Congrats Finkbug.  [Image Can Not Be Found] 

At Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, a transplant team headed by Christiaan Barnard carries out the first heart transplant on a human (53-year-old Louis Washkansky).  (Thanks Wikipedia)

The 5 hour surgery replaced his heart with that from a young woman fatally injured in a car accident.  Washkansky died 18 days later due to a weakened immune system.  Barnard deemed the surgery a success because for those 18 days Washkansky's new heart beat without the aid of machines.

My "ha-ha" guess is idiazabal because it isn't a cheese (could be, just haven't ever heard of it).

My serious guess is ricotta, maybe because it isn't aged.

Thanks Finkbug.  Figures that I'd like something that might be called "leftovers" – ricotta, that is.

On to my latest odd question.  There is a small bit of a hint to the/an answer to this "question" in Finkbug's last paragraph.  This question, and its answer, has nothing to do with cheese except in a tangential way.

Inscription on a memorial statue in the crypt of St. Martin-In-The-Fields, Westminster, London:

In memory of Henry Croft who died January 1st 1930 aged 68 years. The original Pearly King.

Just tell me anything you can think of about those folks in the photo, and their costumes – or Henry Croft, if you've ever heard of him.  We'll get to the answer in due time.  Another hint:  Croft was neither a politician nor an entertainer.  And he certainly wasn't a toff.

Oh, fine try, Jarrod.  But alas, not correct.  [Image Can Not Be Found]

Sorry, Armand.  Another excellent guess, but wrong.  The "culture" represented by those costumes post-dates the US Civil War by a few years.  In fact, those folks are Londoners, and their culture arrived on the scene MUCH too late for the English Civil War as well.  [Image Can Not Be Found]

I'm kind of surprised nobody remembered seeing those costumes in the Mary Poppins movie, but then, that movie was released 46 years ago.  Not that the movie has anything to do with my question, or the people in that photo....

Well, Jarrod, in a way they were each their own boss, but many of them toiled at such a lowly level of society that they were often not more than 1 bad day's business away from poverty.  And they weren't organized into any kind of formal union, but:  "...in each Borough elected a 'Coster King' - they were chosen to fight for
their rights - the first form of trade union, if you like."

I can't figure out to whom they would have addressed their fight for rights.

So I guess I'd have to say no to you Jarrod.  But maybe now you will get a better glimmer of the topic.

The men are called Pearly Kings, and the women Pearly Queens.  Although their profession goes back hundreds of years, the "Pearly" culture dates from the 1880's.  Their own secret language, Coster Back-slang, predates Cockney Rhyming Slang. 

So who are they, as in what's their profession, and what's with the elaborate costumes?

A very logical guess, Scout, but incorrect.  They did sew pearlized buttons on their clothing to mimic the more expensive baubles of the upper classes.  But they didn't wear this finery for work, so the "Pearly" outfits are neither uniforms, nor a display of their craft - especially since they weren't craftspeople of any sort.

Game players of some sort - maybe card games?  Looks like a heart and a club on one of their jackets...