If you’ve no idea what the title of this post is referring to then obviously you do not play cribbage. But you might be able to work it out. I get two for a pair as well. No, I am not playing solitaire — the wife has just slipped away for a moment. She won this particular game, 3-2 (we know each other’s strategies so well now that basically it all comes down to the luck of the deal — that’s my excuse anyway).
If I feel like reconnecting with nature I don’t have to go far. Over the road, into the woods and up to the old millpond usually is enough. There was a time a few years ago when this looked like it was drying up entirely, but its lower parts now seem to be developing into a natural swamp, and quite attractively.
Attending a ‘Names Festival’, along with a grand total of fourteen other people, seemed a hassle-free way of bringing the working week to a close. These are all names, of the four others sat at my table: three in Chinese and one in Bengali. It was suggested I add my own name, but we just have that boring old single script to work with and it was written out on my name badge anyway so I kept myself an invisible presence, at least in terms of this particular, ephemeral document.
It’s time these went into the garden, to be honest, but in the last few days the rain has come down and grubbing around in dirt is less appealing. A few days ago I noted there was not going to be much variety on here for a while, and so it has proven; a sixth post in the last seven from Hebden Bridge, and the third to have been taken in or from the house. You can tell it’s our place because of the grubby windows: and apparently they were cleaned on Monday.
This is a self-portrait — logically I will be on it somewhere, and you may discern me under the red umbrella nearest to this shiny ball thing. I’m in the garden early — but then again I started work early (7:45) and sat upstairs marking for several hours. Semester 2 is now officially done, though, as far as I am concerned.
Actually, now I make this full-size I see the sticket is very difficult to read, but hey, this one was always more about the art than the aspiration. It says “Challenge Accepted”, by the way. The challenge we have at the moment is persuading the students (who as postgraduates are supposed to still be cranking it out) to stick around on campus, though at least these two have made it.
I have been lookig at this object for a couple of days now and remain mystified as to its exact function, or just why the present owner feels that others may be thinking, “ah yes, that’s just the kind of big blue contraption, with a wheel, that I need in my front room” and thereby be willing to buy it, for an undisclosed price. While he declares his possible frustration at this, a shadowy figure looks on and may or may not have busted the photographer at this point. So goes the latest tableau.
The automatic waving cats in the window of the local Asian food store all seemed to be raising the fist in unison this afternoon. At some point in the far future, archaeologists (if such a profession remains by then) may well dig some of these up and ponder on their use in idolatry or some other kind of religious context. But, no, they are just pointless tat, although endearing enough. Maybe the same is true of those similar cat statues dug up from Egypt or wherever. Only the original owners know…
This being the first Saturday since 7th February (when I was working in Dubai) that I did not have a football match to go to, I needed other entertainments. Not that I joined in with whatever these two were up to. My lifetime’s participation in the sport of angling (if sport it is) lasted about two hours, when I was about fourteen years old. I’ve spent more time potholing, in fact (about three hours in 1991): which also involved wading around in undesirably cold water for most of the time.
Being 42 