Rising Stars!

OK, they're actually Rising Literary Stars, but I like the two word title! I also like the fact that it makes me think of twinkly things that have had yeast added and been left under a tea towel to get bigger!

Well, what a day! In fact, such a day that I'm not managing to sit down and write it up until two days later!

After dropping the Wonderspouse off at the bus I whisked round the house collecting bits of bedding together and so on. I then started on the jobs list, ticking off quite a lot of items, and so, by early afternoon I was able not only to read and learn two large chunks of maths for my assignment/course, but also to refinger some of the passagework in the last movement of the Telemann Viola Concerto and start to practise it in!

Around 5, the lovely Theo arrived. We both got ourselves ready then headed off into Oxford for the evening. Arriving at Blackwells just before it closed we had a little time to browse the books before adjourning to the pub next door for a drink and crisps!

Then it was back to Blackwells for the main event - the Wonderspouse was on a panel of "Rising Literary Stars" - he's written it up here if you want to know more and see a couple more pictures from the evening. He never says that it's me who's taken the pics on his blogs, but since we're married it comes under "all that I have I give to you" as far as I'm concerned!!!!

It was wonderful finally to meet Euan, from Blackwells, at the evening, and Theo and I were amused to see that he was "live-tweeting" the event (check out @blackwelloxford), which he has now written up on his blog. It was also fab to see Anna Hobson (another writer friend), Banana the Poet, and Mr Banana there too - and the Bananas were really kind and brought us a beautiful copy of Saturdays Are Gold, which they have just published! THANK YOU! :-)

Afterwards it was back to the same pub for another drink (juice again for me, since I was driving) and lots of chatting about books and publishing and so on, which is always bizarre for me, since I'm not a writer - I just mess around with notes and numbers a bit! I stood and chatted politely, and in the bits of conversation I didn't understand wondered whether moving to the second finger on the A was really a good idea or whether I should stay in second position for the whole passage (if this bit is gobbledeygook, then just write me off as a viola player and ignore it)!

Then the three of us headed home! Theo turned out to be one of the fabbest and funnest ever houseguests we've had. She's COMPLETELY unpicky about food, which is excellent and the Wonderspouse provided pasta with peas and prosciutto for an awesomely alliterative supper! We then chatted until we saw the clock and decided it really was bedtime.

I went upstairs to turn the computer off, posting briefly on my facebook that now we'd settled Theo in for the night it was time for bath and bed! Theo commented, saying she was snuggled up with two purring cats!

I fell asleep hoping that she'd survive the night and that I wouldn't go downstairs in the morning and find that she'd been mauled to death by the feline five!