I LOVE RED DWARF...

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Wasn't going to say more but then I thought about it. Hated the last series (X?) and the one-off three-part special wasn't that special. But I love, love, love all the early series - although the jokes wear thin when you know what they're about to say/do.

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In chatty mode...

My ex used to call me 'Red Dwarf' because I'm short and I had red hair. He's not my ex for that reason.

Last night, I read this in Game of Thrones:

' . . . he summoned Tomard, the portly guardsman with the ginger-colored whiskers his children called Fat Tom.'

Guilty as charged, I think...

How interesting, I've just noticed the similarities between the two quotes on this thread (from two different writers):

'When he got there, his Deputy, a portly bald man with a ginger moustache called Bo Sampson, was trying to calm down a hysterical man.'

' . . . he summoned Tomard, the portly guardsman with the ginger-colored whiskers his children called Fat Tom.'

i.e. here are two men in similar roles - Deputy and guardsman - both portly with ginger facial hair that has been given a name.

Maybe a separate discussion, but I'm wondering about what default descriptions and associations we make as writers without being aware of it. And whether or not it might actually be better to do so, because it smooths the reading flow for readers who may have similar defaults, rather than try to do something different just for the sake of it.

Well spotted, Terry. I've not thought of naming my character's whiskers before. Perhaps the authors have picked up on something not commonly known and now I'm wondering if all ginger haired folk name their whiskers. Kind of like a secret club.

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But perhaps they can only enter said club and name their whiskers when their waistline exceeds 40 inches.