Nature red in tooth and claw

Yesterday did not get off to a particularly auspicious start. I wandered into the scullery to feed the cats and stepped on something repellent that turned out to be the innards of some unfortunate bird before looking up to see a trail of cat vomit leading from Biddy’s basket down the side of the tumble dryer and onto the floor where it terminated in the dog’s bowl. Lovely.

Four lots of washing and a walk later (a cat basket wash, a rug wash, a white wash and a general bits and bobs wash) I was able to sit down and enjoy the day as it gradually brightened outside. I read my book – a satisfyingly bloody Conan novella – and burnt bits of wood lopped down from the elderberry bushes overhanging our fence in the chiminea which seemed to satisfy my primitive barbarian urges. I came inside to play a bit of Animal Crossing and played host to Leighbob from Waterloo for a while before settling down to watch Doctor Who.

By golly and by gosh, that was a cracking episode. A classic base under siege, with some sharp story writing, excellent fight scenes, a super scary monster, some witty dialogue and foreshadowing for the Torchwood spin off series, and best of all, a gun toting Queen Victoria. We are most definitely amused. I can imagine lots of tinies having nightmares about it though, and even Jamie who acted all nonchalant when the programme was on and refused to hide behind the sofa, showed a marked reluctance to go up the stairs to bed on his own. Demons and scary headmasters next week!

I’ve started reading Andrew Collings’ excellent memoir of a happy childhood in the provincial England of the 1970s, and I noticed an odd coincidence. Anita Barker, who was responsible for one the minor traumas of his childhood by pointing out that he was still riding a bike with stabilisers, later moved to Luton and went to the same school as me for a couple of years. Small world, innit.

What else? I’ve just had a nice cup of tea, a chocolate truffle mini egg, the sun is shining, the fountain is tinkling outside the patio doors and Richard Herrings is on the wireless.

Life is sweet.