Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

Pyxis

Looking up Tamar (river) name origin, wiki et al. has this to say.....


"The name Tamar (or Tamare) was mentioned by Ptolemy in the second century in his Geography. The name is said to mean "Great Water."[5][6][7] The Tamar is one of several British rivers whose ancient name is assumed by some to be derived from a prehistoric river word apparently meaning "dark flowing" and which it shares with the River Thames.[8"

So it looks like it's very ancient as a river name.... it came from the PIE origins through Celtic.

GDB2222

Pyxis wrote: »

Is Tamar from the same root as Tamerlaine?


I wonder why there's a river called that in Devon?





Edit... Just looked up Tamar. It is of Hebrew origin and means date/date palm/palm tree.
Tamar was also a Georgian sky-goddess.

We have friends who called their daughter Tamar. The name crops up in the bible a few times. It's strange how some names have caught on, and some haven't.

Abishag is one that hasn't caught on for some reason, whilst Abigail is very popular.

Pyxis

GDB2222 wrote: »

We have friends who called their daughter Tamar. The name crops up in the bible a few times. It's strange how some names have caught on, and some haven't.

Abishag is one that hasn't caught on for some reason, whilst Abigail is very popular.

Hmmm. Strange that.






I've just realised that Zebedee is a bible name.
Strange that it didn't spring to mind before.











I'm getting my coat, I'm getting it!

chris_m

Pyxis wrote: »

I've just realised that Zebedee is a bible name.
Strange that it didn't spring to mind before.

Grooooooaaaaan :rotfl:

ivyleaf

Pyxis wrote: »

Hmmm. Strange that.



I've just realised that Zebedee is a bible name.
Strange that it didn't spring to mind before.

OH is determinedly not laughing...but he couldn't stop his lips from twitching

The first time I came across Tamar as a name was in a Jean Plaidy novel years ago! (The rebellious Devonian heroine was born beside the river or something.)

PasturesNew

A NP who has never touched/owned a drill before, nor ever watched one being used.... a clueless NP ... who is scared of power, power tools, accidents that might happen etc .... has bought a drill.

Even the huge fella behind me in the queue, sort of bloke that looks like he DOES know what he's doing with all power tools, said "that's one powerful drill that is - it cuts through concrete".

I'm planning on using it to drill a few holes in the garden fence posts, to hang up fairy lights/solar lights and the solar panel bits ... next summer.

I thought I'd like the idea that I COULD fit a latch or a handle or a bolt to a gate if I chose to do so ....

I'd not trust myself to use it indoors, on "real walls that matter".... but I figured it can't hurt to have a drill.

I am also toying with the idea of looking into "bits" to see how small a bit it can take, to explore the possibilities of drilling through random beach finds... like shells and stones etc .... I know that'd require a diamond bit and to be done under a little water with something securing the small item in the water bath.... who knows, I could end up, finally, drilling the shells I've got and hanging them along the fence from fishing wire.

Pyxis

Something like a fencepost is a good thing to start on. It's much easier drilling into wood, and as it's outside, it doesn't matter if something goes a bit awry, which it won't, but the thought is a good safety net!

I found it was a good idea to prime the proposed hole first with a bradawl, or even, when you're desperate, a skewer point!

Drilling something under water sounds scary to me!

Another tip......don't try drilling into masonry with a wood bit.

LydiaJ

zagubov wrote: »

This would be wise. Does he do triple Science or double? I only ask because some schools make you take Core Science at 15 and the other GCSEs at 16. It would be smart to get onto the school exams officer and the Exams Board to make sure all the quals are in the right name.

I've had to show my certificates many times for jobs but that's normal in my sector. I have to stress to my students to hold onto the paperwork like it was precious as jobs are now becoming more insistent on paper certificates.

He's in Y11 now, and has already done core science last summer. He is now taking his time to think about it. It may be some time before he comes to a decision.

GDB2222 wrote: »

We have friends who called their daughter Tamar. The name crops up in the bible a few times. It's strange how some names have caught on, and some haven't.

I can think of two biblical Tamars - neither of them is IMO an auspicious person to name a little girl after:

Tamar #1 - Judah's daughter-in-law. Her husband dies, leaving her without any sons. According to the custom of the time, his brother is supposed to marry her, which he does, but he dies too. Judah fails to give her to his third and final son, so she disguises herself as a prostitute and seduces her father-in-law. When she consequently gets pregnant without a husband, he wants to kill her, but she brings out his belongings to prove it was him who got her pregnant, so he doesn't kill her after all. The pregnancy results in the required sons (twins) so that solves that problem.

Tamar #2 - King David's daughter. She is raped by her half-brother, who then refuses to marry her. Her full brother murders their half-brother, leading (eventually) to general family breakdown, rebellion, civil war and miscellaneous slaughter.

GDB2222 wrote: »

Abishag is one that hasn't caught on for some reason, whilst Abigail is very popular.

I'm with Pyxis in finding it strange.

Both are more positive role models than either of the Tamars. Abishag was an attractive young woman hired to keep the aging King David warm in bed when he was dying and couldn't keep warm without help, along with general geriatric nurse duties. Abigail was married to a violent and abusive husband who upset David to the extent that he wanted to kill not only him but most of his household as well. She's described as beautiful and intelligent, and managed to placate David into not killing anyone. Shortly afterwards, her husband had some kind of stroke or seizure and died, so David took her as one of his wives.

Pyxis

Sounds to me like Tamar 1 was quite resourceful, considering she'd been mucked about by FIL.

And Tamar 2 was a victim. She can hardly be blamed for the mayhem resulting from her being raped!

Go, Tamars everywhere!

I quite like the name!

LydiaJ

Pyxis wrote: »

Sounds to me like Tamar 1 was quite resourceful, considering she'd been mucked about by FIL.

And Tamar 2 was a victim, she can hardly be blamed for the mayhem resulting from her being raped!

Go Tamars so everywhere!

I quite like the name!

I'm not blaming Tamar 2 for anything - although I find it tragic that after the rape she spent the rest of her life living in seclusion with the brother that had sprung to her defence, and nobody helped her to recover or to get some semblance of a functioning life back. Still, I wouldn't name my daughter after someone whose identity is primarily as a victim. I agree about Tamar 1's resourcefulness, although I'm still not sure I'd want to be telling my daughter that that's who she's named after!

If we're going to pick Bible names that belonged to resourceful women, how about Jael, who saved the nation by lulling the enemy commander into a false sense of security and then hammering a tent peg through his head while he was asleep. Haven't met many girls named after her!