Heart-Shaped Plectrum

(Click the CC button for Closed Captions).

I wanted to write a blog post about ukuleles, so Stephen and I spoke about what photographs we could take to accompany the post - ukuleles being very beautiful instruments.  This conversation evolved into a great deal of messing about and all of a sudden (many weeks later) we had produced a music video. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I'm still going to publish the ukulele post, but for your information, the first ukulele is a concert uke, the second is a soprano we made ourselves in the summer of 2010 from a kit like this and the third is a tenor.

The great picture of the rock-hopper penguins is by Liam Quinn.

Heart-Shaped Ukuelele Plectrums can be bought from this eBay shop.


Stephen says: Love's a funny thing. It can drive you to do all manner of strange things.

 I think the thing about true love, though, is that once you've done that thing (even if it's taken weeks) and you've had time to look back at it and understand the mind-boggling oddness of it all, you still feel proud. It still warms your heart and gives you a sense of completeness.

That said, if you haven't yet made your peace with the infinite, then I suggest you think twice before pressing play.

So, I hope that whoever you are, and whatever it is that you love (a special person, pet, food-stuff, view, group of people, artwork etc), that you spend the day cuddled up with a comfortable... comforting... sense of the oddness of all things and the truly humanising effect of affection.

Will nature make a man of me yet?

Next Saturday is my Mum's birthday and Rosemary and Alexander will be in Suffolk. Originally Rosie, Alex and I were planning to go to Felixstowe on Friday to visit two of our great aunts and talk about the family tree that Rosie has been working on.

I wanted to ask my great aunt Molly about her conjuring alter-ego, Professor Mollovitch since I have taken on the sacred mantel of transvestite-magician-auntie. So far I can do several card tricks quite well, only when I get to the stage where I ask, "Is this your card?" it generally isn't. I can read minds and levitate small vehicles though, so that's something. And I make a very convincing chap, as you can see. I mean, you may struggle to believe it, but that beard is actually false. No really, it is; I didn't grow it. Pretty impressive, eh?
Anyway, Friday's adventure is probably out for me. So instead this week's objective is to be well enough to go round my folks' house on my Mum's birthday. I also want to finish her birthday present which I have started making and I did fancy making birthday cake... but those are secondary objectives.

I have actually made a cake in recent months. Sometime in July, I made a Christmas cake. Well that's what you're supposed to do; make the cake half way through the year, then "feed" it with brandy. So far, about half the bottle of brandy has gone into the cake, so by December it's going to be a serious fire-hazard.

Oh is boring to be sick - it's not just the fact you are sick which is boring, but the fact there is so little else going on apart from being ill. Moan moan moan, whinge whinge whinge.

In other news, while she's down here next weekend, Rosie is attending her ten year high school reunion. On hearing this I said, "Yeah, but do you actually want to go to that?"

"Well, I think I should," she says, "especially as I'm organising it."

Oops!