2February1996

My dear folks,

Let me set the scene. I have a glass of Coonawarra 94 Shiraz Cabernet at hand & it’s lovely. Jones is preparing supper, a special supper. Mavis is looking hopeful. The 1900 news is telling us about student education, a matter of great moment to prospective students but not, I confess, to us. The news of the day is that we have seen “Babe”. What an astonishing film! If you doubted that a partly computerised pig could wrap you around its little cloven hoof, put your doubts away. It will seduce you in half an hour flat, raise you to the roof & dash you to the floor. The film’s clever, it’s moving, it’s filled with irony & lovely music & it’s as compelling for adults as it is for children. It’s Animal Farm come alive but with its own subtle politics. Babe was the BBC film critic’s film of the year & it’s ours. In short, if you haven’t seen Babe, see Babe.

Okay, you’d think I was plugging the film. Not so. Let me change the subject. I’m not a great food person but the appearance of a Chinese takeaway in the neighbourhood caught Jones’ attention & when a £5 discount voucher was slipped through the door, we decided to try their fare. We ordered one portion of crispy duck & one of crispy lamb. (I can hardly bear to tell you this after seeing Babe; it’s no wonder that thousands of silly Americans emerged from the film as ardent vegetarians.) I had forgotten just how delicious Chinese food can be & the pair of us absolutely feasted last night. I suspect that similar take-aways are going to become part of our existence. They certainly beat the Sainsburys microwave products that I fall back on when Jones is away.

I got on to the Internet last night & decided to explore Calgary (rather to the frustration of my brother, Kevin, who was trying to phone me & found the line blocked.) Anyhow, I wandered around Calgary’s streets for the better half of an hour, its parks, its newspaper, its city guide, its university departments, its schools, its child-friendly philosophy, the Stampede, the full programme of the Calgary Flames. It was like getting a secret tour. It’s the first time I’ve simply got aboard one of the search engines and told it to find what it could on a certain subject. I could have spent a week there and emerged fully qualified as a Calgary tour guide. Whether I shall have similar success with Witbank and Neustadt I don’t know but I’ll keep you posted.

Jones is calling me to supper. So I’ll get this off with lots of love. I’ll have a sniff for SA news a little later Mum and post it over to you. Blessings for now.

T