Usually we try to make the Friday 5 theme vaguely topical. You know, for hits. But this week we are just indulging ourselves for our own amusement. Sometimes we encounter people with names so perfectly matched to their job it seems as though it was destiny. Or they got confused as to where to sign on their careers day form. There is a term for all those bakers who have the surname Baker, or butchers who are Butchers etc. Nominative determinism.
We have picked our best cases of this...
We have picked our best cases of this...
1. Whenever people discover that my surname begins with 'pen' and that I sometimes write things they love making a comment about how apt my name is. Although the next generation of my family will probably wonder what the link is and be making that comment to people whose surname is keyboard. I was however delighted to discover that the ex-md of Danone UK is Mr Fromage. I wonder if the people who worked with him managed to resist all the big cheese jokes. I do hope not. Squeamish Louise
2. If only Buzz Aldrin's mother had kept her maiden name he'd be perfect for this article - it was Moon. However Manley Power will take some beating. Lieutenant General Sir Manley Power was a distinguished solider during the Napoleonic and Peninsular Wars. The name worked not once but twice - his great grandson, also called Manley Power, rose to be an Admiral during WW2. Gareth
3. My collaborator and I recently went to declare our intent to be married, or register to marry, or warn everyone of our marriage (not clear on terms) at our local council. It's a lot of admin, faff and charges. After we assured the council that we knew our own names and each others (I was less convincing on this one, momentarily forgetting my partner's Christian name) we signed some forms. So far, so bureaucratic. But our registrar brought the romance back. His surname was Love. Squeamish Kate
4. I remember visiting a little museum, whilst being shown around we happened upon a portrait of a man wearing a leather apron surrounded by some feathers. How curious! I thought. It was explained to me that the Mr Skinner in the painting was a taxidermist. And then we winced a bit at the idea of a man called Skinner peeling the skins off pheasants he was soon to stuff. I couldn't find any evidence of this painting but I did find Ron Skinner another Taxidermist in Texas! Squeamish Nicola
5. I have a lesbian sister called Fanny. 'Nuff said. (Or should that be muff said?) F1Kate
2. If only Buzz Aldrin's mother had kept her maiden name he'd be perfect for this article - it was Moon. However Manley Power will take some beating. Lieutenant General Sir Manley Power was a distinguished solider during the Napoleonic and Peninsular Wars. The name worked not once but twice - his great grandson, also called Manley Power, rose to be an Admiral during WW2. Gareth
3. My collaborator and I recently went to declare our intent to be married, or register to marry, or warn everyone of our marriage (not clear on terms) at our local council. It's a lot of admin, faff and charges. After we assured the council that we knew our own names and each others (I was less convincing on this one, momentarily forgetting my partner's Christian name) we signed some forms. So far, so bureaucratic. But our registrar brought the romance back. His surname was Love. Squeamish Kate
4. I remember visiting a little museum, whilst being shown around we happened upon a portrait of a man wearing a leather apron surrounded by some feathers. How curious! I thought. It was explained to me that the Mr Skinner in the painting was a taxidermist. And then we winced a bit at the idea of a man called Skinner peeling the skins off pheasants he was soon to stuff. I couldn't find any evidence of this painting but I did find Ron Skinner another Taxidermist in Texas! Squeamish Nicola
5. I have a lesbian sister called Fanny. 'Nuff said. (Or should that be muff said?) F1Kate
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