Mules and Other Animals

I was languishing on the sofa in the garden room, half asleep and still feeling unwell, when a sudden great noise filled the room and I came to with a start and fancied I was in Syria about to be blasted to kingdom come. I glanced quickly to my left and through the window could see two sets of Red Arrows flying in perfect formation over the fields. It was such a beautiful sight, so unexpected and thrilling. I wanted to ring my friend nine miles down the lanes in the direction they were flying and say "Outside, fast, Red Arrows," but I trust she'll have heard them anyway. In the wake of the terrible disaster at Shoreham, a stretch of road I know well and an air show I've been to more than once, it's tempting to hate these display aircraft, but there's something about their might and power, as well as a hint of danger attached to their antics, that is compelling.

I must have dozed again because I was aware of intense heat on my legs, and when I opened my eyes the sun was flooding into the room where not an hour previously there had been a downpour of biblical proportions. The grass is tall enough to hide a few medium-sized zoo animals, but I know I'll regret it if I start mowing now, a job that nearly does for me when I'm 100% fit. The weeds around the pond are shooting up too, but I'm being philosophical about the neglect. It will all get done, one of these days. No sense in sweating about it.

Sammy and I could hardly stop ourselves from laughing out loud the other evening when door positions were being allocated for the Snape performance, and the manager called out "Muff, you can be on the west aisle." Muff? We glanced at each other and quickly looked away again. It could have got even more embarrassing. These old nicknames from childhood can reveal a world of innocence that is completely lacking nowadays. Sammy told me later that she once got a birthday card from work colleagues that said "Muffin the Mule is not illegal", but I still haven't completely worked that one out yet. The nuns would have been proud of me.