Red Dwarf X Poster

...(singing) Oh I have *hiiiigh* hopes, I have *hiiiigh* hopes...! ;)

A lovely trip to Blackheath...

Well, that's the second time now, work a bit late, just a little bit...the sort of little bit that makes you think you might *just* make your normal train (if you really hurry)...trotted as quick as I could to Charing Cross (through the throng, cursing the long wait on the traffic lights), look up and spot a train leaving in one minute put on an extra burst of speed and just make it as the doors are closing...sit down, all smug (if a little puffed out) and then feel my smile drain away as we pull straight through London Bridge without stopping, passing my waiting connection sitting on platform 12...next stop? Blackheath...even further away than Lewisham (and in completely the wrong direction to get me home)...still, spotted this interesting sign on the railway bridge there when I was crossing over to wait for a train to take me all the way back to London Bridge to have another go at getting home! Less haste, more speed...!

Poppy "talking"...

You know it's funny, when I sat down to write this little bit of text I had a deja vu moment...a google or two later and I found this post that I wrote when Thomas was about nine months old...and actually (apart from the messy nappy bit) I could have written those exact words about Poppy, her nappies are much more civilised as a rule (or perhaps I am just more used to nappies per se)...Poppy isn't often very quiet, perhaps a *little* quieter than Thomas was, but most situations are punctuated by enthusiastic expressions of 'EHH!' and 'AH!!' as she joins in with the conversation, yells very loudly (meaning) 'More please Daddy' when eating...although (one thing Thomas didn't do) is to amuse by very occasionally by answering 'YEAH' (perfectly pronounced) in response to questions...anyway, right back on track - just yesterday (and continued this morning) she has (satisfyingly) started saying 'DADADA' (just as Thomas did) although, if my dates are to be believed, about a month earlier than he... ;) If she continues to follow suit developmentally then the next thing we can look forward to is 'DUCK' followed by (of all things for a second word) 'GAAARDEN'...to be perfectly honest though, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it was 'SHOES!' - her favourite thing to chew on at the moment (bar nothing)... ;)

We have two butterflies!

And one very excited Thomas asking all sorts of intelligent questions such as why do they have eyes on their wings and telling us they had to bite out of the cocoon ..he wants to hold them but we encouraged him to feed them instead!

Their names ... Peppa and George!

I wonder if the other three will hatch!

Sunrise over Earlswood

Caterpillars turn into chrysalis

So we moved the caterpillars into their new home on Saturday ... Very interesting to watch them and can't wait for butterflies now

The real Diagon Alley...

...(as it turns out) isn't actually very far from my office! Just up Charing Cross road (walking up from Trafalgar Square), on the right hand side of the road, before you hit Leicester Square tube...
...is Cecil Court (origin of which dates back to the early 17th Century), which was revealed to be the real world "location" (and perhaps inspiration) for Diagon Alley (in the Harry Potter universe)-

-and you can sort of see why, peering in through the windows-




-and looking at the names of the shops-

- I can easily picture Harry and Hermione bustling up here, dodging folk shopping for dusty books or maps and ducking behind a rusty iron gate into one of the secret ways that leads into the wizarding world... ;)

Day 10 ... The fat caterpillars ...

Are now chrysalides (well 4 of them are!) It won't be long and they will be moving into their new home...