It’s my birthday today, and I wasn’t going to mention it at all but then my lovely R woke me this morning with a cup of tea, a big grin and a small pile of presents, all from him. I thought I’d share as the gifts he chose say a lot about how well he knows me – and a lot about me too I guess.
First up… The Essential Leonard Cohen
…this is long overdue! What little Leonard Cohen I have is on ancient cassette tape, and as at least two of his songs reduce me to tears in an embarrassingly pavlovian fashion it’s amazing it’s taken this long to get it on a decent format. I know it’s a compilation but it has all my favourites and hey, with such a prolific artist where do you begin? I can’t wait to put this on, set my stopwatch and see how many seconds it takes before my eyes start leaking. I have no idea why the tears are so predictable, I always fight them (a losing battle) and I have heard the music so often that the initial shiver of unfamiliar beauty has long faded, but it still catches me out every time.
Next, The Snow Leopard
, a book I have long known about and yet… as with the Leonard Cohen, how did this one get away? Generally with natural history writing I prefer intimate tales told by people exploring familiar surroundings, I often find writing that relies on an exotic location to give it weight tiresome. However this classic tale has always appealed, and if friends who have read it before me know anything, I have some beautiful prose and observations on the natural world through a Buddhist perspective to look forward to. I’m filled with anticipation at the thought of reading this.
Finally, That’s Entertainment! The Complete Collection
is a glorious slew of thousands of clips from old MGM musicals, I know it’s cheesy but I LOVE it! This one’s for pulling the duvet onto the sofa on a cold wet Sunday afternoon and singing along to the best bits from The Wizard Of Oz, On The Town and Singin’ In The Rain. I am a closet fan of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, which can often startle those who only know me by my love of old punk and other noisy, aggressive artforms.
And finally, that plastic clockwork fish. Is it so wrong to find a bit of painted plastic so amusing? Yes, yes it certainly is, but I can’t help it. What fun! Time I got in the bath to try it out, so again top marks to R for knowing EXACTLY what I needed for my birthday.
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