Normal service to resume soon

Another time lapse. Well, the season continued as it began, leaving me in a state of exhausted elation. Had a friend visit for a couple of days, which was faaaabulous - she had sent me over long black velvet gloves to wear in the play; when I introduced her to locals, her identity was already known: "You're the Black Gloves Lady?" She was made to feel most welcome :-)

Tonight is the final performance, in Skibbereen Town Hall. I just wandered into the village, which was like running the gauntlet of fear-inducing comments:

"The Big Stage tonight. [Shakes head wisely] Skib like their plays. It'll be a tough audience."

How tough? Like, rotten vegetables tough? Someone else says they've heard tonight's show is sold out. Like that only makes matters worse. I tried to take sanctuary in the shop...

"I heard last night's rehearsal was ropey. Not good. [Shakes head wisely] Skib take their plays seriously. Rotten tomatoes seriously..."

Alrightey then. Time to practice lines I think!

In the meantime, here are some snaps of the New Year in Baltimore:





And the Martha Stewart-esque displays that my sister conjures up without any apparent effort...


And finally, the many champagne corks reminded me of The Fisher King...



A belated Happy New Year to all :-)