Prize-winning Essayist

Earlier this week I was contacted by MW one of my old school chums. We were a gang-of-five and we’re all still in touch. MW said she’d come across a copy of our old school magazine, which she thought was her husband’s. He went to the same school as us. Anyway, inside was an essay I’d written in the second form – that’s Year Eight in new money – for which I won a prize. Such talent even then!! LOL! Apparently, it’s got a theatrical theme, according to MW. I have a vague recollection of writing something about being in the West End, which was my dream at the time. A dream that took me a lifetime to fulfill, though. We’re talking about meeting up again soon. I hope we do. It’ll be amusing to read it again. I always enjoyed writing at school and several times in my twenties started a book only to think “Nobody will ever read this!” and throw it away. That’s a shame. Sometimes I wish I’d started writing earlier, but then again, things happen when the time is right, don’t you think?

I’ve been sleeping really badly the last week or so. I keep waking up thinking I can hear noises in the garden. Two nights ago I got up to get some water at 2.30am and saw the security light over the back door come on. I ‘bravely’ looked through the curtain but couldn’t see anything. Certainly not a human trying to break in. I thought it was probably a mongoose or maybe a large frog. It was quite a windy night so it could have even been the clothes line swaying that set it off. But, this morning, I opened the living room curtains to see a black and white cat and her two kittens, one black and white the other tabby, lying on the bench, sheltering from the pouring rain. She snarled at me through the patio door. I tried to open it really slowly and silently so as not to startle her but she jumped up and ran away with the two little kittens – who are like cartoon kitties, adorable balls of fluff – shot after her. Five minutes later I heard a pitiful little cry. The black and white kitten had lost mummy. She was standing on the decking crying. Aww! It broke my heart to hear her. But the minute she saw me she was off.
They are completely wild and I know I wouldn’t be able to domesticate them at all. I was tempted to leave a saucer of milk or some chopped ham outside but fear other animals might come and get it. They are beautiful, though.  Photos to follow if I can get them without the cats seeing me.  I’ve been trying to get a gorgeous green hummingbird that appears among my flowers but I sit for morning after morning with the camera ready and then the one day I haven’t got it she turns up.  I’m not exactly National Geographic material, am I?

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