Topic: E-Mail (genuine)

[Clive]

I thought I'd share this e-mail I've just received from a local government
organisation called "Cobwebs" which allows local events to be advertised and discussed.  This is our tax ££££'s being put to good use.  
I think the ? sign should be read as a £.  



Dear All,

I recently responded to Steve's duck race announcement and had a number of
useful and amusing replies.  Interestingly, all but one of then responses have
been sent directly to me, not to cobwebs@lister.bridgend.gov.uk for everyone to
see.

I have been following this forum since it began and have noticed that replies
to messages rarely appear in the digest. I thought this was because there were
no replies but now I think it might be the case that users are choosong to
reply ot the individual, not to the list.  If this is the case, Cobwebs
Listmail users are missing out on the main purpose of this kind of forum -- to
share information and generate discussion and debate among users.  Of course it
is okay for people to respond to an individual but in most cases replies should
be sent to the list so that everyone with an interest in a paticular topic can
read what other people have to say.  It is a fact of life with services of this
kind that most list subscribers are passive users (i.e., they do not post
messages themsleves) most of the time but still get value out of their
membership.

There may be some issues relating to the way the list is set up that results in
replies going to individuals not the list.  I would be interested to know if
that is the case and would welcome any opinions on the subject.  Please send
any responses to the is message by selecting the "Reply To" function of your
e-mail programme so that the response goes to cobwebs@lister.bridgend.gov.uk.

I have reproduced below (in chronological order, first to latest)the original
duck race message and the responses to my (genuine) request for more
information. I enjoyed the exchanges and found out what I wanted to know.  The
messages even raised the issue of what content is appropriate for this list --
a question that should really be debated on the list rather than with the
sender.

Please let the list know what you think.

Regards,
Chris

____________________________________________

Maesteg Round Table hold their Annual Duck Race at the Tylers Arms in
Llangynwyd, Maesteg, on Sunday 28th May 2006 at 1500. There?ll be music, a
barbecue, and games. A good fun day to be had by all!

Ducks are ?1 each and are available from the Tylers Arms, Phoenix Motor
Factors in Nantyffyllon, Jones and Skinner builders merchants or any Maesteg
Round Table member. Alternatively they can be bought on the day.

Fantastic prizes include ?100 of Argos vouchers, a meal for two at the
Tylers Arms, and a mystery prize for the last duck home.

All money raised will go to local charities.

Please contact me if you want any more information.

Regards

Stephen Luke

Maesteg Round Table

____________________________________________

I'm sorry to be a bit thick, but are we talking about real ducks here? If I
bought one what would I feed it on? It all sounds like a lot of fun but I am
concerned that my dog would be more interested in the duck than is good for the
duck. Can anyone tell me how the whole thing works?
Chris Howell
____________________________________________

Rubber Ducks on the river
____________________________________________

Dear Chris

I suggest that you feed your duck on Paxo's Sage and Onion Stuffing and its
meat should be tender and well flavoured by Christmas.

Pluck and dress the duck cover with foil to stop the meat getting to dry
during cooking.

Cook in Resrva Velha  Barberto Malvasia Madeira 1934 Port at 350 electric
cooker setting  for 75 minutes lay the table and I'll help you devour the
lovely delicious bird.

Alternatively buy a pet fox to keep it company and see the feathers fly.

Regards
Merlin

PS Any Port left over will be welcome.
____________________________________________

Hi Chris
Firstly you have to superglue the jockeys on the ducks back as they tend to
come off and drown when they go over rapids. OOPs nearly forgot you might
have great difficulty getting insurance for the jockeys as it is classed as
a High Risk pastime. As for what you feed them on it does not really matter
because after the race they will still taste the same in the orange sauce.
With regards to your dog taking an unnatural interest in it I can recommend
a good dog shrink(I used to have a dog like that I shot it).
____________________________________________

Hi Chris
I couldn't resist the previous email(you started it).
The do not use live ducks but the type you put in the bath with numbers on
the bottom e.g. 500 ducks numbered 1-500. You decide from where you start
and where you finish, it is best if you can do it with a bridge at the
beginning and one at the end. People pick a number and that is their duck.
It is up to you how many winners you have 1st 2nd 3rd. It all depends on how
many ducks you sell. Also you can also get people to guess how long the
winning duck will take to come down the river. Hope this has cleared things
up for you. Good luck MJD
____________________________________________

No there are a 1000 plastic ducks which are put into the river to race to a
fixed point down stream. The first few home win prizes for the person who
has bought that number duck. That sums it up really!
____________________________________________

Thank you to everyone who responded.
I am now more confused than ever.

Though there is clearly a school of opinion that claims the ducks are inedible
plastic models, this is outweighed by the importance placed on sage and onion
stuffing and orange sauce by the majority of respondents.  The alleged need for
a jockey also points to something bigger than a rubber ducky but leaves me
wondering what it would cost to feed a live duck big enough to carry even the
smallest jockey.  I could try training my dog to ride but he would sink the
average mallard.

Chris
____________________________________________

Please lets keep this excellent forum serious please.
____________________________________________




cobwebs-request@lister.bridgend.gov.uk  (18/05/06  12:00):
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>
>Today's Topics:
>
>   1.  Duck race (Christopher Howell)
>   2.  Cobwebs are now registering private tutors in the      Community
>      Directory (BCBC On Line Community Directory User)
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Message: 1
>Date: 17 May 2006 12:15:00 +0100
>From: "Christopher Howell" <howelc1>
>Subject: [Cobwebs] Duck race
>To: cobwebs@lister.bridgend.gov.uk
>Message-ID: <JA8AAAAAAX5Z9wABYQADQ8p8wr9U>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
>I'm sorry to be a bit thick, but are we talking about real ducks here?  If I
>bought one what would I feed it on?
>It all sounds like a lot of fun but I am concerned that my dog would be more
>interested in the duck than is good for the duck.
>Can anyone tell me how the whole thing works?
>___________________________________________
>
>Chris Howell
>Project Officer
>Bridgend Information Society Plan (BISP)
>
>IT Centre
>Sunnyside House
>Sunnyside
>Bridgend
>CF31 4AR