Playing with Toys

An afternoon of opera on a huge screen in an intimate cinema made yesterday very special, but how come none of us noticed that Act 2 was missing in its entirety? It's a work I know very well indeed, but so swept up was I in the blissful music that it wasn't until a very bloodied Banquo took his bows at the end that I realised I hadn't seen him being killed. And then in the flurry of tea and biscuits and chit chat, and trying to compose myself after a very emotional journey, I promptly forgot to ask if anyone else had noticed Banquo's grizzly demise. How the organisers worked it out I don't know, unless they rushed through the whole tragedy later on a computer. And so that left me with no choice but to play the entire thing through when I got home, something I probably would have done 24 hours later anyway. I've been given the job of making suggestions for future screenings. Could there be anything more delicious?

Hugo may not have been allowed to run free in the fields, but he's made up for it in the garden. I wish I could describe his mad antics when he gets onto the lawn and I say, "Go on Hugo!". He's like a very small, gleaming horse being broken in on the end of a lunge rope, prancing, kicking up his heels, tossing his head, whirling his body from side to side, and all at great speed. My laughter only urges him on to ever more outrageous behaviour, and when I find the battered, torn miniature rugby ball whose squeak used to delight him, and toss it across the grass, he charges around with that in his mouth, tail batting wildly. Those dancing heels cover every inch of the lawn, the proof being visible in the state of it now. Clumps of dead growth are hurled around, and there are holes everywhere. Could I have imagined that I would tolerate anyone making such a mess of my garden? No I could not, but Hugo would charm the hare to share his dinner (no he wouldn't).

Someone else who is charmed by the boy is Roger who has painted his portrait. It's an excellent likeness, taken from a Christmas card I made for him and Penny starring a photo of Hugo on the front page. He was very pleased with the result, and I was very impressed. Can the little chap have any idea of just how many people love him? He's folded up beside me at the moment, more like a small furry mole than a long sinuous pony. He's zonked after his antics, but it's such a thrill to finally be able to play with him properly, and know that he's having a ball.