There is almost too much to cover about Sherlock's birthday trip, but the aquarium was a bit hit. Have some pictures. Here is a queen angelfish to start with...
And Sherlock's favourite, the sawfish...
Some very nice jellyfish...
And some...things. You'll have to ask Sherlock about these as I can't remember what they are.
Since we got back, Sherlock has drawn a design for a ceiling aquarium that would contain sawfish, so they could swim above him while he sleeps. He dragged someone up here from security who used to work in demolitions and consulted her about load bearing walls and weight tolerances. She says she thinks it might work.
Obviously, he's not getting a ceiling aquarium, but I am slightly nostalgic for the days when I could tell him the ceiling would probably collapse and he'd just believe me instead of calling in an expert. He's baking her biscuits as a thank you. Ten years from now I imagine he'll rule half of London and live in a house made of glass and fish and glitter.
Oh, and one more thing...
I know just how he feels.
68 comments:
That leopard looks a bit like you, when I even tell you there's marmite in something.
Those worm-things were sort of terrifying, the way they just...were there, looking scandalised and opening and closing their mouths, sliding in and out of the sand... mind you, I wouldn't want to meet the sawfish down a dark alley, either.
how very nice of Sherlock to make a thank you present, he is obviously learning how to keep his experts on side for when he needs them ;-)
Thank you for sharing the pictures, I'm glad you had a good time celebrating such a very important even.
L - I liked them, but the jellyfish were my favourite. If I had a ceiling aquarium, I would fill it with jellyfish.
Anonybob - ha, he is indeed! And he's doing well with the baking too. He did them nearly all by himself.
The jellyfish were amazing peaceful. Just floating about, squidging off each other.
Wouldn't want to risk some sort of mishap meaning you were suddenly in bed, drowning, being stung by loads of jellies!
well done Sherlock! being able to bake nice things is a very important skill if you're going to bribe people later in life ;-)
People do like baked goods--and they appreciate the thoughtfulness and the effort involved in being baked something even more. And it IS a thoughtful way to thank someone, which is even more important!
What kind of biscuits did you bake her, Sherlock?
The queen angelfish is very beautifully colored, I love that. And are the jellyfish in that picture under ultraviolet light? That is quite stunning to look at. Thank you for the pictures, John!
I had to do them all by myself because Lestrade keeps watching the football and not helping.
I'm doing chocolate and vanilla biscuits and with some melted chocolate on them.
Isn't it good, then, that you are now big enough to make them (mostly) yourself? :) And also that you know how!
Chocolate and vanilla with chocolate on top sounds very yummy. I'm planning on baking a vanilla cake with chocolate chips on top this evening, so we'll have it to eat after Yom Kippur, which is this Saturday.
those biscuits sounds lovely Sherlock, well done you :-)
How goes the football Greg?
Bloody brilliant. 4-1, and that 1 was a pen. Been down to ten men for the last half hour, too.
Good football and good baking! it really is a good night in the Lestrade/Watson/Holmes household :-)
Thanks for the photos, John.
Sherlock really is growing up. Found & consulted an expert, decided to make thank-you biscuits, and is capable of making them nearly all by himself. You two have really done right by that boy.
I'd say ruling half of London is a conservative estimate of what he'll be able to do in ten years time. Particularly if he has Mycroft about for the occasional consultation.
fA
I need a new rear tyre for my bike. Sherlock has forbidden me to get one until he can come. Everything is a learning experience, eh?
I have a feeling I will have to justify exactly why i want the exact tyre I want, too!
Not justify, explain!
It's not even like you have the ultimate answer of it's the only one I can afford is it? ;-)
I'm sure Sherlock will put in some decent research before he tells you what to buy. :-D
I love how Sherlock wants to know everything about the things that catch his attention. If he chooses to be, he'll be a great scientist one day. Must be exhausting sometimes, though.
fA
It's the mechanics I feel sorry for - I hope you forewarn them about the Sherlock question onslaught.
I will! He is currently complaining that my current tyre doesn't seem 'sticky', even though I say it is... trying to explain it now.
fA - it is exhausting, but also great!
AnonyBob - I find having money slightly terrifying, now I've got it! I don't know why, it's like I'm worried I might do something stupid ;) Although the reality is more like Sherlock will hack my account and spend it all ;)
DUnno how you saw out Poetry Day, but I did it by having John read me poems in bed.
;)
I don't think I'll end up meeting him, but we are having Richard Blanco doing a workshop at my school this weekend. The program director was so excited that I knew who he was.
John--I bet you could get (or perhaps even Sherlock could make) a translucent globe with jellyfish-shaped cutouts. If you put it over a lightbulb on a rotating stand, you'd sort of have jellyfish in your bedroom when you turned the lights out.
Ella
Reading aloud in bed is such a nice thing, I think (sighing, sentimentally, over days gone by.) But gotta admit that I didn't even think about poetry yesterday, and I go to hear poets at a poetry slam almost every week.
Ella, that's a brilliant idea. I think I'd want a colored light bulb or colored gels (colored filters) for dramatic effect. Bet it'd look fantastic bouncing off anything glittery.
fA
KHolly, Richard Blanco certainly IS a big deal! Is your school a university? (I don't know why, but I had a vague idea you worked in K-12.)
fA
Neither actually. I'm nearing the end of a 4 month job at a place that runs workshops for photographers and filmmakers. Mostly it's week long classes. This week it's stuff like documentary cinematography, production sound, camera assistants. So I'm not exactly sure why they're having a 2-day poetry workshop other than because they could get him.
Bet it'd look fantastic bouncing off anything glittery.
Like a large purple bone, for example.
I just had a woman with a heavy Asian accent tell me she needed a translator to go from English to English and was adamant that English was her first language and where the hell am I from since I obviously don't speak English. Just. What. What just happened.
Ella
That sounds like it would be a funny story from the headline, Mycroft, but it just gets sadder as you go along...very bizarre, for sure. (How do you find these things?!)
Yom Kippur is starting soon, so I'll take the opportunity to renew my wishes for a good year for you all. :)
...thanks Mycroft. I shall hope I don't come to such a sticky end.
Oh my. I fear Mycroft is coming into his own as a purveyor of teasing and mockery.
Though I wonder at that explanation. How many layers of cloth did that "ink eraser" have to go through? And how long was it, to have penetrated deeply enough to kill him? How did it not cut through the pocket, if it was kept there unshielded?
I suspect a conspiracy of the young women. You have a doctor and a D.I. in house. Does this story sound plausible?
Ella, the ways of The Public are strange indeed. If perhaps not as strange as the facts surrounding the death of young George Spencer.
Have a lovely and meaningful holiday, RR.
fA
Without knowing a whole lot about ink erasers, men's fashion of the time, or his build at the time of the accident, I'd say...yeah, it's possible. Says it was in his shirt pocket, which suggests just one layer of cotton to go through. It's hard to know if it could have been kept 'point up' and still entered his heart, but can't be discounted without further evidence. Also could have been point down, and not sharp enough to cut the cotton, but with a hefty impact, sharp enough to go through the skin.
Best wishes today to the officer shot yesterday. Sounds nasty - although not immediately life threatening. I think it was a point blank to the hand as they struggled.
Lestrade is watching a boring programme about old musicians.
What are you doing then Sherlock? have you had a fun day?
Genesis?
I shall wash your mouth out with soap, young man! 'Old musicians'...you'd learn something if you sat still and watched!
Yes, Genesis, SH :) Brilliant stuff.
I was looking at photos of punk musicians earlier this week - candids taken outside of clubs in the 70s - whose music I love. All I could think was how beautiful youth made all those very, very young people, and realized most are/were my age or a couple of years older. Which makes them, and me Old, I think.
But Sherlock, old musicians can often still make some very good music!
fA
Also, thanks L., for the expert opinion on the possibility of accidental death by "ink eraser." What rotten luck!
fA
Thank you, fA--it actually was very good, up until the last couple of hours. I count that as a big win!
I used to be a Genesis fan, I didn't know they were still performing.
Does Sunday find you all resting and enjoying time together or are one or more of you busy working?
I hope you have better weather than us whatever you're up to :-)
It's lovely today. We are all off, although I'm half expecting a call in. We've had a walk, seen the poppies at the tower again. Amazing sight.
A very striking way to make the numbers real.
I'm glad you're getting some time together and I really hope you don't get that call but I guess you've made good use of the time you've had :-)
RR - they're not. There was a documentary on about them. And then a TOTP special with some of their hits.
That explains that, then! They sort of dropped off the radar here, and my musical tastes shifted a bit at that time, so, in those pre-Internet days, I lost track of them aways back.
They last toured in 2007. One of those groups that you're never quite sure are gone for good.
I don't think the classic groups are ever gone for good. They're the sort that would always have an audience. :)
Is there any outstanding classic group/artist that any one would love to see/have seen?
We could be here all night ;)
Would have loved to see Hendrix, Cream and The Doors. Wish I'd been at Live Aid! Loads of others, too.
Have seen many bands, but the ones that stand out are Queen, the Stones, The Who doing Quadrophenia Live, and was lucky enough to catch Leonard Cohen not too long ago - although now it does seem he's touring again!
Joolz- so many! I'd love to have seen Joni Mitchell, the Stones in their hey day, The Kinks, The Clash and many more recent artists. I have to say, though, that there are many I've seen that I thought were worth it in a large auditorium (Bowie, Frank Zappa, The Talking Heads as examples) but a lot of acts weren't, for me, worth a big ticket price there. Didn't connect with the audience/me, poor acoustics (Grateful Dead, R.E.M., Dire Straits) So my huge long list would be a lot shorter if I'm being realistic about where I'd be seeing them!
fA
Gosh L., Leonard Cohen! and Queen! I've been lucky and seen a lot of live music but those are two I envy you.
fA
Rumour has it that now Cohen's new album is out (and doing very well), he might tour again next year. Well worth it. He's there, singing to thousands of people, and you feel like you're alone in the room with him. Catch him if you can!
I will follow your advice. Last time he came to a city in which I lived, I decided the ticket price was too high. But he's 80, so it's probably now or never.
fA
That's what I thought last time! It was bloody expensive, but he's got some divorces to pay for...and yeah, I thought it was the first and last chance I'd get. I went alone, too - no one else wanting to go was not going to put me off.
Ha! I now go to music festivals (well, one a year, not really plural) alone by choice. Concentrate on who/what I want to hear and no polite negotiating with other people.
fA
fA - I'm just back this evening from a small Irish music festival; we apply the same logic there as we do at the larger music festival we go to in Brighton each year - husband and I plan our own itineraries for each evening, then meet up at the end of the night (if not before) for post-alcohol snack and comparing notes. Works much better than trying to accommodate each other's musical tastes :-)
In terms of who I'd like to have seen - Queen, definitely. I'd like to catch Bruce Springsteen at some point. But generally I prefer much smaller gigs than big stadium events.
Nameless, Springsteen is someone who I bet would be much more powerful in a mid-sized venue. I saw him in the mid 80s (Born to Run tour), huge venue, and it was a powerful rock 'n roll act - but I remember thinking the opening act was way more engaging. (I remember it being Nick Lowe, solo, but that seems kind of unlikely so I don't know. White, not-super-young, New Wave-background guy, anyway.)
I also envy you having seen Queen, Greg, Freddie must have been awesome. I'd have also liked to have seen The Beatles and Beach Boys in their heydays, though I have managed Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson who both did some of their biggest hits which was almost as good.
I think the one that I paid a lot for because I thought they were never going to be seen again was probably Simon And Garfunkel when they did an unexpected comeback after all their rows about 10 years ago and they've since carried on so it wasn't quite so rare as I thought. ;)
One of my coworkers got to see Big Mama Thornton live. I'm insanely jealous of him.
Two of the most incredible performers I've ever seen that might count as "classic" would be Koko Taylor and Patti Smith. Not together. (Though that would be amazing) They both blew my mind, though.
I wish I could've seen the Clash or Joe Strummer.
And because it's awesome, here's Chuck Berry playing Johnny B Goode with Bruce Springsteen on backup: http://youtu.be/-2CdjOX8kas
Ella
Damn, Ella, that was an awesome, fun clip. Springsteen is so clearly having a blast - and watching Berry closely to make sure he's staying with him. Max Wienberg with all that '70s hair - in 1995 - and Nils Lofgren's always been a cutie. Shorter than me, even, but cute.
I don't really follow Springsteen's music anymore, I know Clarence Clemons (sax) died, I don't know who tours with him these days.
Patti Smith! I don't think I've ever lived anywhere she's been performing. Not that I knew about. I admire her a lot.
The only older blues player I've ever seen was [Clarence] Gatemouth Brown. He played a lot in Texas in the 80s and 90s, I saw him twice - once at a small pub that probably didn't seat more than 125 people. It was amazing, sitting at a table literally 4 feet from the stage. He played at least four instruments that night.
It's only in retrospect that I realize how lucky I've been in where I've lived and the opportunities it's afforded.
fA
Can anyone think of a reason why I shouldn't go back to bed? It's dark, very wet and Monday morning.
You can if I can SH! I've just got soaked to the skin waiting to drop the kids off at school because staff briefing overran by 5 mins so they left us all stood in the yard in rain and wind that were knocking little kids over! :-(
Monday mornings are such wonderful things aren't they? ;-)
I like your idea, SH. May I, too?
I never saw any classic artists in your sense, but I did get to see one classical artist live. Lincoln Center used to hold open rehearsals--for all I know they still do--and one streaming wet day I not only went but dragged my parents with me, because Leonard Bernstein was returning as guest conductor of the New York Philharmonic. The place was packed (very unusual for open rehearsals) despite the rain, and Bernstein was so thrilled! Normally conductors pretend there's no one there and just rehearse, but you could see him go "Hey, students!" and he immediatelystarted talking to us, telling us about the program and what Copekand had said to him about one of the pieces when writing it and it was amazing. IIRC, it turned out to be his last time conducting there.
CopeLand. *sigh*
That sounds like a great experience, RR. I've read that Berstein could be very charismatic. (& we did know, I'm sure, who you meant!)
fA
SH, in my fantasy life, you did rearrange your day so that you could go back to bed. Please let us know if you took the wild, rebellious, devil-may-care step of really doing so on a Monday!
fA
Unfortunately I battled on and drove through the spray and the wind to work. However, the sun has now come out, so it's looking a bit better.
apropos of concert going... I feel really lucky that I got to see Springsteen twice in the early years, when tickets were very affordable. Once in a smallish theater near Harvard Square and then again in a more outdoorsy venue in I think Lenox (not Tanglewood, but near there). He is an awesome showman, his delight at being on stage, making music with a great band, just shines.
Also got to see Bonnie Raitt at the Garage in Harvard Square, a tiny venue with (again, way back then!) cheap tickets. We sat maybe ten feet away from her. Then there was the time she "warmed up for" Jackson Browne at a theater in Boston or Cambridge, and a substantial portion of the audience was really only there for her... Browne noticed the empty seats when he came on stage.
The one I'm sorry I missed was Stevie Wonder, I was away at boarding school and my mom didn't want me coming to Boston that weekend because there was some kind of unrest, I don't remember exactly... sigh. That would have been awesome.
I wouldn't go to a rock concert nowadays, besides the ticket prices, I am not into the loud any more. These days a big treat is to see an emerging artist in a house concert, and buy a cd from them on the spot.
S
I would have loved to see nina Simone or someone like that too. So much passion in the music.
I saw The Police when they reformed recently. That was pretty good, but i would have preferred it in their prime ;)
Staying in bed definitely sounds like a good idea.
S - Bonnie Raitt was the first concert I went to that I chose myself! Near Easter of 1976 at a small college auditorium (so small they called it a "chapel") in NC. She was very roots/bluesy, it was marvelous! The whole band did a loosey-goosey Easter Parade around stage, singing the Irving Berlin song, to close the show.
I almost saw Stevie Wonder at a festival a few years ago, but I didn't get to the stage early enough and the sound system wasn't designed for the size of the crowd. Could only hear the crowd singing along with the occasional tiny thread of the performers. Gave up after 20 minutes.
I haven't yet been to a house concert for a pro, just a couple put on by students, but I hope the right occasion will arise.
fA
yeah, the early bluesy Bonnie Raitt is my favorite. So happy for her when she finally won a grammy a while back. :) It's kind of funny (to me anyway) that I love her so much, but hardly anything/one else in that genre. My record shelf/mp3 is packed with folk music, morris tunes, accordions, fiddles, bagpipes, and a smattering of pop songs from movie soundtracks or my younger days. plus some classical and early music, though I don't listen to that as much nowadays.
I guess re house concerts, I have the advantage of being part of a wider community that includes a lot of musicians and singers, some of whom are testing the pro waters. Nowadays it's possible (not "easy"!) to self-produce a cd, so it's delightful to support my friends, and then get to listen to them lots!
S
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