Thinking space

Spring seems round the corner in Edinburgh this weekend. Sunshine two days in a row, birds singing, the garden less in shadow than before.

The real excitement, however, is being able to see this from our new desk. A friend, O, who’s part of our church small group, came and fitted a very large wooden shelf in our study. I am now able to write this and see out at the same time into our garden, enjoying lots of natural light and space.

Not sure whether the desk will provide necessary thinking space too for both of us, but it’s increasing the chances. No bad thing while I try to finish the essays for my counselling course, and Dan plans the next exciting installment of Inigo: the expansion.

Dan and I are both quite good at writing elsewhere from desks – beds, sofas, even sitting room floors. But having the space to write should help our postures and maybe even help us think more clearly.

I can now see bulbs coming up at the far end of the garden, and the magpies buzzing about finding nesting material. All’s right with the world, for a few precious hours. No bad place to sit. Or think.

Eric raises the profile of counselling on YouTube

It was bound to happen and I’m sure that you can say that Eric is a substitute persona / alter ego for me, but I’ve posted Eric on YouTube just doing some stuff.

It was from Christmas 2005 and in the background you hear my mum talking about Alison about Self Awareness.

Eric is available for public appearances at £100 per event. (We think.  We’re still in negotiations.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSz4N01jzCs

Out with the teapot

Had my mum and dad round today for cups of tea and cake, following going out for lunch with them.

When there’s company, time to get out the Enormous Teapot. This is not related to the Enormous Turnip, although it could probably have its own children’s story about it.

The teapot was a wedding present from our good friends R and D, and the first present we opened on our return from honeymoon.  We laughed and laughed – the teapot can take up to twenty cups of tea.  Perfect for my enjoyment of mass catering.  The teapot still draws admiring glances from new visitors.

This blog is partly a chance to emphasise the joys of tea and cake.  Having a teapot is one thing, having cake to go with it is a bonus.   Today’s was lemon cake, baked by mum as a late birthday cake.

I’m not sure that cake doesn’t deserve a separate blog posting, as a fairly important element, in celebrations, gatherings and the like, as far as I’m concerned.  But for now, enough to say that cake made it an occasion today.

Elephant and Spitfire

I’m sure the title could be the making of a fine pub name, but it’s actually two of the favourite exhibits in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.  We were there around a week ago, spending a day and a night in Glasgow as a pre-birthday treat.

Kelvingrove is a favourite among Glasgow folk – the elephant is one of various preserved animals in the main hall as you enter, with a Spitfire aeroplane hanging above them.  Another key element is Salvador Dali’s Christ of St John of the Cross, viewing Christ on the cross from above. (Though not in the same line-up as the elephant.)

The museum reopened last September, with major refurbishment of the building, and lots more exhibits on display. We have a friend who was involved in some of the overhaul of Kelvingrove, so we had an extra reason for wanting to see what they had done.

So what did we think?  Probably it’s harder to comment when we didn’t know what it was like before. One certainty: it’s certainly popular with the locals.  Admittedly it was a wet Saturday in January, suggesting parents being keen to occupy their weans, but it was packed, and the kids seemed really keen to be there.

We liked: the exhibits on low blocks, so that the kids couldn’t climb on them (we think) but could still get close.  The signage and explanation in each section was great.  There was a nice mix of things about the world – and Glasgow’s take on the world.

There is a skeleton of an ancient Irish giant deer, which has amazing antlers.  Oh yes, and the cafe in the basement is great – lots of light, reasonably priced food.

Don’t take our word for it – have a look for yourselves, or add your own comments if you’ve been for a visit.

Geek week

A lot of the programmes that we’ve been watching over the last year or so are not running at the moment.

In the past, you might: sigh, relive the best bits with a friend, watch them again on video (if you’d recorded them), maybe go out and buy a book related to the series.  (No wonder there are so many Doctor Who novels.)

Nowadays, those who really want to relive things can do…and it’s a slippery slope.  There are so many TV series released on DVD, as well as so many more that we’d all forgotten about, and which could be a bit of a guilty pleasure.  Lovejoy?  The House of Elliott?  The Onedin Line, even…

And then there’s the internet.  Want to read about plot lines and speculate about possible developments?  Go to Wikipedia – the kind of coverage you’ll find for TV science fiction series suggests that either some people have finished degrees in film school, and are looking for an outlet, or that they have in fact been constructing elegant mental treatise, even when watching something like Battlestar Galactica.  (We don’t.  But Dan’s mum does.  Watch it, at least.)

Want to see bits again?  Try out YouTube to see what fans have saved – or put up illegally.

Even sites like BBC News, seemingly quite innocent and worthy, come into their own if you are checking whether that crucial second series is being made.   Or third.  (You can probably identify the programmes from that.)

I have stayed clear of message boards; official fan sites; spoof sites; conventions and other occasions to meet up with other fans while wearing costumes.  There are some limits.

(Incidentally, Dan and his mum created a new category of fan for those who like Star Trek: Trekkies are the ones who do go to conventions, and redecorate their house to look like the deck of the Starship Enterprise.  Trekkites are the ones who watch reruns, discuss them, but do not at any point start learning Klingon or wearing tight lycra tracksuits.)

As we learned over the series “Firefly” (which will need its own post at some point), truly loyal fans do not give up when their programme is cancelled after one series.  They campaign with the writer and the cast to get it back, and get a full length feature film in the process.

As I have a work deadline looming, and four more essays for my course (surely not connected to my suddenly increased interest in free time activities?), I probably don’t have time to go campaigning.  Although I’m sure that someone somewhere could make more Clangers episodes if they wanted to…