Four and Twenty Blackbirds

Being back at the Nature Park yesterday was very enjoyable. As Beth and I practised the play a huge great monster bird with a red chest came and perched on a tree outside. Beth said it was an American Robin, a bird not related to our own robin redbreast, well, apart from the both descended from dinosaurs bit, but in fact part of the blackbird family. I had seen robins all through the spring programmes, but this one looked so big and....well, knowing.

So of course, I couldn't get the Nursery Rhyme out of my head. Most Nursery Rhymes seem to have a deep, dark meaning to do with Kings and Queens, so I tried out a few possible interpretations in my head, each one having a grizzlier twist than the last. When I looked it up though, it turned out to be fairly literal. Whilst the great British sense of humour was developing, Kings and Queens were easily amused - and possibly infected with all manner of disgusting parasites - by their cooks baking a pie crust and boshing together a pie that contained live birds. These were very often pigeons, and had someone invented photography earlier, we might have had some good additions to Simmi's 'Strange Pigeon Women' photosite.

On the subject of disgusting parasites, and no this has nothing to do with Big Brother, we learned something bizarre about last year's 'Exorcist : The Beginning'. I went to see the original film when I was 16 - it had what was then called an 'X' rating, so I wasn't really old enough. It certainly scared me and I stayed scared for some goodly while afterwards. So, mission accomplished, young people should be frightened to death.

Nonetheless, I was anxious to go and see the prequel, which was almost guaranteed to be good since it starred Stellan Skarsgård. It was moderately entertaining in the way that some cheese can be, but no more and thus rather disappointing.

But over the last couple of nights, one of the movie channels has been showing a film called 'Dominion : Prequel to the Exorcist', also starring Stellan Skarsgård. Hmmm....curiouser and curiouser. Kevin did some research and discovered that director Paul Shrader had been hired to make the latter - and his version was made first. It was rejected by, presumably the producers. So they hired another director and a new cast - apart from Stellan - to make the one we actually got to see .

We couldn't resist watching the suppressed one, which was apparently hoiked round various independent film festivals, and guess what? Oddly, it was far superior and really quite creepy.

So, shields down - well, ok, that's just me, but tomorrow, England are playing Trinidad and Tobago. Yes, yes, I know it scares you when I attempt to discuss football, but please bear with me and correct me afterwards.

Now, Simmi sent me an article about how the Scots are buying up mangoes and rum so that they can support the West Indians rather than their co-Brits. I spoke to Austen earlier on the phone and I asked him what the chances are of T&T actually winning. I was slightly confused that they even had a team. I used to live next door to a family from Trinidad, and they and the constant stream of Trinidadians who came to their house, were great fun, true to form, much rum was drunk and discussed, and the food was hot and fabulous. But in fairness, and they would be the first to tell you this, they couldn't be bothered with organising stuff. The famous piss-up in a brewery would be something they'd think about but never get round to doing because life was just too laid back or it was raining. That's the way they were and it was how they were happy to be.

So how the devil do they manage to put together and train a football team? Well it seems that many players from British clubs have some connection with the country, enough to qualify to play apparently. So there was my answer.

I asked Simmi whether she thought England would win. She quoted Lenin at me.
I think we just have to let the lads play and hope that Wayne Rooney is back up and firing on all cyclinders. Did I get that right?

Lastly, because these people are simply asking to be heard and not forgotten, if you have time, please read this.
When our own friends can and do suffer prejudice, then multiply that by goodness knows how many times for what others may be going through in repressive regimes.