MrsM, mentor

Two months ago
MrsM was asked to mentor a young manager
and help increase his confidence.

Today she received an unexpected email:

"Dear Alice

D. is finding your time extremely beneficial!

Thanks."

MrsM ponders this and decides that
the most beneficial session of all
was probably the one when she confessed
that when she started in her first Department
she knew so little about computers
she used to hide in the stationery cupboard
and read "Microsoft Office for Dummies".

MrsM is weak on management theory
but she knows how to harness
the power of schadenfreude.

Trivial Pursuits

It's Wednesday.
I am brain dead already.
I am disappointed with myself.

We could discuss 'One Day'
and Anne Hathaway's boots
(Scot, I thought of you)
but I haven't got the energy.
Shall we just look at sugar-pink dahlias?

In other news...
MissM has new Peridot nail polish.
It's green! It's gold!

I am going to a tea party on Thursday...
is there a cake making fairy out there?
If not, I'm going to have to get up early.

Oh...and could someone select my spring bulbs
there is far too much choice.

Shall we not talk about
the anxious call from MissM's granny...
offering to buy a hockey stick...

*****

Thank you so much for your response
on the Student Finance post.
You realised that it was a joke
and made MissM laugh
with your comments.

the quest for beauty

every year when I go to the local show
I am amazed by the artistry of the man
who grows these fruit and vegetables.

each entry is displayed
with meticulous attention to detail

sizes are evenly matched,
colours chosen to complement
and angles carefully aligned

and I am reminded again
that the simplest of tasks
can be an opportunity
to create works of art

Student Finance

MrM
So...do you understand
how we are organising your finance
when you are at university?
MissM
What happens if I want to buy
sports equipment?

Scheherazade
(Virginia Frances Sterrett)

MrM
Like golf clubs?
MissM
I don't think that is very likely...
but if I wanted to buy a squash racket?
MrM
You could have my squash racket.

Scheherazade
(Edmund Dulac)

MissM
What about a hockey stick?
MrsM
You have your old hockey stick from school.

Scheherazade
(Umberto Brunelleschi)

MissM
And a pole?
MrM and MrsM
A pole???

Scheherazade
(Leon Bakst)

MissM
For pole dancing.
I've heard that it is very empowering
and there is a club at uni.

Scheherazade
(Leon Bakst)

MrM (faintly)
We would pay for the pole
because that is...errr...
equipment.

Irresistible Temptation

I went to supper with Ali
and it was all delicious
and then we had macarons.

I said "I MUST photograph them"
and she said "It's too dark"
and I said "I think you are wrong"

Ali was right.
Of course.
I have known her for four years now...
I should have known better.

MissM takes charge

Interior of the Hermitage Library
Tyranov Alexei Vasilyevich

MrM
Did you collect my books from the library?
MissM
Yes...and I paid your fine.
MrM
Sorry about that
MissM
Don't worry...my treat.

*****

I don't think that I can bear
to let MissM go to university...
the house will be too quiet without her.
Back me up, people.

time for tea

You know that person who won't drink coffee
because it stops them sleeping?

Thomas Wolfe (1810)

And asks for herbal tea
when you only have PG Tips?

Davenport (1820)

I have become that person overnight
and it is giving me nightmares

Royal Worcester (1931)

I will have to swallow
my harsh words to my sisters
(I am hoping they will not be smug)

Herculaneum Factory (1815)

and start carrying green tea
in a special little case in my bag.

Minton (1897)

This is not my life
as I would like it to be.

My body is letting me down.

*****

all photos © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

I would like to record my gratitude again
to the Victoria and Albert Museum
for their enlightened attitude to image use.

landscapes of the mind

A long time ago
when we were just married
and we had no money at all
there was a beautiful brass jardinière
in the window of an antique shop.

Every time we walked past
we stopped to look at it
and felt sick with wanting it.

One day we decided that
even though we had no money
we must find a way to buy the jardinière.

It had been sold the day before.

I have been searching for my jardinière ever since.

This one came from the Tavistock pannier market
It cost £14.50 and I know it was a bargain
but I am still looking for my jardinière
in the windows of antique shops.

Raspberry Cake

This is not the Raspberry cake
that was packed into a rucksack
and eaten under a tarpaulin
by hungry archaeologists on Thursday...
it is the next Raspberry cake
which was packed into a picnic basket
and eaten in a sunny meadow
by the lovely Miss Maisie on Sunday.

It is a new recipe this summer
but already it has lots of happy memories
which will make it taste sweeter.

complications