No one seems to be sure what the derivation of the old English saying, “It warms the cockles of my heart”, might be, but it is a useful little phrase. Here is something that both Kevin and I found truly cockle-warming. It is a, “Hey, I found out that I can actually vote in the Hugos” post. Thanks Renay!
By the way, now that I’m allowed to help out with the Hugos again, I have taken the opportunity to update the website to a more recent version of WordPress and install a more modern theme. It’s not perfect, but it will do for now. I guess if the world really does end on Friday this will be taken as proof of how I have Destroyed Fandom. 😉
“It warms the cockles of my heart” describes the heart with a reference to the heart-shaped cockle shell; it’s plural because the two halves (bivalves) of the shell make up the heart shape (e.g. http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Empty-cockle-shell.jpg). It’s like saying “the thought rattled around in the cookie jar of my head” or “the sound echoed in the saucer of my ear” except that it’s become a standard idiom.
Yeah, but there’s no proof that’s where it comes from. And I’ve also seen people say it is a mis-hearing of something in Latin.
chocleae cordis, a latin term for the ventricles of the heart.
BTW, I’m very very happy that you can work on the site again, and even more so that you were willing to come back!
Well, you know, I just think of how much it annoys certain people that folk like Renay can find out about the Hugos and get involved. Sometimes work is its own reward.
Really, thank YOU! Most of what I’ve learned about the Hugos has been from you and it’s been super informative and I greatly appreciate it. 🙂