John had a bit of a tough night last night, didn't get home until nearly morning. But eventually we had to wake him up - so we did it as nicely as possible, with pancakes and fresh fruit and flowers and tea :) And an interrogation from Sherlock. Questions about work interspersed with questions about whether John was going to eat various items on his plate.
I've been listening to lots of music, trying to work out what might be nice for the wedding. And then getting caught up in the other millions of different decisions you can make if you wish. The most pressing being invitations, really. I...well, I've got a bit of an idea. Need to talk to John about it though.
Once everyone was awake, and we'd prepared for the day, we finally headed out to see Mycroft - late, because he had things to do.
It was grey, but then some blue sky appeared in time to walk the dogs. Then rapidly disappeared, as soon as I mentioned it, and torrential rain poured down. We legged it for cover!
This is the statue of Alan Turing in Manchester. It would have been his 101st birthday today.
Glad people think he should celebrate in style :)
A brilliant man. Betrayed by the country he did so much for. I...could say a lot more. But you can probably all imagine what it would be.
89 comments:
How's the aftermath of the run? I can rub your back if you like.
And having heard your idea...I approve. :)
The flowers and balloons for Alan Turing are lovely. Would've been nicer in his own lifetime though. That's one of those stories that never fails to make me sad and angry.
Surprisingly good, actually. But I'll never refuse a back rub from you :)
I'm glad you like it. It sort of seemed...fitting? For us.
And yeah, me too. I'm very glad people decided to celebrate, though. I love his hat.
It's pretty great. I wonder if he ever gets other hats at other times of year.
I love it. Seems perfect, actually.
Bed?
If we carry on making decisions at this rate we're in danger of organising a wedding you know :)
Bed, definitely.
What a fab photo - I do wonder what he'd have made of the pride we take in him and his achievements now, given that he was, by all accounts, something of a private man (tbh, it's not a stunningly good likeness of him, based on the photos I've seen - but the party hat and the flowers more than make up for that).
Your invitation plans sound mysterious... But yay for wedding plans coming together :-)
That's one of those stories that never fails to make me sad and angry.
Quoted for truth. But the hats and balloons and all are a nice quiet celebration for someone who was, by all accounts, a quiet man.
Yay for the progress on the wedding plans. :)
And I LOVE Sherlock's cycling gloves!
Hope you all have a good week and the wedding planning progresses at a good rate.
Just trying out my new phone, sorry.
Exciting new phone, SH? Will you now be as confused as I always am, when my phone starts integrating itself with everything else I own?
Nameless - I hope he'd have quietly enjoyed it - given the change in society's attitudes. But who knows. I'm glad people now want to remember and celebrate him though.
L - yes, lovely exciting new phone. The calendar successfully synched itself with OH's choir rehearsals and then when I removed that bit it lost half my stuff as well.
Hah, I had to get Mycroft to do mine. Way too confusing!
I've eaten an entire pot of mixed olives. Is that bad? They were lovely.
food that taste good is never bad ;-) was i lunch or just a snack?
I hope your day is going well :-)
Bought them on the way back from court to form a small part of lunch, to last the next few days. But now I've eaten the lot. So yeah, large part of lunch god one day!
Hey, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do! ;) (I'm sure I've eaten much worse things for lunch over the years. :))
well if you'd saved them for another day anything could have happened to them so it was best to eat them all today :-D
John and Greg. I have a possible favour to ask one of you. Well, both of you, but it only needs to involve one of you.
It is NOTHING like the last favour. Except it is to do with your bodies. But not...well, not like last time! (Which I still feel bad about.)
errr...maybe?
If it's in the next two weeks you could graft my torso onto a horse's body and John wouldn't noticed unless I held a tennis racket.
Slight exaggeration.
Slight. Perhaps.
I'm sure last year you didn't notice me saying I was eloping with Anthea or something similar.
Well, John, I could work while you watch the tennis - that would be fine! :) Or Greg, if you're really a tennis widower, he wouldn't even notice if you sneaked away.
I just require the use of a hairy chest. Lisa, while wonderful in many ways, cannot provide me with one.
What are you going to do with it?
Paint it!
I have a new airbrush. Works fine on smooth skin, but I have to turn to other vict....volunteers to test out the paint on hairy skin. Both putting it on and getting it off.
Don't worry, if neither of you feel like it, I have others on my hit-list!
(I will provide tea/coffee/biscuits/tennis to the volunteer for the duration!)
Is there any risk of ending up hairless?
Assuming no risk of hairlessness, it's fine with me.
A tiny slight risk. I'd have to have one and/or both of you for an hour or so, to do a little patch test on you and check you weren't allergic first.
But I don't think it will be bad. Baby oil gets it off hair-free skin easily. And I won't do loads! Just enough to get an idea before I start working with it.
In fact, if it takes covering you in baby oil to remove it, perhaps both of you should attend ;)
Well...you probably can't have either of us tomorrow, as we've got suit-shopping to do. And I have to get my head seen to.
Otherwise...I'm a bit busy. Could do an evening? Or...well, John can speak for himself.
If I can't make it you could always send him home painted and I could remove it at my leisure. Just make it something good ;)
Whenever you like during the day, really, as long as Sherlock's still in school. And provided you don't take any suggestions L may try to give you about what to paint on me... Otherwise, yeah, whenever L can make it if we're doing it together - he's a lot busier than I am.
speaking of - when are you working again?
Same as last week, Saturday night. The one after that is in the day though.
right...
Jo, could probably do Thursday? I'm going to be on nights Thurs and Fri.
If I'm to be parted from John for three nights, though, I refuse to be held responsible for anything he instigates with the baby oil...
You can paint me!
a. you'll be at school and b. you're not hairy.
the possible lack of sleeping in your flat this week sounds almost terrifying guys!
Good luck getting the men folk to do what you want them too this week Sherlock ;-)
It was nice of you to offer, Sherlock. Maybe, if you ask her, Jo would paint you for Pride--it would have to work out time-wise, of course, and anyway she might not be able to, but it doesn't hurt to ask if you ask nicely. :)
Did your classmate ever bring in her mouse head skeleton?
Lestrade said we won't have time because we're fetching Mycroft and he's listening to loads of music again and singing and John is laughing at him and I can't find Argon
Ah, that makes sense. I'm sorry that won't work out for you this year, but it will be nice to have Mycroft there for Pride, so I think it's well worth it.
Oh, dear, maybe when John finishes laughing he'll help you look for Argon? (I'd offer to help, but there really is very little I can do from New York that will be at all helpful in a degu hunt. Unless keeping you comment-company is helpful.)
I just want to know how the internet gets told before we do.
We are searching.
There's a body artist I've had at the library once in a great while who does spray paint "tattoos" (even glittery ones) and it doesn't take very long. I can't think if I've ever seen her do one on a hairy chest. A hairy arm, yes, but that's different. I'll be interested to find out the results of the experiment!
Please let us know when she is found?
John has taken Sherlock to bed - with much protesting. I am reduced to lying on the floor holding fresh basil looking at the dust under various items of furniture.
oh no :-( I hope Argon reappears soon and that Sherlock settles ok.
I hope you find her soon.
(My mother always said, when we couldn't find something, that it couldn't just walk away, but obviously that isn't the case here. But she couldn't just disappear!)
Danger, when (if) you return, maybe bring Mercury? They do that chattering thing...and they're not supposed to like being alone.
I imagine Argon is curled up asleep somewhere unaware of all ensuing drama.
It is the most likely thing. Good luck!
Did you check that vase she likes to sleep in?
Checked everywhere I could think of - inside shoes, bike helmets, discarded jumpers, Sherlock's school bag... He said she was near the sofa, so I'm afraid of sitting on it, just in case she's...in it, somewhere.
We could just sit on the floor and sort of...wave food around? I'm out of ideas.
Yeah.
Stop eating the sunflower seeds. They're for her.
We will probably wake up in a few hours with a degu gnawing our faces or something.
..or Sherlock trussing us up because we're mean for not letting him stay up. Possibly more likely.
Perhaps she'll turn up for breakfast? Sherlock was training them to come when he calls "food".
(I think he was more upset about Argon being missing than not being allowed to stay up. But that's me.)
(That was in no way meant as a criticism, btw! I just hope the two of you didn't fall asleep on the floor waiting for Argon to materialize. :))
I think...we would have to be the most staggeringly insensitive and out-of-touch guardians ever to realise he was upset about going to bed while Argon was missing, because he wanted to stay up and help find her.
However, as there wasn't anything to 'do' but wait, he went to bed. She re-appeared in the early hours, everyone is re-united.
I'm so glad argon turned up guys :-) did she get lots of cuddles or a telling off for running away when Sherlock saw her?
Good luck with the stitches Greg and I hope you and John enjoy a fun yet productive day together :-)
I have cats they do this to me all the time and they don't go out of the house. It's not that big of a house and one of them disappeared for over a day once and then walked out of a room that we'd searched at least six times already with a 'what's up with you lot' look on her face. That wonderful feeling of annoyance and relief mixed up!
Lancs. Anon
We had a cat once that went out one day in the summer and failed to return. We assumed we'd lost him forever. Six weeks later he wandered back in looking quite fit and well (he came as a kitten from a farm where he'd been semi-feral) and behaving as if he'd just been out for a short walk.
Did you find where Argon had been?
AnonyBob - he was just pleased she was back! He was so unhappy she'd gone missing. He does take such good care of them, but he knows he should play with them in places they can't escape.
Lancs. - she definitely looked unconcerned by the bother she had caused. :)
Poor Sherlock, all that worry! I'm glad she turned up okay. Animals punish us if we go away for a while, but don't seem to get that we worry when they vanish! Unless it was her revenge for Italy ;)
We had a cat once who vanished for *6 months*! We were sure she'd been bitten by a snake or hit by a car, but she rocked up at the front door one day, wanting her dinner!
Its a horrible feeling when you know you didn't do things quite right and things go missing :-( I'm glad he was happy to see her and I'm sure he'll be extra specially careful where he plays with them now although that might mean that more degu runs have to be built in the living room ;-)
Very saddened today by the news of the death of Professor Mick Aston. Any of you lot Time Team fans?
Yeah, that was not a great way to start the day with that news. Big Time Team fan here, will happily sit and watch episode after episode given half a chance.
Lancs. Anon
Thats very sad. He always seemed like one of those people who could infectiously transmit his enthusiasm and love for his subject to you, no matter what. And a thoroughly nice bloke.
Agreed, L - thoroughly decent. His passion for archaeology was obvious, and inspiring. He did great things for the field. And his affinity for woolly jumpers reminded me of a certain nanny ... :D
Lancs, I think I'll be watching a few tonight.
Yay for Argon reappearing!
(L, I did try to say I didn't mean it that way! The internets are no good at conveying tone.)
Hope the suit-shopping and stitches-removing go well, each in their own ways.
Really glad Argon is back.
When I was a kid we used to have Hamsters that were always escaping. One went missing for over a week so my parents panicked and bought a new hamster and tried to pass it off as the first hamster come home. You could tell the hamster had been panic bought because it was a completely different colour to the original hamster. If that wasn't giveaway enough the original hamster showed up the very next day. Probably annoyed at having its cage taken over.
Glad you didn't have to resort to such measures as Sherlock would probably notice.
(The codicil to that story is that we kept the two hamsters in separate cages but they both kept escaping. At one point the original hamster was missing for over six weeks. Shortly after we found her (as it turned out, rather than the him we had thought) we also found six baby hamsters.)
my niece's hamster went to live under the floor boards more than once, probably because it was quieter and cleaner than the house. They could hear it running around so they knew it was ok it was just happy to have its freedom for a bit.
So glad Argon was found! I hope you all have a lovely day.
My brother's girlfriend had a bearded dragon that went missing for about a year. They were sure it had died. Imagine their surprise when it wandered into the living room one night. Turns out it had been living off purloined cat food.
My sister swears to this day that she never let our white mice out of the cage, but one of them still had little brown and white babies, as if it had been playing with our house mice. I think most critters like to take a break now and then. My neighbor's rabbit could get stuck in the most ridiculous places. Fortunately, it invariably left a trail of scat, so we could find it.
I can safely say, off the topic of escaped animals, that John looks completely gorgeous in far too many suits. He may be forced to do costume changes throughout the day! :)
I wonder if wedding suits are like wedding gowns? I tried on several that I liked very much, many that were almost it, but when I had on "the one" I just looked in the mirror and knew that this was the gown I was going to wear when I married the man of my dreams.
I'm concerned I may be forming actual opinions on number of buttons and rounded cuffs...
That's revenge for me actively disagreeing with the line judge last night and being glad when the magic eye thingy showed the ball was in not out and saying so out loud. :)
It's not as if Hawkeye is infallible, you know! It could still have been out.
Isn't Hawkeye the one who is like you in the Avengers? The one that's cute and deadly?
And sarcastic and cranky, yes.
Rather good looking. And goes out with a leather clad beauty. Did they ask to base him on you? ;)
Does that make you Black Widow?
I think so. I wear leather. What other redeeming features does she have that I might?
Well, she's very attractive and so are you...
... Does that mean Mrs Holmes is Nick Fury?
Very kind of you to say so.
I think the parallels are obvious there!
I hope Mycroft and Sherlock aren't Loki and Thor... But I fear they have their moments of similarity!
I'm having trouble picturing either of them as Thor...
I'm afraid to me Hawkeye will always be Hawkeye Pierce from M.A.S.H.
And the Avengers will involve John Steed and Emma Peel. I feel we may have had this conversation before.
But my memory's not as good as it was ;)
Ha, SH, I was just looking at the last comments and thinking exactly that! :D
And also that it seems the suit-shopping is going nicely... :)
I agree all that is true.
But none of those remind me of John like Jeremy Renner (Google informs me that's who plays this Hawkeye.)
Yeah, suit shopping went pretty well. Although I think Mycroft will be a true godsend when it comes to the final nod and then accessories. He'll remember them all, and tell us which go together. I'll vaguely remember there was something I like in one shop we went in...useless. All my powers of remembering are dedicated to work and pointless facts.
And an encyclopedic knowledge of rock and pop music (If those are the right categories)!
Think it comes under 'pointless' - although not 'facts'. :)
Nooooo--music is never pointless!
(And I forgot food. And food is never pointless, either... :))
(Also home repair and motorcycle maintenance--although if you are well-versed in Zen, you haven't mentioned it--and others which I cannot at this moment think of. :D)
I've seen pictures of Jeremy Renner - and now I know who he's famous for portraying. These blogs truly are educational - alternately I should emerge from my hole more often!
Famous for portraying John, yes :)
I've just had spam for 'senior dating for the over 50s'. Not impressed!
Speaking of Turing (way back up in the blog)--did you know they are doing a biopic of his life? It's starring that guy from Cabin Pressure.
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