Ye Olde V Day.

I find Valentine's day eminently amusing. Not only is it a commercial reason for people to avoid romance the rest of the year round (because how else would such a day remain special?) but it also allows me to amuse myself with various Scrooge-esque activities. An example of this is sitting listening to music very loudly and being entertained by the number of songs which fit today perfectly. For example, Eros' Entropic Tundra by Of Montreal which I have just spammed my dash with. :)

It also gives me something to complain about - being British this is an essential ingredient of my life blood, along with tea, rubbish public transport and emotional repression etc - which is excellent. For example, the fact my padre marched into my room this morning with brazen cheerfulness and announced "I am taking your mother out for a curry later. Have fun on your own." or that, as I was given 3 roses by my chum Esther, a girl gasping at the sight of them and going "She's got three roses!" as though the extra pound spent on three instead of one meant I was quietly cheating the system.

I love what a big deal people make of today, but for all the wrong reasons. I have never been a romantic person, and so taking a holiday like this ironically is probably more fun than any other approach I could take. This view culminated in a Soppy Romantic Tale of Sop which I wrote for Ellie. It was one of those stories which is so sticky and sickly that you might wish to vomit just looking at the title (soppy is not repeated for no reason!) and told the tale of how Ellie got together with Mr Collins from Pride & Prejudice as they wept over Lady Catherine's jugs. There were rose petals, hair touching, tears, gasping and lots of pretentious imagery. Or at least, there was until it was cut off in its prime by the end of lesson bell. Gutting.

So with that, I shall leave you and return to my soon-to-be-free house, where I shall be happily tucking into chocolate, television and a romantic dinner for one, cooked by my own fair hand.

To approach the end of this blog in the style of my friend Anna: what are your views on this corruption of the martyrdom of a Christian chap? How have you spent your day? Tell, tell!

And I shall leave you with some nice, fitting tunes for you to enjoy ironically. :)

"Cocker was involved in an incident in which he had to fight a bear."

I have had an increasing urge over the past few hours to share with you my love for this man, right here! This (as though anyone couldn't know!) is Jarvis Cocker, who is a long-term love of mine. Why, you ask? Well, to begin with, he has a voice which could melt polar icecaps - it is deep and resonant and lovely. He was also in a fabulous band called Pulp, which I love very much. You're most likely to know their song Common People, which is played tout le temps, tout les places!

Additionally, he appeared (and made worth enduring) the Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire film as Kirley Duke of the Weird Sisters, and is who I am listening to right now on his radio programme The Sunday Service on Radio 6. I would also like to point out that he is very lovely, and makes me laugh at his silly humour, and is also quite humble, compared to many radio presenting folk. Though he did do a little raunchy introduction to a song when my mother was in the room which, while I am not complaining, was slightly awkward considering.

Also, if I remember rightly, he is a master of crazy dance moves. :D Also, he wears very nineties glasses, and has done since long before David Perham decided to bastardise them.

My only critique is that he now has a beard, which he definitely needs to get rid of. Definitely, definitely.

Have some more pictures of Him:

Here he is back in the nineties with Pulp. :)

And here he decided to dye his eyebrows and beard blue. As y'do...

Finally, when he was touring *in the nineties* he walked into a bear. I'll let him tell you the story...

"I turned a corner and there he was, just staring at me. I knew right then what was going to happen, that it was just me and him, mano y bearo. So I grabbed a gazebo pole from the ground and managed to halt his beary advances by swiping at his face. When he took a few steps back I ran to the bus."

And there you have it. Jarvis is a bear-defeating, pop-singing, sexy-talking, rather amusing chap, who is (as they all seem to be) old enough to be my padre...

Let Them Eat Cake (Excessively!)

Today: the awesomest day in Awesome Land. Aware as I am that 'awesomest' is not a word (and indeed that Awesome Land is an utter fabrication and not a place at all, let alone one full of awesome things), today is a day worthy of defying such logic out of sheer excitementiasm!

For one: woke up in a smashing mood; a rare occasion, especially when the weather outside of a morning suggests a sudden-onset Ice Age. Then I was cheerfully reminded that it was Sunshine's birthday, by a bright spotty box of goodies and the prospect of much cake and merriment flooded my mind!

I was not disappointed. Cakes Galore! I cannot explain adequately the proportion of cake:people that was going on, even as I arrived. This was before Jess brought her own colossal chocolate cake with added cake-shaped-sponge which, amid the marass of cakiness, could very easily have been mistaken for further baked delights!

Highlight of the day, however, was not the cake (though I do suspect the butter-icing in the butter-fly cakes is the reason for my sustained joviality even this late in the evening) but was the present opening! I love presents, for some reason even more when they are for other people, because there is nothing more lovely than watching people getting things they like!

The most intense example of this being the revelation (aptly left till last due to bold letters declaring 'OPEN ME LAST!') of Anna's picture book. Without having a photo of it, I cannot hope to impress upon you the adorableness of said book, which even went so far as to have THREE-DIMENSIONS. The only thing that could top the thing itself was the reaction - tears abound.

For the second time in recent weeks the 'group cry' mentality could be applied. This time, however, it was nothing to do with application stress, or school-based cabin fever. Regardless of being neither giver nor receiver of said book, I was welling up in a serious way.

That takes the cake (not all of it, nobody could possibly take ALL of that) for the most touching moment of the year so far and, perhaps the most hilarious came mere moments afterwards.

If you are aware of Harry Potter, and are aware of Hogwarts School and, and are aware of the grand tradition (though apparently occurring only once for Harry's generation) of The Hogwarts School Song, you will be better able to picture what 'Happy Birthday to You' entailed. Everyone, different pitches and tunes, attempting not to die of laughter whilst singing (at great volume) Sunshine's birthday song. Literal death by laughter, right there.

The only downer was that it had to end so soon - the bell dragging us all in our separate ways to a premature (and frankly poor excuse for a) quiz, and more lessons.

Latin was a laugh (but that is nothing new and ought to be taken as standard), and I managed to get much too involved in an English essay about Carlo. I welled up, for the second time today, that's how involved we are talking about.

All in all, what with a high sugar intake and low stress levels, today was beautiful. :D