Thirteen

Assuming my mum’s negatives were labelled correctly, this was me at thirteen

Today, this blog officially becomes a teenager. Happy thirteenth birthday, blog! No one will like you for a couple of years.

I’ve never thought about it this way before, but I guess we’re also getting close to the point where I’ll have been blogging for over half of my life. This messes with my internal chronology, as did discovering that the Lib Dem candidate for the Brent Central constituency – where I will soon have to cast a hastily arranged proxy vote for someone – is a mere 22 years old. That doesn’t seem acceptable. Or how about this: if Theresa May wins a thumping majority, I could be just shy of 33 before getting any chance to vote in a general election. At that point, stop counting.

Our Adler crew of victorious scavenger hunters

None of this ageing crisis applies to Doctor Who. Randi and I saw the first episode of the new series in the cinema and we both loved it so much. Bill is a wonderful new companion who instinctively makes me smile, Capaldi is warmer and friendlier and the whole thing feels fresh and exciting and adventurous. (This is not a reaction against the last series, which I also loved, but it certainly feels different.)

Last week we also had our third outing to Adler After Dark where we supported Catherine and AJ’s strenuous efforts to complete the scavenger hunt and win free drink vouchers. We also learnt about the hypothetical Planet Nine in a presentation which confirmed how ridiculous Pluto’s ‘planet’ status always was. I resent people who cheer for Pluto at astronomy presentations. I’m that person. (See how I’ve hardened over the years…)

Finally, we also saw Scapegoat at the Den Theatre. In the play, a trio of ‘Religious Freedom Caucus’ politicians face off against an old, established, liberal senator and his family. Also, the senator is secretly a Satanist. Also, his son has converted to Christianity after losing his wife. There are a lot of “also,” moments in this play in general, which was fun to watch (because, c’mon, it has whole scenes about Senate procedure!) but didn’t actually make a lot of sense. Most obviously, a constitutional amendment to force a national referendum on “any law affecting the rights of a minority” is a terrible idea, and someone should have told the playwright this.

The faces of pure joy

Looking at the wrong camera

Finally finally, above are the amazing Meepillows which Catherine and AJ went to extraordinary lengths to get for us! A very special day.

Bonnie Ní Súilleabháin, Chloe Booth, Sharon Dinkin, Jane Biddlecombe, Amy Banting, Glynis Greenman, Annalise Freytag, Sean Brown, Abigail Osbiston, Sue Buxton, Catherine Tarsney, Nigel Christine Hurley, Katie Self, Hazel Boss, Randi Lawrence, Ellen Wohlberg, Beth Dubowe-Lawrence, Sri Venu Paturi liked this post.