Town Mouse

Greeted by a bird

IT was wonderful to be accosted at the entrance of a country house this week by a macaw. The bird was so arrestingly beautiful that I greeted it almost reflexively and, to my delight, received a raucous ‘Hello!’ in return. That evening, the children wanted to know more than I could tell them about this marvellous creature and admired its photograph. An earlier, and unsuccessful, attempt to interest the children in my activities made this enthusiasm feel particularly gratifying.

As a spectacle, a great university college in festival mode is hard to rival, so it was a delight to attend a feast last weekend, with a combination of grand architecture, seas of people, the light of flickering candles and copious quantities of magnificent wine and food. Particularly striking on this occasion was the music provided by the college choir, both Evensong in the chapel and the graces sung from the musicians’ gallery of the great hall.

Returning home, I felt compelled to try to describe something of the occasion to the children. They looked bored, so I produced a photograph of me dressed in evening finery. After contemplating it for a moment, one lost interest entirely. The other asked disapprovingly where I’d got the silly clothes from. JG