Robin Ellis's Blog, page 23

Falling in the butter dish..!

We had a visitor night before last–towards midnight, scarcely visible in the dark but crying a pitiable cry.

She was small and furry black with a kink in the tail.

She was distressed and hungry, a exhausted refugee searching for sanctuary.

Meredith was immediately on hand with a plate of food and some water.

“Don’t feed it,” I heard myself saying.

“I definitely am feeding it!” retorted an indignant wife.

In a flash, I had run through all the drawbacks that might occur in the coming days and weeks. (There were precedents.) The effect on the resident cats; the fact that maybe we had enough cats (three indoor and three outdoor) to be going on with etc…I quickly came to the conclusion that the mite was more a problem than a gift.

Then I saw the little black bundle and backed off knowing it was a done deal–we were a four” indoor “cat family!

The following day the vet said HE–for she is another he–is about three-and-half months (milk teeth still in place), of good character and in sound shape–and gave him his first vaccination.

Lundi? Sidney? Gaston?–names on the list of possibles.

Pippa does her usual hissy fit and we’ve seen little of Ben.

Beau is wary but tolerant from the comfort of a strategic chair.

The little mite–not a bad name–slept through his first full day in the wicker basket Meredith had “made nice” for him.

“What-a-ya-gunna-do?”! ? Here I am! Nice lady! Comfy basket. Food in the dish–go for it! “

There’s a lesson for us worry guts…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*french for monday)

 

 

 

 

 

Filed under: other sides to this life Tagged: black cat, butter dish

Ross Poldark and the Referendum…

 The polling booths are open and the show is on the road.




From the Highlands to the Lowlands from the east coast to the west coast, over 90% of the population is expected to vote–unprecedented in a western democratic referendum.
It’s a game changer, they are saying; even if it’s “NO”, nothing will ever be the same again.
Watching the NO campaign in panic mode, desperately playing catch-up when the polls started shifting–promising the kitchen sink to save the Union, has been entertaining.
But now, there’s nothing left to do but vote–if you live in Scotland–or twiddle your thumbs, if you don’t, awaiting the results tomorrow morning.
I fell to a spot of speculation while my thumbs were twiddling.
Just supposing the vote today was taking place in the far west of ENGLAND.
The Cornish were deciding whether to cut loose from Albion (“emmet land” to the Cornish) and go it alone! (There have been rumblings!)

And just supposing Ross Poldark had the gift of eternal life (well, Mammoth TV Productions are doing a convincing job reviving him!), how would he VOTE?
Trotting down the lane to the polling station in Pendeen, where would his cross go?
YES or NO??
Any clues?
He’s a free spirit, independent, anti-establishment, a risk taker, a convention flaunter, out of his time even.
He’s been “elsewhere”, albeit to fight for the “oppressor” in America. He has seen another side of things.
He’s a landowner, mine boss, member of the privileged class, yes–but…
Unlike the denizens of Downton Abbey, upstairs at least–safe to bet on a “no” there–Ross is less easy to predict.
(Though I felt disappointed to read that later in life he’d accepted a knighthood and become a Tory MP and best friends with Foreign Secretary George Canning! Ross Poldark!? Scourge of the local gentry, defender of the poor, natural leftie?!  Oh dear…!
So voting “NO”, Ross?
I’ll answer for him. (Well we were quite close for a while!) Begging Winston Graham’s pardon for the presumption of course….
 I’d wager that he’d not be able to resist the call.
Cornwall for the Cornish! Clear out the cupboard and start over–a new order!
“We’ve tin and copper–well, we’ll find it and china clay too.”
The old radical Ross would awake and be leading the charge–to the cliffs’ edge some would be saying.
“You know me well,” says Ross. “Did you see Andy Murray’s tweet this morning?”
“Let’s do this!”

 

 

 

 

Filed under: other sides to this life, Poldark Tagged: andy murray, china clay, downtown abbey, george canning, mammoth tv productions, pendeen, ross poldark, scottish independence