Conference thebay::joyoflex

    I've heard of at least one house whose name was LLareggub (looks
    Welsh until you spell it backwards.

    Re: .1  Did you knock on the door and ask if Mr. Thomas was in?
    :-)
    
    On the same theme, there's a house near us called Adanac.  Obviously
    someone from the backwoods.
    
    Jeff.

    A gastrointestinal surgeon who lived in my home town named his
    farm "Tummy Acres". 
    
    --bonnie

    
    I live in a big white house miles from anywhere with lots of other
    people and servants in white , called Sunnyview .
    
    John J
    

    re .3 - There's a dentist in Marlborough MA with a sign out front
    that says "Tooth Acres".
    
    len.
    

    What time is your dentist appointment? Tooth-hurty.

    Do you have thick rubber wall-paper and jackets with extremely long
    sleeves?

    And I can never find a pencil when I need one 
    
    John J
    

    You should apply for relocation.  They let us have pencils here,
    and coloured pens, if you're really, really, good.

    G'day,
    
    There's a cottage near here called "Wit's End'
    
    djw
    

    There is a house in Leven (Fife) called Werdna, to continue the
    backwards theme. It sounds horrible, doesn't it?
    
    My brother called his house in Lancaster 'Ben the Hoose'.
    {Explanation: A small Scottish two roomed cottage is known as a
    But and Ben (not sure why). When you go from one room to the other,
    you go ben the hoose.}
    
    When he moved to a larger house in Manchester, what did he call
    it? Big Ben.
    
    Since he is a doctor, I was always trying to convince him he should
    call it Bedside Manor.
    
    
    Ian.

	    
    I consider .11 highly offensive:
    
>    There is a house in Leven (Fife) called Werdna, to continue the
>    backwards theme. It sounds horrible, doesn't it?    

    This is an insult to Buchanan, me, and all the other backwards Andrews.
    Do the rights of this oppressed minority mean nothing? If I see
    any further use of this notes file to persecute us further, I will
    do my best to get it closed down.
    
    	Andrew.

>    This is an insult to Buchanan, me, and all the other backwards Andrews.

Shouldn't you refer to yourselves as "we drans"? 

Gavin

    Wildernest

    
    	A house near where I grew up (in New Jersey, USA) has a sign:
    
    			USTABEA FARM
    
    
    	Joe Oppelt

        In the town where I live there is a place called:

        	JUSTAMERE FARM

        I know it's not a house but its the best I can do over lunch.

        	Mike in Pepperell, MA

    re:.16
    
    There's a Justamere Farm in Sudbury, too.
    
    --- jerry

    Boyd's Nest

My parents' house has a funny number rather than a funny name.
The house sits on a perfectly ordinary Euclidean street: the house on
the left is number 1, the house on the right is number 11: theirs is
therefore:

61.

Perhaps this note should not be in JOYOFLEX, but in JOYOFHEXadecimal_and_
other_number_systems.   Sorry if it offends.

    In Atlanta, near Piedmont Park , I saw houses numbered
    "zero" and "one-half".
				-John Bishop    	

    
    
    In the city I grew up in ( Buffalo, NY ( funny name in itself ))
    there was a place called Amigone Funeral Home.  Just so happens 
    that the owner was a guy called Amigone.

    The name Buffalo, NY, is a sad reminder of how many millions of
    buffalo and how many millions of acres of range we destroyed in
    our advancing civilization.  But I don't think I see anything
    funny in it.
    
    --bonnie

    Re .22 (Bonnie):
    
    That's a long, but peculiar house name. :-)
    
    Actually, the flip side of that is the United States has been breeding
    buffalo back.  Large herds are growing, according to the Department
    of the Interior.
    
    And just to get back to the ==>subject<==
    
    A retired professor of mathematics in Connecticut named his last
    home "Aftermath."
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

    re: .23 
    
    At the rate things are going, I may name my retirement home 
    
    "Is There Life After DEC?"
    
    --bonnie

    That's not bad!
    
    I had been thinking of DECadence, also, but that's so obvious.
    
    --bonnie

    For those who retire to live on a houseboat

    
    For those who retire to live in a houseboat in a bottle
    
    John J

    
    
    A Digital employee's house that burned to the ground. ( during the
    holidays yet )
    
    
    Paul M.

re .27

	The afterdeck is more normally referred to as the poop deck, but
	who would want to retire there?
	
		Steve

    and for the teeming millions who would like to work here...
    
    'foreDEC
    
    However since we are now Digital,
    
    and some employees are married (etc) to other employees of digital
    
    how about
    
    
    
    'Peace'
    
    djw
    

      Re .28
      
      >           -< DECanter >-

      I resemble that remark.
      
      D. Cantor

    
    
    The title of the Old Senate Office Building in Washington D.C. is
    only rarely abbreviated. The following example illustrates why:
    
    
    		Senator H.Q. Phogbound
    		Old SOB
    		Washington, DC
    
    
    	-- Glinch.

     A friend just rented a house on Poor Farm road.
     
     Dan

    On my route to and from work I pass by a farm entitled, "Empty
    Pockets." 

    Re: .34 
    
    "Poor Farm Road" might make more sense if you could recall that
    years ago certain towns or cities used to have a "Poor Farm" at
    which local indigents lived (and worked if so able).  Now we have
    welfare and street-people instead...but in the interest of avoiding
    a political discussion, I'll simply leave it at that!

    My in-laws live in a very very nice retirement condominium complex
    in Connecticut.   To get there, you take Poverty Road.
    
    --bonnie

   I used to live on the Boulevard of Champions in North Lauderdale,
   Fla.
   
   							Terza

    re .36-.37 - this reminds of numerous lame jokes about the Edgar
    Allen Poe House.
    
    len.
    

    Not to mention the Claude Achille W.C., so I won't.
    
    	Jon

    Now that we've moved on to street names, what about shops too?
    
    I have just returned from my holiday in France. In Chamb�ry and
    Lyon I saw two branches of a sports shop called "Athletes Foot",
    complete with a Mercury type winged foot logo. I don't suppose they
    know what it means, they probably just thought the name sounded
    snappy and was all the more chic since it was in English.

    re: .41
    
    Hate to disappoint you, but there are "Athletes' Foot" stores all
    over the U.S.   I don't remember if they use a Mercury-type logo,
    but it's entirely possible that the stores you saw are part of a
    chain.
    
    Clay

    
    Foreyes (spectacles)
    
    Men Swear (fashion)
    
    John J

    And in Woburn (MA), there's a sporting goods store called:
    
    Jock's Trap
    
    --- jerry

.42�< Note 534.42 by RICKS::SATOW >
.42�                         -< Knew what they were doing >-
.42�
.42�    re: .41
.42�    
.42�    Hate to disappoint you, but there are "Athletes' Foot" stores all
.42�    over the U.S.   I don't remember if they use a Mercury-type logo,
.42�    but it's entirely possible that the stores you saw are part of a
.42�    chain.

    Perhaps they did intend it as a joke. Is athlete's foot a skin disease
    in the States too?
    
    Ian.
    
    

    re: .45
    
    Yes, I think that was the intent.  It is a skin disease in the States.
    I guess that they thought is was a clever play on words and a clever
    marketing ploy.  It certainly is a name that you remember, and I
    guess that Athlete's foot is not so repulsive a disease that it
    created a negative image.
    
    There was a maker of dietary pills that was not so lucky.  The name
    of the product was (is?) Ayds, but pronounced "Aids".  Their product
    predated, by many years, the disease Aids.  They had done a lot
    of advertising to get name brand recognition, only to see that name
    brand take on a strongly negative image almost overnight.  Haven't
    seen much of them lately.  I don't know whether they've changed
    the name of the product or gone out of business.
    
    Clay

    re .46:
    
    I think 'Ayds' became 'Dexatrim'.
    
    >M

    
    There's a fish and chip shop near where I used to live called
    Jack's Plaice
    
    John J

    In Norwich, VT there's a very steep road named FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE.

    G'day,
    
    For the record, there's 'Athlete's Foot' shops all around Sydney
    too.
    
    There's a road in a Sydney (or is it Melbourne) where the houses
    are named  Aspect, Respect, Circumspect, Disrespect, and a few other
    'spect' words. A 'Spec' builder here is one who builds to a standard
    spec and hopes people will buy.
    
    djw
    
     

    And what about the hair-dressing saloon in the Blues Brothers
    movie called...                                             
    
    		   ...Curl-Up and Die !!!

    And down the road from where I live in Boudry, Switzerland, there's
    a house called "La Contest�e". Funny...
    
    John

    re: athlete's foot
    
    There's a general perception in the US that athlete's foot is a
    disease only athletes get, so it's sort of a mark of honor --
    proves you're active and healthy.
    
    --bonnie 

.53�< Note 534.53 by DOODAH::RANDALL "Bonnie Randall Schutzman" >
.53�                        -< not all disease is negative >-
.53�
.53�    re: athlete's foot
.53�    
.53�    There's a general perception in the US that athlete's foot is a
.53�    disease only athletes get, so it's sort of a mark of honor --
.53�    proves you're active and healthy.
.53�    
.53�    --bonnie 

    Thanks for that, Bonnie. I'm sure it will be a great comfort to
    athlete's foot sufferers everywhere!  8^} 8^} 8^} 8^} 8^} 8^}
    
    Ian.

    
    
    A particular local favourite of mine is....
    
    
    		Fackem Hall
    
    Said with a Hampshire (old, not New) accent it very adequately
    describes a very ambitious intention.
    
    Probably the result of dealing with Local Authorities.    
    
    
    Bob
    

    In Marlborough, NH, the local library is named
    
    		Frost Free Library
    
    (Historical note: "free" libraries were the precursor to "public"
    libraries.)
    
    In Chili, NY (pronounced with long "i"s), there is the
    
    		Chili Dog Hospital

    
    "Frost Free Library" reminds me of the ubiquitous "Frost Heaves"
    signs in New England...when I moved here, I thought it was literary
    criticism.
    
    In Keene NH, on South Main St., there is a large cemetary. The road
    off of Main next to the cemetary is Silent Way, appropriately marked
    Dead End.
    
    Perry

    I heard this one on the radio here in Ireland at the weekend.
    One of local football pitches in Cork city is beside a street
    called 'Lee Road'...however the Gaelic or Irish word for football
    is 'Laithr�idh'...whose phonetic pronouciation is 'lee_road'!!!
    
    weird???

    I saw one in Ascona (Switzerland) a house named "Casa Voltata"
    (twisted house). When inquiring about it, I found out that it had
    5 appartments but entrances were from weired directions e.g. via
    climbing up an outside staircase, some from inside, from outside
    door which actually was more of a window etc.
    Rudi
    

>    In Keene NH, on South Main St., there is a large cemetary. The road
>    off of Main next to the cemetary is Silent Way, appropriately marked
>    Dead End.
    
If you get to Penacook NH, you'll find "Electric Road" which is also a 
dead-end, but someone at the highway department has a sense of humor and 
has marked it "No outlet."
					>>>==>PStJTT

And then there is that castle/palace in Holland called "Het Loo" (meaning "The
Wood"). Translated for foreign tourists as "The Loo"...

    The town of Sharon, NH had to change the town line sign due to
    thefts.
    
    The old one read "Entering Sharon". The new one now reads
    "Welcome to Sharon".

People driving south from Andover, Mass., along route 28, if they follow
directions, can't tell when the cross over into the town I live in.

The sign says 

           NO. READING

Dave C.

a road near my house is named My Way.

there's a farm in Franklin called Akin Bak.

    ... reminds me of one of my daughters' musings when (on a trip to
    Blighty about 12 years ago) they encountered the thentofore (to them)
    (was that a word?) (can you stand all these interruptions?) (No? Sorry
    about that) unknown but to-them-quaintly-charming English custom of
    NAMING houses...  They pondered the concept, and then suggested how
    FUNNY it'd be if one of their friends had an abode named "My Death" --
    "Mommy, can I go to my death?"  "Daddy, I'll be back for supper -- I'm
    going to my death."  They became completely hysterical at this entire
    concept...  Thanks for recalling this fun time...
    
    :-)
    

This isn't a house name, but the name of a Picnic Ground / Park in Tweed Heads

I never really noticed the name when I grew up - I went to school with kids 
from the Faux family (pronounced FOLKS) they wer epretty ordinary :)



    

    True Story (?)
    
    I used to live in a house called "Mark Ash".
    
    We had always assumed that the original owner was thus named or knew
    somebody who was.  Either that or it was some family association /
    legend which was being immortalised.
    
    When we finally met somebody who could explain (a relative of the man
    who built the house in 1911) they told us that it was a joke on the
    part of the architect.
    
    He had written on the plans a note to himself:  remember to tell the
    builder that the rowan tree in the corner will have to be chopped down. 
    The precis of which was MARK ASH.
    
    When the people for whom he was designing saw it they so liked the name
    that they kept it.  He didn't have the heart to explain!
    
    Jon
    
    
    Apochryphal or what!	:o)

    This lot depend on what you consider funny...
    
    My father's family owned a large farm in Gloucestershire (actually next
    door to the Prince of Wales' estate at Highgrove for those of you who
    enjoy trivia).
    
    When my grandfather died, the estate was divided amongst the children. 
    Since that time, it has become a tradition that any property purchased
    with funds from the estate be named accordingly.
    
    The farm is called Nesley (orig. Ned's Leigh).  So far we have:
    
    	Nesley Farmhouse
    	Nesley Cottage
    	Nesley Orchard
    	Nesley Croft
    	Little Nesley
    	Middle Nesley	<- my father's house since he moved from Mark Ash!
    
    My sister works with a theatre company which is negotiating for the
    purchase of a large country house in the English Midlands to use as a
    base - they will probably be calling it Nesley Manor.
    
    Now whilst this is not funny (amusing), many of my friends think it
    funny (peculiar).  Does that count?
    
    Jon

    My house acquired the name of the hill on which it was rebuilt in 1901,
    Fairmount Heights.  Sometime after that year, the killjoys at the City
    Engineer's office decided they needed to give the houses on Fairmount
    Street numbers, so now it's just bland ol' 31 Fairmount Street.  But I
    still write Fairmount Heights as part of my address.

    re: .66
    
    You think "Faux Park" is funnier than "Tweed Heads"?
    
    -Tom

>    You think "Faux Park" is funnier than "Tweed Heads"?
    
Yes