Nick Phillipson's mother's family had been Quakers.  His mother herself had lapsed.  But apparently a spinster aunt of his still practised.  Nick remembers going to his aunt's place on set occasions and having to provide his aunt with the "right answers" to her questions.  Not participating was not an option; compliance earned him a package of Mentos. Scotch philosophy and Quaker Oats? I was not quite sure what Nick was driving at when he told me this story.  As a kid growing up in Canada I remember the cheerful, rosy cheeked man with long white hair and a black hat on boxes of Quaker Oats. One never knows about such mythical men, of which there are many.  Ronald McDonald, Captain Highliner, and so on. I imagined Nick as a Quaker, standing in a meeting hall of friends when the spirit moved him.  Too much incongruity.  Whoever I imagined, it definitely wasn't Nick. A collector of sermons I decided to practise my "active listening"...