I
don't know how many of you realise that writing a blog every Friday
is a huge act of faith. Somehow and coming from somewhere will be
something like five to seven hundred words which are, at worst,
readable and sometimes, at best, worth reading. Usually at some time
on Thursday there is a glimmer of an idea which, by some strange and
probably miraculous process, matures overnight so that in the morning
there it is, waiting to be written. John Bailey recounts how his
wife, Iris Murdoch, would say - with relief - "Well, that's the
book finished. Now all I have to do is write it down." Within
the infinitely smaller and less erudite context of my Friday blog, I
would say that I know exactly what she meant.
 |
| Fish |
Not,
however, this week. This week I have not even an acorn of an idea let
alone a mature oak. So,where does that leave us?
 |
| Furniture |
Marcia
has need of some brooding before getting back to her computer. This
happens. I needed some inspiration for today's blog. Clearly the
thing to do was to drive into Totnes and see whether that particular
Totnesian buzz - a buzz I have found in no other part of the world
that I have visited including places such as New York, Paris and
Basle to name but three - could work its magic once again.
 |
| Cauliflowers |
We
arrived and parked (Marcia's little car) in the Heath car park next
to the huge van with 'Sitting Room' written on it which belongs to
our friend Bob who, as you may have guessed, runs a shop in the town
of that name which sells everything that you might find in - well, a
sitting room. Then over to The Brioche to enjoy coffee whilst sitting
at a table on the pavement - after all, we are nearly at the end of
the summer and this might be the last day this year when it will be
warm enough for this to be an option. Being a Friday it is market day
and we can sit there and watch some of the colourful folk who have
stalls here selling everything from fish to furniture, cauliflowers
to clothes, sausages to scarves.
 |
| Clothes |
We had
just finished our coffee when a couple walked by with an absolutely
beautiful Bernese Mountain Dog. I could not resist him so I accosted
them and asked if he could be a blog dog. This, of course, means
explaining the Friday blog and so on but I am quite used to that now.
He is called Oscar and he is a hospital PAT - pet as therapy - which
means he goes into the hospital and patients stroke and cuddle him
and, as a result, feel much calmer and generally happier. You will
see the him here in a few week's time.
 |
| Sausages |
On the
subject of pets acting in a therapeutic way, the first Cat Cafe in
the UK opened here, in Totnes, a few weeks ago. The idea comes from
Japan and China where people have difficulty in keeping cats. The
concept is simple: in the cafe are the four cats who are on duty that
day so that people can go in and enjoy a drink while cuddling or
playing with a cat. It seems that there are enough people who are
away from home and missing their cat or who live in places where they
cannot have a cat to keep the place pretty busy.
 |
| Scarves |
Back
to today - and the need to write a blog. Oscar duly recorded in the
camera, I left Marcia to her own devices and repaired to Rumour
where, fortified by yet more coffee and (more importantly?) a large
glass of Rioja (and Marcia is, of course, driving today) I settled
down to tell you all about it. Writing is indeed a mysterious
business. Now, with any luck, next Thursday ...
Your probably won't believe this but when I was "back at the ranch" and preparing the photographs for the blog, I discovered (to my horror, I suppose) that this week's blog dog is also called Oscar - and to think of all those people who wait for years to get an Oscar and I find I have two in one day!
