Mermaids and sea potatoes

This has been a very Aberdeen-y sort of a week. Monday I was in the city in my role as proud/evil ( delete as appropriate ) stepmother to watch Stephen's film in a student showcase at the Belmont Cinema. He was top of the bill with a piece about Orania, a Boer community in South Africa where the residents have all the insight of King Canute, trying hold back the changes in their country. Fascinating film and all the more impressive when you know that Stephen went out there by himself with only a camera for company. It's lovely to have stepchildren to be proud of - and I'm super proud of all three.

A few days of rest and sniffling later and it was time for a Girls Escape Day. Karen, Sylvia and myself try to run away every now and then for a day of coffee, cake and sheer female solidarity. Lots of cackling and innapropriate sniggers ensued. It reminded me of why people can be scared of Hen Nights. Later on that night we caught up with Haworth a friend who was having a book launch in Books n' Beans, in Aberdeen. The bookshop was full to bursting with people which is pretty damn good for a poetry reading. Haworth writes some incredible stuff with an emphasis on vegetables and other domestic odditities. I'll ask him for permission to put some poems on the blog. He also plays all manner of funny musical instruments in between poems. Quirky doesn't begin to do him justice - under the quirk lurks a very clever man.

After the reading, I rushed back along the road to the Belmont Cinema to catch up with the Aberdeen Stitch and Bitch group. Carol from the group is one of Magnus' greatest admirers on Flickr and we have been exchanging comments and emails for a while. It was lovely to finally meet her and find out that she is just as friendly in person as she is online. We are planning a joint Aberdeen/Village knitting session sometime soon. I just hope that the amazing knitted mask I saw last night comes along to that meeting too.....


Sea Potatoes? This is a photo of what happens when seed potatoes are stored in the cupboard under the stairs and then forgotten about. I think the new growth looks like some magical deep sea creature. We're still going to plant them and see what happens.