Introduction
Introduction
Why did I chose the name of Whiffler as an identity on the internet? Several factors from the past and present have influenced this choice.
First, being born in Norfolk I was vaguely aware of some local significance of this name. A pub in the area of Norwich I lived in was named The Whiffler (and still is) and I believe I recollect reading a column in the local newspaper, The Eastern Evening News, by someone who used this name for a regular column. The actual historical link is to someone who performed certain duties at civic ceremonies.
Next; when I had to provide a user-name for any internet service in the early days of the web I simply used my own name, but, as many find, this is now virtually impossible without adding a number, something I do not like doing - reading George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" at an early age probably has something to do with this dislike!
A few years ago I was confronted with this dilemma when wishing to join an on-line forum and the name of Whiffler came to mind - certainly one of the dictionary descriptions of whiffle seemed very appropriate to anything I was likely to contribute. From that point on I found that I had gained an alternate identity.
By the time I signed up for some internet services more recently, even the Whiffler's name had already been taken and so, as I was going write in proposed websites mainly about the world in which Whiffler had lived, WhifflersWorld was the natural choice.
But things come round in serendipitous circles. By the time I came to start compiling some of these whiffles I was back living in Norfolk, more specifically the North-West of that county, where each winter large flocks of Pink-Footed Geese take up residence and can be seen each day flying between The Wash and farmland where they feed, many flying directly over the bungalow in which I reside. And what do these geese do as they return to land? They whiffle! I had returned to a whifflers' world.
----o----
To help explain (or possibly confuse) some of the above, and some of the other contents of this website which follow, see below:-
This is the (far from comprehensive) encyclopaedia of WhifflersWorld.
Although mostly derived from other reputable sources, no sources are quoted here as that would only serve to clarify which definitions have a sound basis and which have been mischievously created. But as a general warning, please bear in mind the words of wisdom imparted to the world by Led Zeplin in their song "Stairway to Heaven" that - "words may have more than one meaning" - it's up to the reader to decide which definition to accept - if any.
whiffle
1. to blow in light or shifting gusts or puffs, as the wind; veer or toss about irregularly
2. to shift about; vacillate; be fickle
3. to whistle lightly
4. something light or insignificant
5. to waffle, talk aimlessly
6. to travel quickly, whiz, whistle, with an accompanying wind-like sound
7. fast side-slipping first one way and then the other (ornithological)
8. to think or behave in an erratic or unpredictable way
whiffler
1. a person who frequently shifts opinions, attitudes, interests, etc.
2. a person who is vacillating or evasive in an argument
3. an attendant who clears the way for a procession (historical)
Whiffler
1. an occasional pseudonym used by a retired gentleman living in West Norfolk
2. a public house on the northern outskirts of Norwich in the County of Norfolk (pub-history)
WhifflersWalks
walks undertaken by a whiffler
a website providing information on walking routes in West Norfolk including; OSM maps, GPX track files and guidance on how the routes can be viewed on Ordnance Survey Maps
whiffling
1. present participle of whiffle
2. a term used in ornithology, describing the action of descending rapidly from a height once the decision to land has been made, involving fast side-slipping first one way and then the other. The term is usually applied to geese (family Anatidae), whose flocks whiffle spectacularly, especially when wishing to avoid a long, slow descent over an area where wildfowling is practised (e.g. Norfolk)
3. the method of travel of the Jabberwock when traversing tulgey woods