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essayelIt's been a long but good week.
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metallumai arrived nice and early last Saturday and we had a good time together just chatting and eating and loafing and going to see stuff. Having the very rare opportunity to talk to someone about writing - someone who doesn't say "you spend your time doing WHAT?" - is a joy and a relief. One of her 'emergency back-up' kids paid a visit too and that was fun. We've sort of tentatively agreed that since she's been here 3 times now maybe I ought to hop the pond next time, so I'd better start saving.
One of the things we went to see was Gwent Young People's Theatre's performance of 'Wind in the Willows' which is reviewed here.
They are always worth seeing but my main reason for going was that Jen was in it playing a rabbit, then a fox 'with a conscience' dressed in hunting pinks. It was huge fun and as always, the kids put their all into it.
The sub-text which is always there - older experienced fellow takes young, inexperienced fellow under his wing, they become inseparable, young one learns lots of useful lessons and makes his mentor proud - was highlighted in lots of ways, especially by Badger making a rather arch and predatory bid for taking over as Mole's mentor. They turned it into a useful plot device because Mole's defection to Badger left poor Ratty jealously bereft and consequently easier for Toad to fool. There were all the usual escapes and alarums, the campest engine driver ever in a mauve chiffon scarf, and at the end Mole and Ratty agreed that being kissed by the jailers daughter wasn't entirely unpleasant but it wouldn't be Badger's thing at ALL. Who knew that a nursery classic could be made so slashy with so little effort?
Watching kittens play is so good for the spirits. Tabiti worried us for a while by refusing to eat but it turns out she was picky. Now she is eating properly she is playing with Elin - who we have seriously considered rechristening Gothmog partly due to colour and partly due to attitude. They skid around on the parquet floor, dash up and downstairs and clamber onto any available surface. Yesterday Elin ran up the curtains after a moth. Feeding time, not frequent enough accroding to their wails, is fraught with danger because they are inclined to climb up your legs if the surface is one they can't jump onto. Yesterday they spent most of the afternoon asleep in the dog's pen, while the poor dog looked on in bemusement. They also ambush his tail when he swings it. However, thank God, the three of them seem to get on fairly well and I had all three, or elements of all three, in my lap this morning.
I'm enjoying being a cat owner again, and I'm looking forward to when the kitten stuff, delightful though it is, is over and we have grown up stately felines about the place.
Oh, bees! Bumblebees to be specific. Not a good idea to get one up your sleeve. They have extremely uncomfortable ways of expressing their displeasure and, unlike honeybees, have a nice straight stinger that they can use more than once. OW so be warned unless you want a thick ouchy/itchy red arm too.
The only downside to being busy is that the net gets neglected but everything seems to be doing well without my attention so I feel little or no guilt.
Almost one pm so time to walk dog - can't have my poor BIG baby feeling neglected!
metallumai arrived nice and early last Saturday and we had a good time together just chatting and eating and loafing and going to see stuff. Having the very rare opportunity to talk to someone about writing - someone who doesn't say "you spend your time doing WHAT?" - is a joy and a relief. One of her 'emergency back-up' kids paid a visit too and that was fun. We've sort of tentatively agreed that since she's been here 3 times now maybe I ought to hop the pond next time, so I'd better start saving. One of the things we went to see was Gwent Young People's Theatre's performance of 'Wind in the Willows' which is reviewed here.
They are always worth seeing but my main reason for going was that Jen was in it playing a rabbit, then a fox 'with a conscience' dressed in hunting pinks. It was huge fun and as always, the kids put their all into it.
The sub-text which is always there - older experienced fellow takes young, inexperienced fellow under his wing, they become inseparable, young one learns lots of useful lessons and makes his mentor proud - was highlighted in lots of ways, especially by Badger making a rather arch and predatory bid for taking over as Mole's mentor. They turned it into a useful plot device because Mole's defection to Badger left poor Ratty jealously bereft and consequently easier for Toad to fool. There were all the usual escapes and alarums, the campest engine driver ever in a mauve chiffon scarf, and at the end Mole and Ratty agreed that being kissed by the jailers daughter wasn't entirely unpleasant but it wouldn't be Badger's thing at ALL. Who knew that a nursery classic could be made so slashy with so little effort?
Watching kittens play is so good for the spirits. Tabiti worried us for a while by refusing to eat but it turns out she was picky. Now she is eating properly she is playing with Elin - who we have seriously considered rechristening Gothmog partly due to colour and partly due to attitude. They skid around on the parquet floor, dash up and downstairs and clamber onto any available surface. Yesterday Elin ran up the curtains after a moth. Feeding time, not frequent enough accroding to their wails, is fraught with danger because they are inclined to climb up your legs if the surface is one they can't jump onto. Yesterday they spent most of the afternoon asleep in the dog's pen, while the poor dog looked on in bemusement. They also ambush his tail when he swings it. However, thank God, the three of them seem to get on fairly well and I had all three, or elements of all three, in my lap this morning.
I'm enjoying being a cat owner again, and I'm looking forward to when the kitten stuff, delightful though it is, is over and we have grown up stately felines about the place.
Oh, bees! Bumblebees to be specific. Not a good idea to get one up your sleeve. They have extremely uncomfortable ways of expressing their displeasure and, unlike honeybees, have a nice straight stinger that they can use more than once. OW so be warned unless you want a thick ouchy/itchy red arm too.
The only downside to being busy is that the net gets neglected but everything seems to be doing well without my attention so I feel little or no guilt.
Almost one pm so time to walk dog - can't have my poor BIG baby feeling neglected!