Jazz, as a favour to Geoff, would you mind posting the etymythology behind my surname? I'm sure your connexions will be happy to help.
Certainly.
Perhaps they were ambitious; perhaps they were just exceedingly curious, but it is undeniable that they were ahead of their time. One wouldn't expect the 5th century shores of northern Sweden to be the site of an attempt at utopia, but it was indeed. A team of precocious inventors from Scotland made an exodus to Scandinavia in order to escape persecution for advancing science. The men, four of them, all suffered from acute manic depression and were detirminded to rid themselves of their affliction. They sought refuge in a small cave on the lee side of a fjord and began their work. They intended to create the perfect environment to escape their ailments.
After much debate as to how to go about their task, they began constructing a large, oblong, hollow sphere. It was carved out of rock and thoroughly covered with mud and moss. The end product, resembling something of a pumpkin or squash, was then lowered to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. Apparati were made for the passage of air and other necessities to the sphere and the four made the submerged compartment their experimental home. In this state they claimed to be cured of their emotional distresses and thus named their spherical sanitorium "Gourd de la Spleen".
After a few years, the place became dilapidated and smelly. The inventors moved out and abandoned their work, but the memory of their grand, quixotic experiment will always live on because of a pact the four made to use the experiment's name as theirs.
Historical records show that in the late 1700s a family by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Quordlepleen set off from Southampton on a voyage to Captain Cook's glorious new land.
Capricious Piffle was brought to you today by strawberry cream cheese and smoked cod.
