Men in Black

MasterM is wearing a vintage double breasted jacket
which was made for his Great Great Uncle Alan
before an invited lecture tour in the United States.
MrM wore it when he was the same age as MasterM.
I told MasterM to hang the jacket up afterwards
because one day his own son might want to wear it.
He looked quite aghast at the thought.

in the darkness

Jackson Pollock, No. 32, 1950

I had a nightmare last night, a nameless terror, and cried out with fright. In the darkness MrM patted my arm until the fear subsided. As I sank back into a dreamless sleep I thought "this is what it is like to be loved".

MrsM goes punting

We all have a secret Super-Power.

MrM's secret Super-Power is punting:

he can make a punt obey his every command

while young whipper-snappers look on with admiration.

This means that MrsM has cultivated the ability

to lie gracefully in the punt,

admire the scenery

and wave to small children on the bridges.

Back off, ladies, he's mine.

Shopping with MrM

It is a wet Monday afternoon in Chagford

MrsM finds herself in a hardware shop

MrM believes this is a "Retail Opportunity"

MrsM thinks that MissM might not agree...
brown fleece tops and thermos flasks
do not ever feature on her wish list

MrsM is grateful that MasterM is not there
to try out the handcarved walking sticks
because it is many years
since MrsM has been asked to leave a shop...

MrsM hears MrM trying to decide
which penknife to buy

MrM is enthusiastic

There is far too much choice

MrsM sighs

And then MrsM remembers that,
a long time ago,
she promised bb
that she would post photos of tweed caps

And MrsM smiles

MrM

It's his birthday today.

There is coffee cake.

~ The end ~

The Week That Was

On the first day...
MrM forgave MrsM for losing the adaptor
AND
peeled her an orange
so that she didn't get her hands sticky.

On the second day...
MrM organised a full body wax for the car
without complaining about the cost.

On the third day...
MrM sent funds to MasterM
so that he could buy a bed, desk and chair,
washing machine,television and food
for his new house in Stellenbosch.
MasterM was exceedingly grateful.

On the fourth day...
MrM changed the light bulb in the kitchen
despite the fact
it had only been dead for a week
AND
wrote an email in Italian
to the lovely blogless Paola from Positano.

On the fifth day...
MrM collaborated with MissM
to write the email which landed her
a prestigious work experience role.
MissM was exceedingly grateful.

On the sixth day...
MrM started an exciting new job
which will keep him out of mischief.
for the forseeable future.

On the seventh day...
MrsM was overcome with pride and gratitude
for her hard-working husband
and decided to make him a coffee cake.
Unfortunately, she fell asleep on the sofa
because she had been working long hours
preparing exam papers.
MrsM needs to try harder.

first impressions

Basket of Oranges
Eloise Harriet Stannard (1829 - 1915)

When MrsM took MrM home to meet her family
for the very first time
it was an important occasion.

MrM took the opportunity to demonstrate
the versatility of orange peel
and the sight of him
grinning over the teacups
with bright orange teeth
is burned into her memory.

As is the heart-stopping moment
when the bright orange moustache
disengaged from his nose
and splashed into the teacup below.

MrsM notes that she gave up eating oranges
around about this time in her life.

Dear MrM,

Happy Anniversary
with lots of love from
Ax

p.s. Do we need to chat about
this mystery person?

*****

This card is from MissM's collection
from fortune telling machines
at the fair.

MrM and MasterM

MasterM
On Mykonos.
Ridiculously windy.
Can't get money out of bank.

MrM
That would be because
you have run out of money.

MasterM
Please transfer some more.
Need to pay for mud hut on beach.

MrM
OK.

MasterM
Thank you.
Please could you sort out
12 tix for Autumn Internationals
at Twickenham.

MrM
Will do my best.
Can't promise anything.

MasterM
Thank you.

And a car park space.

MrM
OK.

MasterM
Thank you
Can you text the cricket scores tomorrow.

MrM
What did your last slave die of?

MasterM
Seem to remember that he
overdosed on multi-tasking.
Great guy though!

War Talk

Il Gattopardo

MrM
I can't understand why
you don't want to watch Il Gattopardo again.
It is a cinema classic
with Burt Lancaster at the height of his career.

MrsM
I haven't got three hours to spare.

MrM
But you should make the time...
it is an outstanding record
of the Risorgimento period of Italian history.

MrsM
No.

MrM
Well, I can see it would be more meaningful for me
as I have a detailed understanding of
Italian language, culture and history...

whereas your knowledge is limited...

to Italian ice-cream flavours.