2

desmodromic — running in a constraining groove.

Chronos — XPONO∑; the Ancient Greek Time as measured by the clock (see age 8).

orrery — A mechanical model of the solar system in which the planets may be moved around the sun at the correct relative velocities. Diameters and distances, of course, cannot conveniently be to scale. The first orrery was built by clockmaker George Graham about 1700, and a copy was made by instrument maker John Rowley for Charles Boyle, fourth Earl of Orrery (Ireland) and first Baron Boyle of Marston (Somerset) (1676—1731).

The Centipede was happy quite,

Until the Toad in fun

Said: ‘Pray which leg goes after which?’

And worked her mind to such a pitch,

She lay distracted in the a ditch,

Not knowing how to run — Mrs Edmund Craster

3

Chaiteana: ana — a collection of artefacts, illustrations, stories &c pertaining to an individual;

uxoriously — in the manner of a wife.

schmock — also schmuck (yiddish) ornament, decorations; hence vulgarly penis.

harvest manic — reminiscent of an arachnid harvestman of the order Opiliones (or Phalangida), or the way in which it might write.

SKELETON DATED — The Foxworth Evening Telegraph follows the strange custom of printing Market-street for Market Street; it has also reformatted the para, hence the spokesp-erson (who was poorly split anyway).

4

entropy — A thermodynamic quantity that changes in a reversible process by an amount equal to the heat absorbed or emitted divided by the thermodynamic temperature; entropy S is measured in Joules/Kelvin.

Also of order or pattern; a statistical measure thereof (S = k log P + c, where k is the Boltzmann constant, P is the probability of a particular system state existing, and c is a cooking constant).

nous — (British slang) commonsense or intelligence, from Greek vous, mind.

5

maker, defender, redeemer and friend — see hymn ‘O worship the King’, verse 5; words based on Psalm 104 by Sir Robert Grant (1779—1838); tune ‘Hanover’ probably by Dr Croft (1678—1727). Psalm 104 is rich in Manna Machine references.

Phobanthropists — antonym philanthropists.

6

invading the Normandy Beaches — Operation Overlord; D-Day 6 June 1944.

7

That’s enough place and time — Ed — Private Eye in-joke.

8

Arthur Koestler (1905—83), British writer born in Hungary, some of whose works reflect his interest in science, philosophy and psychology.

Half-life of a radioactive element — The time taken for half the atoms present in the sample to decay; equal to the time taken for half of the remainder to decay, and so on. How does the sample ‘know’ at what rate to decay? How do the bubbles in a fizzy drink ‘know’ when to form and rise? Why do independent actions tend to even out so that everything doesn’t happen at once?

maser — Microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (cf laser, where l = light).

Chronos — XPONO∑; the Ancient Greek concept of time as measured by the clock (see page 2).

Kairos — KAIPO∑; the Ancient Greek concept of the right time for action; the critical moment.

clepsydra — A water clock, measuring the passage of time by the flow of water from a small orifice (from Greek klepein to steal and hudor water).

9

Acceleration of time with age — I am indebted to my son Tim for this suggestion.