Mum and Tyler were having one of those generation bonding moments in front of the tv. Tyler was pointing at the screen, then clapping.
"Gerr-cat! Gerr-cat!"
Well, nearly. It was a tiger. And jaguars are also gerr-cats, apparently.
Wednesday 27 August 2008
Tuesday 26 August 2008
Why Pesky Critters?
After the previous entry, I had visited Scott's once more.
Holly had managed to lose another collar, complete with magnetic catch for the catflap. I think she's selling them on eBay, and sent Scott a message to warn him about the guitars. After I had sorted Madam out with a meal and replacement collar, I went off to sort out my gang.
Who had been beautifully behaved.
Until one of them left a dead sparrow in the sink, suppertime Monday.
Sorry kids, but sparrows are like mousies - outside fare.
Holly had managed to lose another collar, complete with magnetic catch for the catflap. I think she's selling them on eBay, and sent Scott a message to warn him about the guitars. After I had sorted Madam out with a meal and replacement collar, I went off to sort out my gang.
Who had been beautifully behaved.
Until one of them left a dead sparrow in the sink, suppertime Monday.
Sorry kids, but sparrows are like mousies - outside fare.
Wednesday 20 August 2008
Cat-sitting
This has taken on a new dimension, since Scott bought a timed feeder.
Yesterday I nipped round. Holly was being her usual fantastic feline self. She seemed a bit taken aback to see me, but showed me the wonderful cardboard box collection (used to hold camping equipment you know! Amazing! Good corrugated cardboard but not claw-proof - bargain!) and did the wonderful hostess bit. The timed feeder was open, so I couldn't play the feeding time card. I could still play sweet wrapper Subbuteo, so she decided I was still fair value.
Alas, Rumpole had unfinished business. The last time I saw Rumpole was the day I collected Scott for the Cambridge trip. So he packed a bag, and Feeder on Speed-dial arrived. Then FOSD buggered off as well.
Now Rumpole is normally a generous purry soul, but last night I copped for the fallout.
Still, I have most of my fingers, so it's not all bad news.
Yesterday I nipped round. Holly was being her usual fantastic feline self. She seemed a bit taken aback to see me, but showed me the wonderful cardboard box collection (used to hold camping equipment you know! Amazing! Good corrugated cardboard but not claw-proof - bargain!) and did the wonderful hostess bit. The timed feeder was open, so I couldn't play the feeding time card. I could still play sweet wrapper Subbuteo, so she decided I was still fair value.
Alas, Rumpole had unfinished business. The last time I saw Rumpole was the day I collected Scott for the Cambridge trip. So he packed a bag, and Feeder on Speed-dial arrived. Then FOSD buggered off as well.
Now Rumpole is normally a generous purry soul, but last night I copped for the fallout.
Still, I have most of my fingers, so it's not all bad news.
Monday 18 August 2008
Well, they asked...
did Walkers Crisps, for new flavour ideas.
At Hannah's 30th on Saturday, Julan took a black pen and rose to the challenge. 40-odd ideas later, one caught our eye - Semen and Strawberry.
PJK: "Don't think they'll catch on."
DS: "Well, strawberries are popular."
??: "To some people, that is the real taste of summer..."
And a prize to anyone who can guess which member of the MNG made that remark :)
*Clue 1 - not PJK or me. I would have owned up to it!
*Clue 2 - not Hannah. See above.
At Hannah's 30th on Saturday, Julan took a black pen and rose to the challenge. 40-odd ideas later, one caught our eye - Semen and Strawberry.
PJK: "Don't think they'll catch on."
DS: "Well, strawberries are popular."
??: "To some people, that is the real taste of summer..."
And a prize to anyone who can guess which member of the MNG made that remark :)
*Clue 1 - not PJK or me. I would have owned up to it!
*Clue 2 - not Hannah. See above.
Thursday 14 August 2008
More Cambridge
Well, the journey down was uneventful, due to leaving at 10am and missing the rush hour. It meant that we arrived in Cambridge after the AA had put the signs out! I have been there early enough for there to be one sad sign from the motorway, then it was guesswork, tears and tantrums all the way.
We managed to set up near the duckpond (there were a few nearer spots, but they were a bit too near the toilets/teenagers hangout zone to be worth it) and ended up near some good musicians. There are loads of enthusiastically bad ones, and it seems mean to criticise! But this lot were fine.
Campsite Security, Duckpond end.
That sorted, and down to the serious business of bands and beer with Iain and Ariel.
The little girl in this photo is Hayley, who has a thing about pretending to be a lion. She is attempting to give Iain a bit of a mauling.
The problem with trying to take pics of bands at Cambridge, if you are enjoying yourself then you don't want to bother with pictures much. But Jonny Crescendo was back; and here's the photo of the dalek and the blues recordings, mentioned in the earlier post.
And of course I had to get a picture of the wonderful Allen Toussaint!
It was a tough call but the best act of the festival was Richard Hawley. Last minute replacement for John Hiatt, clearly nervous, he stole the show.
The cat is the Reservoir Mog, Cherry Hinton chapter. He is sulking in this pic. Just about to do some serious claw sharpening on his favourite tree (ie, the one with bunting on!) and some kids scared him off. Hope they were sick for the rest of the festival...
And as usual, there were assorted nutters running around in fancy dress, doing theatre things. Apologies to the PE teachers and the Flowerpot men, I didn't get them on camera
And finally, was it just me? Or can anyone else see a Chinese dragon chasing a ball, in this cloud formation?
We managed to set up near the duckpond (there were a few nearer spots, but they were a bit too near the toilets/teenagers hangout zone to be worth it) and ended up near some good musicians. There are loads of enthusiastically bad ones, and it seems mean to criticise! But this lot were fine.
Campsite Security, Duckpond end.
That sorted, and down to the serious business of bands and beer with Iain and Ariel.
The little girl in this photo is Hayley, who has a thing about pretending to be a lion. She is attempting to give Iain a bit of a mauling.The problem with trying to take pics of bands at Cambridge, if you are enjoying yourself then you don't want to bother with pictures much. But Jonny Crescendo was back; and here's the photo of the dalek and the blues recordings, mentioned in the earlier post.
And of course I had to get a picture of the wonderful Allen Toussaint!
It was a tough call but the best act of the festival was Richard Hawley. Last minute replacement for John Hiatt, clearly nervous, he stole the show.
The cat is the Reservoir Mog, Cherry Hinton chapter. He is sulking in this pic. Just about to do some serious claw sharpening on his favourite tree (ie, the one with bunting on!) and some kids scared him off. Hope they were sick for the rest of the festival...
And as usual, there were assorted nutters running around in fancy dress, doing theatre things. Apologies to the PE teachers and the Flowerpot men, I didn't get them on camera
And finally, was it just me? Or can anyone else see a Chinese dragon chasing a ball, in this cloud formation?
Monday 11 August 2008
The Cambridge Baby
This is the little film the Beeb made about Cameron.
The Cambridge Baby
I've known his mum for more years than either of us would care to admit. She was the one who dragged me to my first Cambridge Folk Festival some (ahemm-um) years ago.
But I would like to correct a few points. One, it is Sooze, not Sue. They got it right in the web address but not the text. In past years, such a mistake would have earned a well-aimed slap, later replaced by her best pissed-off-teacher look. And two, a quick glance suggests that it is traditional for Sooze to give birth at festivals!
The little soul selling off the birthday cake is Anya, Cameron's sister. And much prettier than the camera-up-the-nose views would have you believe.
The Cambridge Baby
I've known his mum for more years than either of us would care to admit. She was the one who dragged me to my first Cambridge Folk Festival some (ahemm-um) years ago.
But I would like to correct a few points. One, it is Sooze, not Sue. They got it right in the web address but not the text. In past years, such a mistake would have earned a well-aimed slap, later replaced by her best pissed-off-teacher look. And two, a quick glance suggests that it is traditional for Sooze to give birth at festivals!
The little soul selling off the birthday cake is Anya, Cameron's sister. And much prettier than the camera-up-the-nose views would have you believe.
Friday 8 August 2008
More lazy Cambridge posting
One of the best bits of Cambridge each year is the chance to see Johnny Crescendo again.
Now he's gone all tekkie, with Myspace and a Facebook page and everything.
Still at his funniest when pretending to be a Dalek, or climbing into a guitar case, to prove a point about old blues recordings.
And next year we might get the return of the JC BBQ...
Now he's gone all tekkie, with Myspace and a Facebook page and everything.
Still at his funniest when pretending to be a Dalek, or climbing into a guitar case, to prove a point about old blues recordings.
And next year we might get the return of the JC BBQ...
Tuesday 5 August 2008
I *heart* Proper Records!
I thought I had managed to grow out of my ultimate shopper phase. So when I went to check out the CD tent at Cambridge, it was more to enjoy the nice artwork, rather than spend the overdraft.
But then I found the DVD of "Hot As A Pistol, Keen As A Blade", Allen Toussaint and Elvis Costello at the Montreal Jazz Festival. Same set list as the brilliant Malaga Este gig :)
Happy, happy me!
I'll do a bit more on the Festival, but I just need to play 'Yes We Can Can' a few more times, then 'Monkey to Man', and 'Clubland' and....
I'll get it written before next year's Festival (hopefully).
But then I found the DVD of "Hot As A Pistol, Keen As A Blade", Allen Toussaint and Elvis Costello at the Montreal Jazz Festival. Same set list as the brilliant Malaga Este gig :)
Happy, happy me!
I'll do a bit more on the Festival, but I just need to play 'Yes We Can Can' a few more times, then 'Monkey to Man', and 'Clubland' and....
I'll get it written before next year's Festival (hopefully).
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