SPOOKY

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Apparently, Britain’s most haunted place is the village of Pluckley in Kent. Obviously the place to be on Hallowe’en.

BUNNIE

INTER-NET-ACTION

LA REPRISE

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The TOP14 season has begun again! Stade have started (hopefully) as they mean to go on by winning their first match 23-17 against Clermont. And what better way to start than Mirco scoring the first try of the first match! On a slightly duller note, however, what to say about the new kit? Drab, drab, drab ..

THE IONIC ORDER

Last week, art class took place amid the lofty surroundings of the Parthenon Marbles, where we were tasked with choosing a particular part of the frieze originally adorning the temple of Athena, looking at it in terms of line, composition, nature and idealism, and then describing what we had observed. Without using our hands to demonstrate the shapes and patterns. I am learning that it is not easy, this ‘look and tell’ stuff.

PALPATION

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As well as learning the language of the human body, I am exploring its bony landmarks, things such as great trochanter and the medial condyle of the femur. In effect, this means that I have to touch a living anatomical specimen to find their sustentaculum tali and other appendicular bones. And (horror!) I have to subject myself to such palpation too which is not good when someone is trying to locate your ischial tuberosity. I have to admit that, at the moment, all this is not sitting well with my English reserve.

RWC – THE FINAL

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Firstly: well done those Springboks! Whatever the result (and whether it was a Mark Cueto try or not), from the opening shocker to the final fairly predictable result, you have to admit it’s been a great World Cup; okay there’ve been a couple of unsurprising snoozefests but in the main, it’s been exciting stuff to watch. And now it’s all over for another four years. The TOP14 (and the H-Cup and the VI Nations) can’t come soon enough!

THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO - VII

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I’m not referring to the RWC when I say that the last few weeks have been restless and unsettled times. After a tortuous application process, I am now officially again one of those dossy reprobates, otherwise known as students, and about to embark on a wild and exciting three-year BSc journey. And just to make things even more thrilling, I am also learning the language of art. Great! More topics with which to enter(bore)tain you!

RWC - SEMI FINALS

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Top Man! Well, Top Men actually: England are going to play in the RWC Final after winning against France 14-9! I’ve watched the game twice now (as well as the highlights) and I’m still not quite sure how. I suppose the next burning question now though is who? In this strangest of World Cups, it could go either way between South Africa and Argentina this evening ..

RWC – QUARTER FINALS

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Who’d’ve thunk it? It seems that northern hemisphere rugby can rise to the occasion when it’s called for! England and France are going to meet each other in next week’s semi-final after beating Australia and New Zealand. The other semi-final is slightly more predictable in that South Africa is going to play Argentina after respectively beating Fiji and Scotland. Apart from Italy not getting past the pool stages and Mirco’s two-week suspension, what a great tournament this is turning out to be!

GUINNESS

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One of the things I don't like about ITV's coverage of this RWC are its obligatory advertising breaks. However, I do like Guinness and their great little adverts during these breaks so I suppose there is something to forgive.

FASCINAAATING!

Today is beloved tutor’s birthday so: all your little friends (hi hi hi) wish you a very special day with lots of fun, we won't even take the monkey today! I have made some fairy cakes in your honour (well, that was very well done). Hope the day is not too complicATed and that you’re not feeling too frijile. Okay? ;)

CACOËPY

For those of us who like words, there is a great new, eminently browsable, book with lots of neologisms like ‘inchpin’ and ‘zoonist’. I was most surprised, however, to see that ‘embuggerance’ is not present. Maybe that’s for the Second Edition.

RWC – IV

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So, out of the VI Nations teams, England, France and Scotland are through to the Quarter Finals. The bad news is that Italy are out after an unfocussed and less than passionate game and Mirco will most probably be cited for tripping someone up. Come next week-end, I’ll be cheering the northern hemisphere teams, of course, but I've really liked the games where Argentina have played so I think I’ll secretly be rooting for them too!