This thread opened up a can of worms, or so it seems, and I have to admit that I've seen this kind of post before on other social media. A friend of mine goes on and on about Okra in a context that confuses folks - until they find that Okra is his 1 1/2 year old English Mastiff. For those who don't realize it, okra (the vegetable) has special meaning in south Louisiana due to its contributions to cooking in gumbo and other types of stews. So it is not as rare a name for a pet as one might think.
But the point I want to make is that if someone wants to prattle on about their pet using verbal shorthand and then expect us to swoon with amazement, there is a problem beforehand. To then comment that you don't understand the shorthand isn't actually an impolite post. To be honest, if I hadn't been a bit busy for the last couple of days writing up a special report for my "day job" I might well have inquired about that myself. So I can't fault Colin for asking for clarification.
Anyone who has been here long enough knows that Colin can be UK-centric, but that is OK. (After all, I'm a bit USA-centric sometimes.) Colin can be abrupt, but then the comments by AccessBlaster were a lot worse. In this thread and in burrina's other thread about leaving the forum, Colin is being blasted unfairly. When he deserves it, fine. Blast away. But this time, burrina is the one who made a mountain out of a molehill. AccessBlaster didn't help.