Welcome back, fellow resident of silly Sussex, best placed county in the British Isles. We did not overlap, so tho’ you are not new to me, I am to you. Pleased to meet you.

Thinking about your intriguing nom des clés I took a look at words with a piscine connection and found a couple of things that were new to me:

Common of piscary – right of fishing in another’s water along with owner (and others).

Fish – piece of ivory etc. used as a counter in games. (Was fishplate derived from this?) Perhaps the counters were originally carved to a flat fish shape. I shall investigate.

Speaking of roadkill, as we were on another thread, do you notice what seems to me a surprising number of dead badgers on our country lanes? Quite a large animal for even a lorry to hit – don’t get too many artics on the lanes I use. Makes me wonder about disposal of the remains from a certain illegal sport……Any views? By the way, are badgers found wild in North America, I wonder? Must look it up.

dxb.