Family Stories
Posted on 9 May 2010. Filed under: Family Stories | Tags: Buffy, Mother's Day, Spike, Supanova, Torchwood |
What do your family do for you for Mother’s Day? Do they go all out to bring you breakfast in bed or take you to a fancy restaurant or just bring you a box of chocolates? My DDs do none of the above, the OH will generally get me a box of chocolates and this year he bought me a large box of Guylian; he tells me he’s watching my waistline. One year my eldest bought me Red Dwarf VIII and I’m just going to digress and tell you all the story.
One day I found a receipt on the table for the Red Dwarf VIII DVD. I thought it said credit card and so I left it in my OH’s office as he was the only other one with a credit card. I was very careful not to say anything to him as I didn’t want to spoil the surprise as I just knew it was for me for Mother’s Day. I mentioned it to my eldest who got quite upset and I thought it just meant she would then need to find something else for me. Mother’s Day came three weeks later and I got up early to go to a market and check it out. I was forestalled by the OH who gave me his present. I was totally flummoxed as wrapped up was a cookbook and a box of chocolates. Where was the Red Dwarf DVD I was expecting? He denied all knowledge. That’s when my eldest walked in and gave me a parcel…you guessed it, it was the Red Dwarf VIII DVD. I was totally surprised, awed and floored by this. I was in tears. I’d really wanted that DVD, she knew that and had managed to get it and keep the secret for several weeks. I knew which day she’d bought it as she’d visited the shops and I was coming past them about the same time, we did connect by phone but she didn’t want a lift home. I still can’t explain the receipt, it did say cash so why did I see credit? The youngest had taken a walk up the street the day prior and bought me a mango. Did I feel spoilt that day or what?
This year the kids politely knocked on the door at 8am. I called out and when they came in I was told to close my eyes. “That’s easy!” I said and when I was allowed to open them I saw this.
On the left you have James Marsters as Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and on the right is James Marsters as Captain John Hart in Torchwood. It was drawn by Douglas Holgate and signed by James Marsters. She got it at Supanova last month, Holgate is the talent behind Skullduggery and Marsters you know all about and if you don’t then you should. She commissioned Holgate specially for this cartoon and somehow I’m going to have to frame it and hang it on the wall. Easy, I hear you say, not so easy I say back. The bonus on the back is a rough sketch of John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness in Torchwood. How do I frame it with both the back and front showing? Why is there a bonus? Because Holgate misunderstood and started sketching Captain Jack before being corrected. Which part do I like best? I don’t know. The thought involved in this is just amazing and to actually put it all together is even more so, add to that the skill involved by Holgate, the fact that James Marsters thinks it’s cool and also the bonus and I’m afraid I just don’t which is the part I like best. Just to add to the story, she’s been pretending she had no idea how to top the Red Dwarf VIII DVD present since she attended Supanova.
I don’t normally do celebrity signatures, but I’ll make an exception in this case. She’s managed to top the first present I mentioned, Red Dwarf VIII but has no idea how to top this one.
-37.890690
145.067589
Read Full Post |
Make a Comment ( 3 so far )
Posted on 12 January 2010. Filed under: Family Stories |
No real blog on books today as I’m going to take a few weeks break from the book I’m currently reading. I’ve been trying to read a biography on Yitzhak Rabin by his widow and have cried through every page of the 34 pages I’ve read so far. It’s not just the reading matter, as that is really sad too, but it’s also my frame of mind and what happened one year ago tomorrow. I’m going to share with you so you will understand if my head isn’t quite where it should be for the next week.
One year ago tomorrow my step-dad had a heart attack in the street and ended up in a coma which he never came out of. If he had come out of it he would not have been the same person as they had trouble reviving him and he had a lot of brain damage so it was probably for the best. I’d like to take a few moments to salute the medical students who did their best to revive him. It was very brave of them to put their learning into a practical situation and try to save a total stranger, for that I thank them, they did a fabulous job. The weather was very hot, as you all know, as it was the lead up to Black Saturday and that probably was a major contributing factor to their lack of success. Anyway, it was a very trying time for the family and I’m incredibly grateful it only lasted for eight days, it could easily have lasted for much longer and been much harder. As it is only one year ago I’m finding the added emotional challenge of reading about the assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister just too hard so I’m putting it away until things are a bit more stable here.
For a bit of light relief I’m going to tell you the story my Mum told me this morning about her cat. He is very clever and adopted her when he didn’t like his previous slaves. They had young children who didn’t give him the reverence due to a cat and so he looked at the other households in the neighbourhood who were feeding him and chose my Mum. Yes, she did encourage him. Anyway, if you’ve been following me on Twitter or if you’re in this part of Australia you’ll understand the hot weather we’ve been having. He asked to be let in and then asked to be let into her bathroom, he headed for the bucket of water she collected from her shower and tried to drink from it. Unfortunately, his anatomy is such that it was too hard for him so he dipped his paw in and licked that instead. When she tipped the bucket so the water was closer to the edge he moved in and drank. We don’t quite understand why he wanted this water as opposed to the bowl of water left in the kitchen for him, but he did.
Read Full Post |
Make a Comment ( Comments Off on Family Stuff )
Posted on 28 November 2009. Filed under: Family Stories, Uncategorized |
I know it has nothing to do with books but I’m going to give you a few family stories at odd times. My Great Uncle Abe passed on recently and has left a rash of stories. This is my favourite. It’s set sometime in the mid to late 1960s.
Uncle Abe used to work in Russell Street, Melbourne. He normally took the train into the CBD and then back home afterwards, embarking and disembarking at the old Princes’ Bridge Station under Swanston Street just before St Kilda Road. One day he had to take a parcel in so he took the car and as was possible in those day he parked outside his office all day with no repercussions. Nowadays you either spend an enormous amount on parking or move the car every hour or two to avoid a parking fine. After work he drove south down Russell Street, turned right into Flinders Street and was stopped at the lights at Swanston Street opposite the clocks. Knowing the length of the cycle he hopped out of the car (leaving the keys in the ignition and the engine on) to get a paper from Princes’ Bridge Station. At that point habit took over and he got on the train, got off at Gardenvale Station and realised what he’d done. So he crossed the line and went back into the CBD looking for his car. When he got there he found a policeman who directed him to his car which had been run up onto the pavement. The policeman had seen what he’d done and taken the car out of the way, he was most amused and let Uncle Abe take the car away without any official repercussions.
Read Full Post |
Make a Comment ( 2 so far )
Suz's Space Blog 