Last weekend my cousin’s 21 year old cat passed away. My aunt was visiting at the time and had to put up with Spock gambolling around cheerfully. Whiskey was more than just a cat – she’s older their their youngest daughter (they joke that the heirarchy of the family is based on age) and even I only barely remember her as a kitten. I have a hazy memory of being at my other aunt’s house, where her cat had had a litter of kittens under the kitchen sideboard. Apparently Ding crawled into the space as well and gave all the kittens conjuntivitis. Although 4 years younger than me, Whisk always gave the impression of being more mature than me, and seemed to view all of us as little kids who though irritating she’d tolerate for a while. And she could speak – I remember being amazed when me and my nan were in the playroom at my cousins’ house, and Whisk walked in. Nan said hello to her conversationally, and Whisk replied with a crystal clear “Hello” before going about her business. Nan was so used to this she didn’t react. I however was just pointing with my mouth open! My cats are conversational, but they can’t actually pronouce the letter H.

Obviously, despite an air of invincibility and permenance of course Whiskey couldn’t live forever. However it does feel like the family as a whole has lost more than just a cat, and that feeling’s no doubt more profound for her immediate family.

As if that wasn’t enough, my cousin had to go on holiday a few days after losing Whiskey. While she was away, her rabbit who was a few months or so older than Peanut had to be put down. Benji was a house rabbit in his later life also, and my cousin bred him herself. He’s the last of her herd of bunnies. All very sad. Benji was an old man too, but two animals in less than a week? A little harsh. I’ll have to have words.

I missed QI tonight and so satiated my fix by watching about 2 hours of episodes (about 5 in total) on YouTube. So, here is a quite interesting snippet not included in the show, but in fact from my own brain.

The American robin, which looks a bit like a giant British robin, is in fact a member of the crow family and very much a different species to our own robin, whereas the tiny Australian robin with it’s yellow breast and living on the other side of the world is the same family as our own robin.

The octopus eye is the most advanced in the animal kingdom; our eyes have the sensory bit (i.e. rods and cones) at the back with the nerves actually coming from the front and trailing across the retina, thus obscuring our vision, whereas the octopus sensibly has the sensory bits in front of the nerves, with the nerves behind, giving more distinct vision without a trailing mess in between.

Fascinating.

Oh, and the best QI moment ever?

There’s a scandelous lack of blog entries here, lately. My life seems to be a bit uninteresting at the moment, so I can’t think of anything to write about here! It’s not uninteresting really. Obviously I don’t write much about what’s happening at work; it’s difficult to do so without breach of confidence or professionalism. Still, in non-work matters:

I went to Stratford-Upon-Avon with Mum, Nan and an Aunt on the weekend. This will sound very dry but we went to see Henry VI parts II and III, which is two plays, each over 3 hours long. Mum and Aunt went to part I earlier in the year and found it so fantastic they recommended the next two. Part I was apparently even better, but parts II and III were fantastic. So fantastic I’m trying to book Part I if possible (Mum and Aunt are happy to see it again) and were going to see Richard III which is the sort of unofficial part IV of the series, same actors, next year. It’s very gory – they do love their fake blood. Characters die choking up blood, the king died in a huge puddle of blood. I love the “villian” of course – Richard (soon to be Richard III) who’s portrayed as a murdering abitious git who’ll do anything, even kill his own brothers, to become king. The skill of RSC actors is immense – if you read the play the huge long prose sections are interminable, yet you’ve no appreciation of that during the play. I understood it all. In one clever bit the Duke of York has to explain how his right to the throne superceeds the current king, Henry VI, and this section of prose detailing the royal family tree should be as dry as dust, but they act out the tree using rocks which makes it crystal clear. Hehe and it’s followed by another duke saying “Why, it is so simple!”, to the delight of the audience. Since seeing Tempest and this, I think that these companies are playing Shakespeare as it was intended – it’s not dry, it’s not interminable speeches said in iambic pentameter, it’s funny, wry, clever and dramatic, and if acted well completely understandable and immensely enjoyable. AnM and I are already booked to go and see our old favourite Much Ado later this year when the season moves to London, and I intend to see The Tempest again, Antony and Cleopatra, King Lear and Richard III, all before March 2007

Another thing with a March 2007 deadline is my new weight loss diet thingy interest. I’ve been a member of SparkPeople for a week now, and it’s a really clever free online community to assist with weight loss or healthy eating. It does need you to log in daily to be helpful but it has made me aware just where the calories are coming from. My goal is for March 2007, as dictated by the SP “you can’t lose more than this per week” calculator, but quite frankly, as long as the numbers go down I don’t care much how long it takes.

Work is ok at present. I’m on call as we speak, and I think that of the vets I’m coping second best out of us. The one who copes best actually wants people to call. I don’t necessary want them to call, but don’t spend the evening in dread waiting for the phone to ring, although I do loathe the sound of it (Nokia tune, polyphonic – if you want to see me leaping up urgently looking for a phone, play that near me). The others seem to find it much more stressful. Poor Spock dislikes the phone – the first couple of nights I was on call after he came here he tried to sleep on my pillow, and so got a nasty shock when the phone a foot away rang, buzzed and lit up during the night. He copes better now.

He’s growing up! Vaccinations are finished now, and we’re a few weeks away from castration. I keep threatening him with it mwahaha. He’s not a bad boy at all – he’s a total softie, so it’s a threat with no reason. I’m just evil. He moved another step up his little ladder of life a few days ago – he’s now free to roam the flat when I’m out during the day, as well as during the night. I trust him not to pester the rats and I’ve hidden all thin wires that he seems to like chewing. I thought my days of wire hiding were over after Peanut left, but it seems she passed the love of severing wires onto Spock successfully. He’s bitten through two sets of headphone wires so far.

This weekend I’m going Christmas shopping! Don’t groan – I haven’t been shopping around this area yet, so it’s also a day of exploring. Convieniently there’s a farmer’s market on Saturday in this very town, within a stones throw of me, so I can buy some proper food!

I just watched The F Word – this series Gordon Ramsey is rearing pigs at home. Last Christmas I bought a turkey from the college farm, and I bought a lamb from there a few months ago. It means I’ll be eating lamb for over a year probably! There’s an awful lot of it. I’m trying to order our turkey now. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to the level where I rear my own animals (certainly not in a flat o.O) but I’m much happier buying meat like that than Tesco alternatives.

Ding got a job! She is an archaeologist Yay for Ding! She was an archaeologist already of course, but now she’s actually digging and what not.
Hmm so this post is like the TARDIS. I thought it would be small, but it’s actually pretty big…

I mentioned as an offhand comment that I was eventually thinking of getting some more rats, and thus now have a pair of girl rats. I’m too lazy for photos today so to use imagination, they are a pair of chocolate hoodeds, one with a wide full strip and the other mismarked. I think they are about 9 months old and very scared little things, but hopefully with time they’ll chill out a bit.

Guests this weekend are my friends pair of Bengal kittens. Spock is unimpressed to say the least, but as he’s free and roaming and they are currently in their cage he’s now feeling a bit superior.

Life’s going well. Fairly uneventful though, hence no posts!