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Ailsa McKillop
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Image 1 Date: 2023-11-09 20:04:00

Books, reading and writing: timetable

Ailsa McKillop


Image 2 Date: 2015-10-26 16:10:40

 
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Image 3 Date: 2015-11-14 02:01:56

 
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Image 4 Date: 2015-12-08 07:50:15

 
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Image 5 Date: 2015-12-31 05:09:17

 
[desc=0] Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to one and all!


Image 6 Date: 2015-12-31 22:50:56

 
[desc=0] Happy New Year to everyone! Fresco de la Rey joins me in wishing you all health, wealth and prosperity in 2016!


Image 7 Date: 2016-01-11 23:35:30

 
[desc=0] Castle Urquhart broods in the moonlight watched over by Scottish thistles and magic cobweb ...


Image 8 Date: 2016-01-13 09:08:55

RIP John Albert Weston, 1919-2016
[desc=0] But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. (Luke 24:29)


Image 9 Date: 2016-01-30 19:37:14

 
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Image 10 Date: 2016-02-09 13:00:18

Love is in the Air
[desc=0] I just called to say "I love you"; I just called to say how much I care.


Image 11 Date: 2016-02-21 12:43:25

 
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Image 12 Date: 2016-03-23 02:02:41

There is a green hill far away
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Image 13 Date: 2016-03-29 10:10:32

Egg decorating contest
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Image 14 Date: 2016-04-02 11:02:40

JJ's Sci-Fi Art competition: Rimmer's aitch (Red Dwarf)
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Image 15 Date: 2016-04-02 11:41:19

JJ's Sci-Fi Art competition: Talkie Toaster (Red Dwarf)
[desc=0] Howdy doodly do. How's it going? I'm Talkie, Talkie Toaster, your chirpy breakfast companion. Talkie's the name, toasting's the game. Anyone like any toast?


Image 16 Date: 2016-04-02 16:16:32

JJ's Sci-Fi Art competition: Mr Flibble (Red Dwarf)
[desc=0] "Mr Flibble's very cross ..."


Image 17 Date: 2016-04-03 23:55:33

JJ's Sci-Fi Art competition: Smoke me a kipper ... (Red Dwarf)
[desc=0] ... I'll be back for breakfast


Image 18 Date: 2016-04-19 16:47:15

Dandypets
[desc=0] A happy union of dandelion fluff and cherry blossom, Dandypets float as light as gossamer over the fields and up into the sky ...


Image 19 Date: 2016-04-20 17:51:25

Dandypets
[desc=0] A happy union of dandelion fluff and cherry blossom, the flock of Dandypets continues floating onwards and upwards ...


Image 20 Date: 2016-04-23 06:17:54

Dandypets
[desc=0] A happy union of dandelion fluff and cherry blossom, at night the Dandypets roost snuggled together in one big fluffy cocoon of warmth ...


Image 21 Date: 2016-04-28 11:21:46

The Bard's Arts: Othello
[desc=0] My story being done, She gave me for my pains a world of sighs. She swore, in faith, ’twas strange, ’twas passing strange, 'Twas pitiful, ’twas wondrous pitiful. She wished she had not heard it ...


Image 22 Date: 2016-05-02 01:43:47

Earth Day: Protect His Creation
[desc=0] All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful: the Lord God made them all.


Image 23 Date: 2016-05-03 17:52:18

Hug your Cat
[desc=0] Let's play a game, someone said. The game is called: Hug the Mean Black Cat. It's such fun, with, of course, that added frisson of danger! A queue of would-be cat-huggers forms, tiptoeing forward, arms outstretched ready to embrace the Mean Black Cat. Robot is the bravest, with Ghost a close second! Unimpressed, the Mean Black Cat sits silently plotting ...


Image 24 Date: 2016-05-14 16:29:38

Garage sale
[desc=0] From the rooftop boldly glaring at the laden tables bearing

Toys and knickknacks now for sharing, books and journals by the score;

At the throngs of buyers teeming; at the golden moles a-gleaming;

At the young ones, tired and screaming: oft he'd found it such a bore.

Would he join the bargain hunters as he'd done in days of yore?

Quoth the Raven: "Nevermore."


Image 25 Date: 2016-05-17 18:30:23

It's a mystery
[desc=0] Holmes' search had led him to the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland. Watch out, Holmes! Professor Moriarty is lurking unobserved, with a suspiciously plump sock puppet ...


Image 26 Date: 2016-05-29 05:58:39

Weather or not
[desc=0] In Scotland -- where all four seasons may be experienced within one day.


Image 27 Date: 2016-06-04 19:25:09

Cheer up!
[desc=0] "While there's breath in my body and Sister Sledge on the turntable, life goes on." (Marian Keyes, "Last Chance Saloon")


Image 28 Date: 2016-06-15 15:10:55

Smile!
[desc=0] Smile! Say cheese! It was meant to be a picture of a happy group of pets, but just as it was snapped, the Blue Scaly Monster spotted a scary frog and the Flamingo saw a shrimp. The Mean Black Cat doesn't take kindly to an order to smile -- or any order, for that matter -- and the Ghost started to say, "Wait, is this my best side?" (hmm, cryptic or what?) And the Raven refused to take part at all and stalked off with his floatie.


Image 29 Date: 2016-06-22 16:29:38

Pool party
[desc=0] The pets' pool party is in full swing! But oh no, who tied the Blue Scaly Monster's pool noodle into a corkscrew shape? And the Raven isn't best pleased. Despite getting there before anyone else and staking a claim to the best recliner with his special cushion, it has been taken over by the Rattlesnake, now happily tucking into candy floss, oblivious to baleful glares from a put-out corvid clutching a floatie.


Image 30 Date: 2016-06-29 19:46:22

Going on a holiday in Britain
[desc=0] He'd packed some cheese and tomato sandwiches and a flask of tea and he was grimly determined to enjoy his summer holiday in England if it killed him.


Image 31 Date: 2016-07-10 16:16:13

Build a Robot
[desc=0] What a fun project to fill an idle weekend! But the Blue Scaly Monster created such a fuss over the instructions being in Aramaic, the Magpie kept flying off with the pink shiny components, the Slug wouldn't help by holding anything, the Ghost drove everyone mad saying, "Calm down, chaps and chapesses". In the end the Raven confiscated the Allen key and stalked out in a huff.


Image 32 Date: 2016-07-14 14:26:32

Three Things July 2016: You never knew these were linked!
[desc=0] (a) (top left) Correlation of ownership of English bulldogs in UK 2008/9 with the GDP of Japan 2008/9; (b) (top right) Correlation of global rise in sea level with the price of butter; (c) (bottom left) Correlation of percentage of international passengers at Heathrow Airport with the popularity of the board game Monopoly; (d) (bottom right) One's personal happiness quotient playing PnF


Image 33 Date: 2016-07-14 21:48:38

Three Things July 2016: three colours; three symbols; one flag
[desc=0] An imaginary flag for PnF. Yellow represents the sun and generosity; blue symbolises freedom, justice and loyalty; white stands for peace, purity and innocence. The Monstera Deliciosa and Lush Rainforest Grass are indicative of the abundant vegetation. The green bird is in place of honour in the canton, representing the animal kingdom of PnF.


Image 34 Date: 2016-07-23 20:24:27

When the cat's away ...
[desc=0] The pets thought that Edgar was perhaps a bit starchy and a little too prone to reading them excerpts from Dickens and unknown 19th century American writers to them, but they were quite fond of him. However, they weren't half glad when he went away for a few days ... except that he came back unexpectedly early to find the Grey Langur Monkey dancing on his, Edgar's, special cushion on his, Edgar's, own personal armchair, the Toucan squawking bawdy limericks and being rowdily encouraged by a very merry and not-so-bashful Badger, toys left out where they fell, heffalump traps in the form of discarded banana skins, a dish of candies being vociferously enjoyed as a break from Edgar's wholemeal fibre-rich biscuits -- and oh no, they didn't have time to hide the bunch of celebratory balloons! With great presence of mind, the Magpie said they were to welcome Edgar home and they were looking forward to his rendition of Sydney Carton's “It is a far, far better thing that I do...". After all, Edgar wasn't such a bad old stick, on the whole.


Image 35 Date: 2016-07-27 19:54:55

Tell me a story...
[desc=0] Yielding to persuasion, Edgar was treating the pets to a reading from his favourite Agatha Christie novel—a most ingenious poisoning! While his eyes remained on the page, in his mind he was playing the part of Mrs. Christie's world-famous detective, in the depths of South America, expertly examining the deadly curare plant ... Edgar quite fancied the Homburg and the moustache, but drew the line about seeing himself wearing a bow tie. That would just look SILLY.


Image 36 Date: 2016-08-04 11:41:03

Night-time happenings
[desc=0] Edgar, on his way up to bed with "Bleak House", pauses by the refrigerator for a midnight snack. Hmm ... Swiss roll, ice cream, chocolates, pie and cake ... what he REALLY fancied was a cheese and pickle roll ...


Image 37 Date: 2016-08-05 08:18:46

Night-time happenings
[desc=0] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5)


Image 38 Date: 2016-08-06 07:54:19

Night-time happenings
[desc=0] Edgar, clutching an expensive telescope, had assembled his colleagues outside in the dead of night to benefit from his lecture on constellations in the Northern Hemisphere. Little Bear had been excited to hear there was a group of stars named after him but was bewildered on seeing it looked like a ladle! "Or a shopping trolley," flippantly suggested the Rattlesnake. The Lamb quibbled about Aries. "Nothing like Dad," she said, and Baby Goat hadn't realised she was triangular. Blue Scaly Monster had a go at lightening the mood. "If I go like this, I look like the Corona Borealis," he declared. Ignoring him, Edgar informed them that in the Southern Hemisphere was to be seen the constellation Corvus, which (as Edgar was all too fond of pointing out to them) was Latin for "raven". "Why don't you fly there now?" the Rattlesnake was heard to mutter. [Please forgive the liberal artistic licence utilised for any constellations depicted!]


Image 39 Date: 2016-08-07 10:50:46

Nighttime happenings
[desc=0] Depression? It's that feeling at three o'clock in the morning when you're wide awake and all the stupid things you've ever done in your whole life come back to haunt you and get worse and worse and worse and worse ...


Image 40 Date: 2016-08-11 06:03:35

PnF Games Opening Week
[desc=0] And yes, we have a clear front-runner in the ancient Olympic sport of chasing a cheese downhill!


Image 41 Date: 2016-08-12 19:58:21

PnF Games Opening Week
[desc=0] In the Art: Epic Work category of the PnF Olympics, Edgar declaimed his tragi-comic verses in rhyming trochaic octameter: "Reflections on the influence of Hakaru Hashimoto (1881 – 1934) of Igamachi, Japan and his protocol on the treatment of thyroiditis". Edgar was pleased to note that, the better to appreciate his long poem, the judges had relaxed and closed their eyes.


Image 42 Date: 2016-08-18 15:14:59

When the lights went out ...
[desc=0] If Edgar had learnt one thing in the Scouts, it was BE PREPARED! So when the lights went out due to a power cut, he produced candles without any delay, and announced that it would be an excellent opportunity to embark on a reading of Volume I of "War and Peace" without any distractions of an electronic nature. Engrossed in Tolstoy's epic tale, he failed to notice the pets sidling out of the room one by one, the Ocelot Kitten slumbering peacefully in front of the fire and the Magpie roosting atop the long case clock.


Image 43 Date: 2016-08-19 09:36:36

When the lights went out ...
[desc=0] ... they had to find a shilling for the meter!


Image 44 Date: 2016-08-24 18:10:00

Celebrate my country
[desc=0] "Come on now, chaps and chapesses," said Edgar. "Auntie Lisa wants to know what makes us celebrate our country. What's good about Britain?"
Everyone pondered.
"Cornish pasties," eventually suggested the Rattlesnake. "Fish and chips. Steak and kidney pie. The Arctic Roll."
Edgar frowned. "Your world revolves around your stomach. Surely we can come up with something better?"
Rattlesnake regarded him sourly. "Did you buy that cushion specifically to match that huge beak of yours?"
"Wind in the Willows," interrupted Badger.
"No -- Beatrix Potter -- 'Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck'," squeaked Primrose.
Edgar approved. "I'll put: 'our great wealth of literature'. Unforgettable characters, such as King Lear, the Artful Dodger, Elizabeth Bennet, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot..."
"Beau Peep," sniggered the Rattlesnake.
[To quote Wikipedia, "Beau Peep is a popular British comic strip written by Roger Kettle and illustrated by Andrew Christine. The strip features the misadventures of the eponymous lead character, Beau Peep, an inept and cowardly British man who joins the tough and hardy French Foreign Legion in the deserts of North Africa to escape his terrifying wife Doris back home. There are also numerous surreal supporting characters."]
[An Arctic Roll was until the 1990s a very popular British dessert consisting of a cylinder of ice cream inside a layer of sponge. The taste was famously compared to "frozen carpet".]


Image 45 Date: 2016-08-24 23:24:15

Celebrate my country
[desc=0] "I've thought of something else we could celebrate. The British are very tolerant of eccentricity," stated Edgar, just about to leave for the Lord of the Rings Convention. His colleagues did their best to hide their smirks but the Rattlesnake snorted with laughter. "Just as well," he remarked.


Image 46 Date: 2016-08-28 23:56:16

Celebrate my Country: Choral Evensong
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Image 47 Date: 2016-09-01 22:25:31

What's in the box?
[desc=0] "Let's have some ideas for the competition," said Edgar. "What could or does this box contain?" "O homely Vessel labelled Fragile, that containeth my illusory hopes; my transient dreams; my frail ambition; my delicate ego; the fine eggshell of my intentions!" declaimed the Flamingo. Edgar was unimpressed. "And how exactly are we supposed to illustrate that?" he snapped.


Image 48 Date: 2016-09-01 22:47:19

What's in the box?
[desc=0] "I know!" said the Ghost. He turned out the light then hovered over the box, making 'Woo-o-o' noises.
"I didn't know there was going to be a cabaret," remarked Edgar drily.
"No, don't you get it? I'm representing Flamingo's shattered dreams and dead hopes and -- and -- "
Thoroughly abashed by Edgar's baleful glare, the Ghost subsided.


Image 49 Date: 2016-09-03 07:51:47

What's in the box?
[desc=0] In hindsight, perhaps it wasn't the brightest idea for the Blue Scaly Monster, pretending to be a jack-in-the-box, suddenly to shoot up from the confines of the box with a blood-curdling roar just as Edgar came into the room with bottles of iced coffee ...


Image 50 Date: 2016-09-06 07:06:09

What's in the box?
[desc=0] "Since it appears none of you can be at all sensible about this," announced Edgar, "I'm going to suggest the box should contain the best of English literature -- Shakespeare, Dickens, Poe, Austen, Rice Burroughs, Twain, Christie, Capt. W.E. Johns."

"Who's Poe?" asked Lamb.

"I can't stand Jane Austen," remarked the Mean Black Cat. "Anyone writing sentences of that length today would go straight on the reject pile."

"You're welcome to your uninformed opinion," snapped Edgar.

"You're fond of authors named Edgar, I see," observed the Rattlesnake, smirking. "Good to see you've got Capt. W.E. Johns in there too. I know you'd rather read Biggles than Shakespeare any day."