I suppose a purist might have considered him more or less off his onion.

Listening to Simon & Garfunkel! Groooviness.

'Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo!'

'I heard cathedral bells tripping down the alleyways...'

'I saw a shadow touch a shadow's hand on Bleeeeeeeeeker Street.'

Two weird looking guys with angel voices and guitar skills, singing poetry.

Nice. People should never let go of a musical heritage like that. It depresses me how music is so transient; classical survives (firstly because it is awesome,) chiefly because there are institutions to see that it does, but the brilliant pop music of the ages? The Beatles will probably last a good long while; Elvis still has a following, but how many young people now know about S&G?

I don't know if you know that sort of feeling you get on these days round about the end of April and the beginning of May, when the sky's a light blue with cotton-wool clouds and there's a bit of a breeze blowing from the west? Kind of uplifted feeling. Romantic, if you know what I mean. I'm not much of a ladies' man, but on this particular morning it seemed to me that what I really wanted was some charming girl to buzz up and ask me to save her from assassins or something. - The World of Jeeves

Grandad took me to see Rockdale Opera Company's Ruddigore, by Gilbert & Sullivan on Friday. It was so much fun! I love going to plays for the music, costumes and lighting and this had them all lavishly.
The basic storyline is that the Baronets of Ruddigore are cursed: they must commit a crime every day of their lives or perish in agony. Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, before it becomes his turn to inherit the title, runs away and becomes 'Robin Oakapple', a virtuous farmer; his younger brother Despard becomes baronet, believing Ruthven to be dead. Ten years later 'Robin' as he calls himself falls in love with Rose Maybud, but is too shy to approach her. She lives her life by an etiquette book, which tells her not to speak until spoken to, so cannot confess her love to him. Chaos ensues when, with the help of a jealous sailor, Despard Murgatroyd learns of his brother's presence in the little village...

The plot twists and turns with musical flourishes coming thick and fast right at you - the actors must have been having tons and tons of fun with the melodrama and the comedy. if I could sing opera I'd be willing to live off raw tomatoes (which, by the way, I hate passionately) to get a chance to sing Gilbert and Sullivan.


Life's such a funny thing. At such a funny place right now. I feel happy but frightened, like I'm standing on the edge of a precipice in a hang glider and there's a wind picking up. But I have a jolly good pilot in whom I trust. And I have a lineup of people holding hands with me as we take the plunge. Real life, here we come!