Happy birthday Prince Charles...we're going to meet your Dad next week, so I'll check that he gave you a nice pressie.
Commiserations to JFK who fifty years ago had his brains blown out. I'd like to say I know where I was when the deed happened, but truth be told, my memory as a two year old is not what it should have been.
A decade or so, someone I knew from a few skiing holidays asked if I would look after a grandfather clock she and her husband had inherited. They didn't have ceilings high enough in their home. It has stood stopped in the 'library' ever since gathering dust. In the intervening period, we have lost touch and with me changing mobile phones so often I lost anyway of contacting them. Until a month ago, there was a message left on my phone saying 'hi', how was I, and how was the clock. She wanted to talk about the clock so would call me back. I rang her back, but it went to voicemail. Nothing since. Except, The Cat's Mother now thinks we're being taken advantage of, and wants to chuck the damn thing out. She may have a point. But I quite like it.
The Boy returned from his skiing adventure yesterday. Ski Instructing Certificate clasped firmly in hand. It was just fabulous to have him back, even though he was talking ten to the dozen, and obviously he entire contents of his kit bag are spread all over the kitchen floor. From what we can gather, he had the most fantastic adventure, met some love, lovely people, improved his skiing, improved his German, and most importantly improved his confidence. It's a shame he will be heading away again, but that's what happens when they grow up isn't it? Who would be a parent?
I have a small collection of snow globes. I like to think of them as works of art (indeed one of them did come from Tate Modern and another from the Whitechapel Gallery) and none of them are of the jolly, chintzy variety that adorn souvenir shops and christmas departments. We also have some christmas snow globes, and they will no doubt be making an appearance soon. I like the idea of a little world encapsulated in a bubble of glass, and find them quite intriguing. So much so that I decided I would like to make my own. My own little snowy world created just by me, for me. You can buy kits...in fact I found one eventually in the USA. Now putting aside the fact that ParcelForce received it from our American cousins some fortnight ago, and then didn't bother to deliver it, my one issue is the cost. The kit itself was not too expensive really...well $50, so a small indulgence. But then the postage was double that. And then I had to pay £16.22 customs duty. This is already the most precious snow globe in the world, and I've not even started to create it yet.
