Red rabbit, flying.

I'm utterly transfixed, listening to the rescue operation of Chilean miners on the radio. Special glasses and tinted windows, underground videos and audio-video links in the 'Phoenix' - it's like science fiction. I knew they'd be out sooner than Christmas. Or perhaps, I couldn't imagine walking the surface for months knowing that there were people enclosed beneath. I was talking to someone the other day that I've known for about a year, 15 months ish. He used to work in the mines in Sheffield, he did so for 30 years until about four years ago. He never comes inside; he's the caretaker at my work, if we want to find him we call his mobile. He'll drive you anywhere, drop kids' bags off at school, do chemist-runs, get the shopping in. He's interested in everything I tell him, including this:



I've been twice, thanks to Nicola. I'm not graceful, but I can do it. I want to carry on, which is more than I've said about some things in the past. Nicola has nice pointy toes. And seems to have more control than I, who often feel I am a pair of tights stuffed with cannon balls hanging on by thread arms. My shoulders do not appreciate my acrobatic desires.

So, the news. The news, the news.

I went to get the tattoo, and am enamoured.



The picture is from Deryn's facebook page. After I saw the rabbit in Whitby, I found plenty of rabbit images, flying ones, skeleton ones, white ones and scary ones, and gave them to her to magic something new up. I knew I wanted red, abstract, detailed and finely executed, which is why I chose her. (A friend of Richard's sent him a link to her facebook page, which he passed on to me. It all happened around a similar time.) You can find her here: http://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=222783994864&view=info&fbb=r2b1527bd&refid=17

We also went to the Sheffield tattoo convention, which was... Well, it was loud and full of buzzy machines. But I took vital sustenance for Deryn in the form of a red jelly mouse, so it wasn't a wasted day. AND, I got this excellent (if I do say myself) shot of some bikes outside: