Edition 54: "In the Night Garden...."

Negative SoundByters – Good Evening! Instead of the customary G&T to take us through this blog post I have had to resort to a litre of soda water to ensure that the cogs that are just about turning remain lubricated for the next ninety minutes-or-so while I piece this post together. This past week has been rather festive; our work Christmas “lunch” turned into a night out on the tiles where my parting shot from a bar deep in the confines of Soho, turned into four! At my age any sort of shooter is a bad idea; four is just asking for trouble. And then yesterday Rafe and I went out for a boys’ day (more of later) and we had lunch at a friend which involved some very fine wine (Rafe had milk) and the most magnificent risotto.

I have therefore decided that Sunday should be a day of “rest” because next week I am heading out to Prague (no less) for another Christmas bash (sanctioned by Mrs H in case you were wondering). These old bones can barely handle a Soiree-in-Soho let alone a Party-in-Prague but it’s a marathon not a sprint, so I should just about get back to London in one piece! The threat of tangling with a four-and-half month old with a hangover on arrival is of course the other factor to take into consideration. There is only one loser in that scenario!

For those readers in the UK, we have just enjoyed our first bout of snow. It’s been a while since I experienced snow in London in December; in fact the first flakes fell in late November if I remember correctly. The Evening Standard (the city rag) trumpeted that London was “blanketed” in snow; I for one can confirm that that was not the case. When I went on my run at lunchtime on that very day I counted the number of snowflakes that fell from the sky – three! But there is something magical about snow around Christmas time; my folks are coming over from Cape Town (where there is a drought and very strict limits on water consumption) and it would be wonderful for them to experience a White Christmas as well as not having to bath in a bucket! I think my son is a good omen – my garden WILL BE blanketed with snow (not the Standard’s version) come Christmas Day!

What of events of a geopolitical nature…?

I see that The Donald is determined to cause a conflict; this time in the Middle East where he has recognised that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and hence will be relocating the US embassy there. That part of the world is like a tinder box and making these sorts of pronouncements is the equivalent of putting the match to the fuse; it leads to bad things happening. I do not know the ins-and-outs of this issue but it is a very sensitive one in relation to the two-state solution. I do wonder whether the blonde gerbil has any appreciation for the consequences of his actions; given the way he shuffles around the globe wreaking havoc as he goes, probably not!

And on that happy note, let me get off my hamster wheel to this week’s anecdote.

Big Love

Hoddy X

In the Night Garden.

It feels like it could be a location in Cluedo; “Mr Mustard with the candlestick in the Night Garden”. But no, it’s a television show for tiny tots, which I of course had never heard (I am not generally in the habit of watching children’s television, although Prime Minister’s Question Time comes close at times) but Mrs H said it might entertain Rafe for part of the “purple hour”, that tricky period before bedtime where babas tend to throw just about every toy out of the pram as their shell-shocked parents try and prepare them for bathing, feeding and then sleeping (hopefully in that order!).

We are not advocates of plonking Rafe down in front of the big screen to kill time, but twenty minutes is hardly likely to do him any harm so I was up to see how he would respond to it.

We set up his recliner, popped him in, got him a bag of popcorn and a soft drink, dimmed the lights and got the show underway. This was a new experience for Rafe and he was uncertain as to whether he should unleash a purple demon-or-two, but then the screen got his attention and he relaxed, legs crossed, resting his hand on his knee as if a film buff at the latest premier.

"In the Night Garden" got my attention as well. Whoever had dreamed up the characters and storyline must be smoking a gigantic spliff; or if you are watching it the only way to interpret what is going on is to roll said spliff and follow Rafe’s lead, recline and enjoy. It is about the weirdest thing I have ever watched; characters like Iggle Piggle, Makka Pakka (that could be Mother-Ucker), The Tombliboos, Ninky Nonk, Pinky Ponk and The Tittifers, dance about in a garden waving and chatting at each other; some look like teddy bears, some are birds and others look like little ginger bread men who live in a very small house together. Mother-fu…sorry Makka Pakka apparently lives in a little cave and likes nothing more than washing little stones. I mean like say what…..little stones?? You couldn’t make it up, but indeed somebody on the best weed from Amsterdam has done just that.

Rafe absorbed it all without questioning why the Tombliboos live together in an extraordinary bush (okay – authors words!), where they enjoy stacking and sorting their special blocks, banging their drums and making tunes on their piano. Mrs H and I tried our best to absorb it as well, but I fear only Amsterdam’s finest would assist with that. The little man didn’t turn purple (that’s Rafe I am referring to; not a character in the show) so "In the Night Garden" is now on Sky Series Link, alongside the Walking Dead (which he is not quite ready for yet!)

OUT :)

Pic of the Week:

This could be a water colour; from a Cape Town holiday....