brazilian Wandering Spider is - I wanna know, who's the fool with that spider on his (or her) bare arm!???

one thing about this though (and i am not a non-believer, especially with a whopping huntsman still on the kitchen floor), why were they filming a banana? and that banana? they just happened to have a camera and decided to film that banana and out popped the spider? even if you thought you saw a movement, the odds would be it is a worm or something similar. you could film for three days and bugger all would happen. there is something too odd here.

How will JR Smith top his entrance on a Segway for game 4?? Levitation? Riding a multicoloured Llama??

Boli Libertador - that's hitting the spot.

I've smoked so many NCs these past couples months I had to remind myself of why I love the good stuff...

Behind every Habanos smoker is his 24 y/o cousin only interested in getting wasted and your secretary's relationship status

The three wise men

At home and in shelves (whisky) or the wine fridge (Cognac/Armagnac) I keep them upright so that the alcohol doesn't degrade the cork. For those to be kept for the long term, the bottles themselves are typically sealed with plastic and tape to guard against evaporation.

Time for a classic.

Had some "decent" smokes over the weekend at the 5th Annual "Upstate NY" HERF!

The 32 bottle Mineador is again set up, full and running like clockwork. It is cool in Perth at the moment so it is sitting a little cool at 16/17C but the humidity is sitting at 65 to 69rh which is where I like it to sit. I'm still getting used to running home compressor fridge and it's too cool at the moment to even plug it in. It just has 4 large plastic boxes stacked up with 70rh beads in each box. This is my NC stash which seem to be a lot more resilient and smoke better at a large range of humidity and temperature. And yes, the new cabinet that replaced these fridges is amazing!

what's more boss than a 50 cab of lusis? Nothing.

The dark side of nursery rhymes Plague, medieval taxes, religious persecution, prostitution: these are not exactly the topics that you expect to be immersed in as a new parent. But probably right at this moment, mothers of small children around the world are mindlessly singing along to seemingly innocuous nursery rhymes that, if you dig a little deeper, reveal shockingly sinister backstories. Babies falling from trees? Heads being chopped off in central London? Animals being cooked alive? Since when were these topics deemed appropriate to peddle to toddlers? Since the 14th Century, actually. That’s when the earliest nursery rhymes seem to date from, although the ‘golden age’ came later, in the 18th Century, when the canon of classics that we still hear today emerged and flourished. The first nursery rhyme collection to be printed was Tommy Thumb's Song Book, around 1744; a century later Edward Rimbault published a nursery rhymes collection, which was the first one printed to include notated music –although a minor-key version of Three Blind Mice can be found in Thomas Ravenscroft's folk-song compilation Deuteromelia, dating from 1609. The roots probably go back even further. There is no human culture that has not invented some form of rhyming ditties for its children. The distinctive sing-song metre, tonality and rhythm that characterises ‘motherese’ has a proven evolutionary value and is reflected in the very nature of nursery rhymes. According to child development experts Sue Palmer and Ros Bayley, nursery rhymes with music significantly aid a child's mental development and spatial reasoning. Seth Lerer, dean of arts and humanities at the University California – San Diego, has also emphasised the ability of nursery rhymes to foster emotional connections and cultivate language. “It is a way of completing the world through rhyme,” he said in an interview on the website of NBC’s Today show last year. “When we sing [them], we're participating in something that bonds parent and child.” So when modern parents expose their kids to vintage nursery rhymes they’re engaging with a centuries-old tradition that, on the surface at least, is not only harmless, but potentially beneficial. But what about those twisted lyrics and dark back stories? To unpick the meanings behind the rhymes is to be thrust into a world not of sweet princesses and cute animals but of messy clerical politics, religious violence, sex, illness, murder, spies, traitors and the supernatural. A random sample of 10 popular nursery rhymes shows this. The stuff of nightmares Baa Baa Black Sheep is about the medieval wool tax, imposed in the 13th Century by King Edward I. Under the new rules, a third of the cost of a sack of wool went to him, another went to the church and the last to the farmer. (In the original version, nothing was therefore left for the little shepherd boy who lives down the lane). Black sheep were also considered bad luck because their fleeces, unable to be dyed, were less lucrative for the farmer. Ring a Ring o Roses, or Ring Around the Rosie, may be about the 1665 Great Plague of London: the “rosie” being the malodorous rash that developed on the skin of bubonic plague sufferers, the stench of which then needed concealing with a “pocket full of posies”. The bubonic plague killed 15% of Britain’s population, hence “atishoo, atishoo, we all fall down (dead).” Rock-a-bye Baby refers to events preceding the Glorious Revolution. The baby in question is supposed to be the son of King James II of England, but was widely believed to be another man’s child, smuggled into the birthing room to ensure a Roman Catholic heir. The rhyme is laced with connotation: the “wind” may be the Protestant forces blowing in from the Netherlands; the doomed “cradle” the royal House of Stuart. The earliest recorded version of the words in print contained the ominous footnote: “This may serve as a warning to the Proud and Ambitious, who climb so high that they generally fall at last”. Mary, Mary Quite Contrary may be about Bloody Mary, daughter of King Henry VIII and concerns the torture and murder of Protestants. Queen Mary was a staunch Catholic and her “garden” here is an allusion to the graveyards which were filling with Protestant martyrs. The “silver bells” were thumbscrews; while “cockleshells” are believed to be instruments of torture which were attached to male genitals. Goosey Goosey Gander is another tale of religious persecution but from the other side: it reflects a time when Catholic priests would have to say their forbidden Latin-based prayers in secret – even in the privacy of their own home. Ladybird, Ladybird is also about 16th Century Catholics in Protestant England and the priests who were burned at the stake for their beliefs. Lucy Locket is about a famous spat between two legendary 18th Century prostitutes. Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush originated, according to historian RS Duncan, at Wakefield Prison in England, where female inmates had to exercise around a mulberry tree in the prison yard. Oranges and Lemons follows a condemned man en route to his execution – “Here comes a chopper / To chop off your head!” – past a slew of famous London churches: St Clemens, St Martins, Old Bailey, Bow, Stepney, and Shoreditch. Oranges and Lemons has inspired a children’s game in which kids try to avoid being caught by the ‘executioner’s ax’ as ‘Chop! Chop! Chop!’ is shouted Pop Goes The Weasel is an apparently nonsensical rhyme that, upon subsequent inspection, reveals itself to in fact be about poverty, pawnbroking, the minimum wage – and hitting the Eagle Tavern on London’s City Road. Not safe for children? In our own sanitised times, the idea of presenting these gritty themesspecifically to an infant audience seems bizarre. It outraged the Victorians, too, who founded the British Society for Nursery Rhyme Reform and took great pains to clean up the canon. According to Random House’s Max Minckler, as late as 1941 the Society was condemning 100 of the most common nursery rhymes, including Humpty Dumpty and Three Blind Mice, for “harbouring unsavoury elements”. The long list of sins, he notes, included “referencing poverty, scorning prayer, and ridiculing the blind… It also included: 21 cases of death (notably choking, decapitation, hanging, devouring, shrivelling and squeezing); 12 cases of torment to animals; and 1 case each of consuming human flesh, body snatching, and ‘the desire to have one’s own limb severed’.” “A lot of children's literature has a very dark origin,” explained Lerer to Today.com. “Nursery rhymes are part of long-standing traditions of parody and a popular political resistance to high culture and royalty.” Indeed, in a time when to caricature royalty or politicians was punishable by death, nursery rhymes proved a potent way to smuggle in coded or thinly veiled messages in the guise of children's entertainment. In largely illiterate societies, the catchy sing-song melodies helped people remember the stories and, crucially, pass them on to the next generation. Whatever else they may be, nursery rhymes are a triumph of the power of oral history. And the children merrily singing them to this day remain oblivious to the meanings contained within. “The innocent tunes do draw attention away from what's going on in the rhyme; for example the drowned cat in Ding dong bell, or the grisly end of the frog and mouse in A frog he would a-wooing go”, music historian Jeremy Barlow, a specialist in early English popular music, tells me. “Some of the shorter rhymes, particularly those with nonsense or repetitive words, attract small children even without the tunes. They like the sound and rhythm of the words; of course the tune enhances that attraction, so that the words and the tune then become inseparable.” He adds, “The result can be more than the sum of the parts.”