No, I haven't been at the vino collapso again. It's true. Read this:

http://tinyurl.com/mb6z5g

Read it. Cost of lamb stew is set to rise astronomically.

Shrinking sheep? Near my home in Kerry was a little touristy village much patronised by elderly Americans in tour buses. As well as the Aran sweaters and the bawneen jackets and the Kelly Green berets (with pom-poms) there were also available very small model sheep. They were handy as pressies to pop in your handbag.
To my husband, who sent several to old friends, their chief charm was that around their attested-genuine local woolly necks, they wore a green ribbon with the inscription "A present from Kerry. Adult Toy." We could never work out if this was an in-joke as a lot of Kerry humour centres around sheep. Sadly, last time I was over, someone must have pointed it out as all they have now is `A present from Kerry.` Sad to see innocence despoiled.
I blame the Sisters of Mercy.

doatie

You've broadened my vocabulary, doatie. I'd never come across bawneen (or baínín) before. I shall be adding it to my lexicon.

It is a white (bawn) usually handwoven material from our friend the sheep. Origins in Connemara amongst fisherman because the unoiled wool was good for keeping out cold. Became trendy amongst TCD and UCD students in the 40s or 50s and then moved on to the US tourist trade.
Further useful words: Pampooties (I love the sound) were handmade shoes made from animalskin. Again Connemara.
A Kris is a multicouloured handwoven woollen `belt` - fishermen again - which is wound around the waist several times and tucked in so that the oiled wool adheres. These two articles are out of fashion now, I think, but I certainly had a kris and a rather nice bawneen blazer when I was about 18!

Ah, God be with the old days! doatie

Bet you can't guess (unless you know) what they used to use (still do in the Emerald Isle?) to get wool ready for making clothes etc. It gave rise to the Gaelic song, Brochan Lom.

Leave it at that.

Is it wee-wee.

Wee wee would make sense. The Romans used it to bleach laundry. But, according to Google, brochan lom is thin porridge. Michael is just an old tease. He makes us think he's talking dirty but half the time it's totally innocent.

Brochan lom isn't just thin porridge, as mentioned. It can refer to a substance resembling dit. (e.g. new wool being cleaned for use, especially for tweed.) I did once try this out on an old towel some years ago, just for curiosity, to see if it does actually clean. It works well, but I don't recommend using the towel again. Anyway, after cleaning it this way, you have to clean it again. Is that innocent, immoral or not? I don't know.

Re Roman use: true as stated above. Public conveniences were usually just jars fastened to a wall and would be collected by launderers for use when full. The story is that the notoriously stingy emperor Vespasian (after Nero, around 70 CE) actually taxed the use of the stated liquid. His son and successor, a more delicate creature, expressed distaste. Daddy shoved a coin under his nose and asked, 'Does that ------- stink, then?' No reply is recorded. Strangely, the cost of the Colosseum was met, partly anyway, with human liquid waste. That's one of The Things They Don't Tell You At School.

the bawneen jackets and the Kelly Green berets (with pom-poms)

Wonderful, Doatie! Just picture it: you've got the ideal uniform for the ra- ra- band for this place, as previously suggested.



He makes us think he's talking dirty but half the time it's totally innocent.

But what about the other half of the time?