Birds and prize-winning poems

Had a really lovely time at Liz's Last Night of the Proms' party last night - it was great. And memorably lovely too as I happened to mention that I now have all my old record collection (as rediscovered in a cupboard by Mother), but no record player to play them on - and Liz then said that she had two and was planning to get rid of one of them, so I might as well have it. Goodness me, but people can be soooo nice sometimes!! Thanks, Liz - I really appreciate it - and it works too, as we tried it out as soon as we got home. Hurrah! The only problem is that I'm not sure Lord H is all that keen on The Tom Robinson Band, Abba, Fleetwood Mac or Steve Forbert. Bloody hell but that dates me!...

Today, we have spent the day at Titchfield Nature Reserve in Hampshire - and managed to see a green sandpiper, two wheatears, a kestrel, a jay, a shoveler (wonderful beaks!) and a million and one geese, coots, ducks, moorhens etc etc. It was all jolly nice - except that it did take the cafe 40 minutes (40!!! What were they doing? Growing the ruddy vegetables??) to serve us cauliflower cheese & leeks. Sigh ...

Getting home, I discover that I've won third prize in the Writers' News Space Travel poetry competition with my poem, Beyond the Stars. Hurrah! But obviously my warp drive wasn't quite up to gaining first or second prize then. Hmm, must send Scottie down into the engine room again ...

Tonight, Lord H and I are planning to catch up on our video of this week's "Mock the Week", and also maybe a "Lewis" DVD. We'll see.

And thank goodness the McCanns are back home once more. Where they should be really, rather than stretching hope to way way beyond its snapping point in foreign climes. Here's hoping they can now grieve in private, get on with the rest of their lives, and ... um ... in a way that we don't have to read about it. God preserve us from next year's book, Me and Madeleine by Kate McCann - please!!!!! Though if that does happen, remember you heard it here first ... Dammit, if anyone actually buys it, we will have to shoot them. And the ruddy publishers too. For the sake of civilisation and decent folk. Harrumph indeed.

This week's haiku:

This month's "Birding" mag:
spoonbill with a bad hair day.
I know how it feels.


Today's nice things:

1. Getting a record player as a gift
2. Birds
3. Winning third prize in a poetry competition.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website