A Day of Loss and Celebrity

Before I start....there is going to not be one word about the events across The Pond. I'll keep this as a breathing space for silliness and light relief for people today methinks.

Yesterday the bunting was out and the flag was hoisted high for I had a day off.  Huzzah! This fellow meanwhile was just off.

Humphrey had got wind of the fact that it was the day of the Annual Visit to the Vet for his jabs. Thankfully we had blocked off all his escape routes [it 's amazing how such a portly soul can squeeze into such a tiny space!] so his stout little legs didn't get him far before we caught up with him and incarcerated him in the Box Of Doom. I literally live two minutes away from the vet, yet he wailed like a banshee the whole time. Such a big girl's blouse.

Now I'm not a great fan of these little trips really. I mentally prepared myself for another gentle ticking off about him having gained yet more weight. I had my script and defence prepared.."yes he only has the recommended dose of the diet food twice a day, but he also regularly indulges in an overnight snack of petit-furs which I can't monitor." I don't mention that he's on occasion he's been fed twice...he always scarfes down his food immediately and is happy to tell you that he's not been fed a single morsel an hour later. I only knew he'd eaten on Saturday when I came in because the teenogre had left a note saying "fed" next to his bowl! Amazingly though he has lost weight....he has been frantically searching for it since we got home!

I meanwhile have been moving in the upper echelons of society....I met the Queen yesterday....she was working outside a local cafe. Times must be hard!

'Tis a thing of great beauty I'm sure you'll agree. Made me smile though and crikey we need it more now than ever!

Arilx

Hooked on books.

"Books may well be the only true magic."
Alice Hoffman

Hands up....books are one of my greatest pleasures in life. I actually get quite twitchy if I finish one and haven't already got the next tome lined up. Not that that's a problem at the moment for I have the fastest Amazon finger in the nation....the second hand market place could easily become my second home. Oh those treasures to behold and all for one small shiny penny.....

GBT is a small castle without much in the way of storage space. Not being a lover of clutter either I am fairly disciplined about my book buying. All fiction flies out of the door again as soon as it is read and non fiction by and large is borrowed from the library. There is much joy in the sharing and lending of books to friends and family though I find. Despite all this I am delighted to report though that books continue to find me.....

These are the latest ones. The greenman one was a present from an online forum friend who I've never met, chum E gave me the middle one as a late birthday pressie and the Trollope Aga Saga came via my chum FourPooch S when we had supper with her at the weekend. So obviously I have nothing to read.....that doesn't explain then why I was to be found snouting around the library on Saturday morning then when I found the above quote on one of the shelves. Predictably I couldn't resist bringing another two books home with me....I know, I know!!

Arilx

The Prayer of the Tree

On a cold winter's night

I am the heat of your hearth. 

I am the friendly shape

That screens you from the summer sun.

My fruits are refreshing draughts

Quenching your thirst as you journey on.

I am the beam that holds your house

The board for your table

The timber that builds your boats.

I am the handle of your hoe

The door of your homestead

The wood of your cradle

The shelf of your last resting place.

I am the gift of God

And the friend of Man.

You who pass by listen to my prayer.

Harm me not.

Harm me not.

Anon

Arilx

Simple Things....

Supposedly simple things please simple minds. I am disproportionately proud of my achievement of getting the apple peel off in one go....here's the proof.....

A similar rush was achieved by my successful mission to get to the crust of the baguette yesterday as well. Yes I know I should share....on occasion I do. However, it's all out warfare here for the honour....all manner of dirty tricks are employed to claim it for yourself. Yesterday I won!

Hmmm I think the old adage perhaps could have been written about me....;-)

Arilx

The Fantastical Beasts of Winkworth

If you look very carefully there's always magic to behold......

Fairies at the bottom of the garden...their homes are there for those who see....

And fantastical beasts masquerading as tree branches.....

Magic can take many forms...its interpretation is down to the one who perceives. Some days it may be delights such as these....some days it may be the plant valiantly flowering in a crack in the pavement. Look for the sparkles and you will find them.

Arilx

Autumn Tints

Now belonging to the National Trust, Winkworth Arboretum was originally planned and planted as a garden which would come into its own in the Autumn. I hope its original owner, Dr Fox, would have been pleased with the results of his vision which he would have known he would never live to see.

The palette was enhanced even more by all the berries. These are the pink and white variants of the Mountain Ash which I've never encountered before.

Taken together it made for a stunning vista, as my friend E and I explored the grounds.

Arilx

Abracadabra!

Yes another birthday treat...my parents very kindly paid for us all to attend a live show at the head quarters of the Magic Circle in London.

Now many of us who grew up in the 1970s will have been fed a diet of Saturday night TV with more than its fair share of magicians. There was a lot in the way of light entertainment on offer back then and with only the three channels to watch not a great deal of choice. I've always enjoyed the spectacle of it all...the amazement and the smoke and mirrors used to create the illusion.

Magic has been performed since the time of the Egyptians....indeed the conjuring balls and cups is a trick still very much with us today. The word itself is derived from the Greek "mageia" meaning ritual and the oh so familiar "abracadabra" once appeared on amulets as a protective charm against dangerous and life threatening diseases.

The show itself consists of a series of close up performances. Once or twice I was able to work out how the magician had completed the trick [sitting in the front row with a sideways view helped], but most of the time I was completely foxed and spellbound. There seemed to be a lot of additional movement with the hands which I felt was designed to distract and confuse the brain of the observer. The second half was stage magic performed in the theatre...again equally impressive.

I don't want to give too much away as I don't want to spoil it for others suffice it to say that it was a chance to do something completely different. The whole evening was very special.

Arilx