Shamrock in Surrey ...

Had possibly my least Irish St Patrick's Day ever - but lo and behold, shamrock on sale in Dorking station. There's hope for Surrey yet!

Vintage French fire engine

Spotted this old French fire engine in Esher (Surrey), of all places. Poor photo, but a certain degree of trespassing was involved, as it was.

Review: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Off to town yesterday for a matinee performance of the much lauded Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. A friend booked the tickets months ago - this was an eagerly awaited jaunt, spoilt only by the mid-week realisation that it clashed with the Ireland-France match (in retrospect, a good thing).

What to say? It was loooong. And as the culture snob in our group pointed out, I was not 'Wagner-trained', so three hours sitting on it left my backside a tad sore.
I found Adrian Lester, as the drunken ex football star Brick, disengaged (certainly for the first half of his performance) to the point of looking bored. Yes, he looked fantastic, but he just didn't looked particularly bothered. Perhaps this was him playing 'anguished and misunderstood'.

As Maggie, Sanaa Lathan was all outraged sulkiness - with a fantastic wardrobe. Sitting in the front row, I was in a great position to appreciate the series of fantastic cocktail frocks she brought out of her walk-in wardrobe. And the leather padded bar in the opposite corner was stunning. Perhaps my fascination with the set is an indication of how distracted I was.

James Earl Jones - Darth Vader to those of us of a certain age - was Big Daddy, with the girth required. His voice was every bit as booming as on screen - I don't think I imagined the reverberations - and the later scenes with Brick were touching.

Big Mama was played by Phylicia Rashad - or the Cosby Show's Clair Huxtable, the thought of whom, even 2 decades later, brought a twinkle to my brother's eye. Rashad is also a sister of Debbie Allen, the show's producer. She seemed to spend most of her time on stage bellowing, but I appreciate this may be down to the script, rather than any shortcomings in her own technique.

Did I enjoy it? Kind of. I didn't go away raving about, and it didn't occur to me to write about it until today - which really answers my own question.

First batch of hats, knit using a wonderfully easy pattern I found on the Guardian website. I couldn't find thick enough wool, so have been knitting from two DK balls at a time - easier than it sounds, even for a clutz like me. Not sure the family would appreciate yet more knitted presents, so these will find a home with the Simon Community.

Denis Healey snowman

Is is just me, or does this freshly built snow sculpture look like a pensive Denis Healey?

Rosslare postbox

Due to 'adverse weather conditions', we managed one decent walk over the Christmas holidays, along Rosslare Strand. Love this shot of a postbox, with the lights of Rosslare Harbour twinkling in the background.

Not enough snow

Like most people in the south east of England, I woke up to snow today - just not enough of it.
While my first move was to peer out the window, my second was to check National Rail's live online departures board, in the hope of being marooned in Leatherhead. Alas, twas not to be, and off to work I traipsed. But doesn't our pond look beautiful in that blue light?