Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Wilfs insights into family life.





Back from a night away in a very hot and humid London to be greeted by an extremely enthusiastic 'welcome home' lick from Wilf. As we went on our late evening meander across the village green a swarm of thirty or of forty darting bats, flitting which and every way,swept around us. Wilf was entirely oblivious to their presence even though they were within inches of his face. I really must have his eyesight tested. To see bats in family groups of three or four is quite usual but in numbers like this? 'The font' thinks that rather than be called a swarm or a flock they should be called a belfry of bats.

London is a place of statues. When you live there they are street furniture, omnipresent, taken for granted and quite invisible . However, walking along the Mall late on Monday afternoon I stopped in front of a rather anodyne statue of the Queen Mother - quite unspecatacular in it's faux flummery . Behind it , hidden by the steps leading up to Carlton Gardens is a bronze frieze showing the highlights of her life. The scene of her with two Corgis outside her home in Scotland and the stoic panel showing a blitz damaged London capture a much more intimate and personal side. Vivacity in bronze.

My route to dinner took me past the headquarters of the troubled oil giant BP. There were masses of press camped outside with their satellite dishes waiting to report back on the impending management changes. Something slightly illicit and thrilling about taking a photo of the unsuspecting paparazzi . A touch of their own medicine?

Sat outside with Wilf late into the night finishing off a rather attractive bottle of rose. The great imponderables of life. Why after spending a fortune on pre-med education would anyone view a job as a door opener at Abercrombie and Fitch as a 'thumping' summer vacation job? Wilf sighed and gave me a sage look that said everything you need to know about twenty year old male psychology - 'Chicks !'. He may well be right.

11 comments:

  1. And not just twenty year old males..... I remember so clearly when my department of the oil company I used to work for was relocated from Trafalgar Square to Aberdeen. What did the guys complain about most? Less stylish 'chicks' on the street outside of course!
    Having worked for many years as geophysicist in the oil industry, same vintage as Tony Haywood, am the only person to feel a pang on sympathy for him?
    Cheers, Gail.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It sounds like Wilf almost had a case of bats in his bouffant!

    ReplyDelete
  3. *snicker* Maybe he's hoping to be the next Abercrombie model!

    Those statues are impressive! Of course, here in the cornfield, there's not much to rival that. They're all certainly well sculpted!

    Ahhh, BP, the gift that keeps on giving!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wilf is so sage! Dogs are so helpful with the great imponderables...

    Funny that you were outside BP yesterday when I was hearing news of them all day on the radio. It's a small, yet huge, world, all at the same time.

    I love Wilf's wild hair photos!

    ReplyDelete
  5. We watched an hour-long 2002 documentary called Queen and Country on PBS over the weekend. It included wonderful snippets of the queen smiling and laughing and joking in her younger days. It's easy to forget that side of her personality when all we see mostly today are the grim hats and purse and very serious demeanor.

    And yes, when in doubt about what to do, we always ask Jake for his opinion. It's usually "treats all around."

    xxx Joan

    ReplyDelete
  6. My favorite bats are located at Yankee Stadium in New York City! Love Wilf's "do"!

    ReplyDelete
  7. How cool that you got to see so many bats--I've never seen them together. Only flying separately and hunting for bugs. Although once we did have one come and sleep at the corner of our house :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a happy incident to find Wilf and family enjoying life in la belle France. I've giggled and laughed through a great deal of your wonderous blog and plan to read the balance in the coming days. Angus, you most certainly have a knack for bringing the reader right into that lovely place. With best Florida wishes from Linda and Posy (the mini schnauzer)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I adore Wilf's new header photo. He's quite the handsome boy you know.
    Perhaps a statue of the two of you will one day be erected in that French village. Complete with bats!

    ReplyDelete
  10. ...new photo of wilf ...whooa!!!!it looks like he is going to jump throught the laptop screen and eat all the gingernuts!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You always have the best photos and today is no exception.

    At my old job, we once had a bat that decided a corner of the building outside would make a great place to live. I was surprised he would pick that spot as it was by the door which we came in and out of several times a day. The asst. manager got it down and killed it.

    ReplyDelete