that hat

I've had a wonderfully relaxed day, chauffeured to Oxford to the Steampunk Exhibition, which was wonderful, but much much smaller than I thought it would be. The building is marvellous, and the contents of the Museum of Science History, fascinating. Netsuke of skeletons; an amazing little brass booklet affair with tiny inscriptions for an unbelievable number of mathematical sorting outs.

We wandered a lot, I bought a copy of Whitsun Weddings, we had double double expressos and cakes sitting outside in a little railed garden listening to a trio of trumpet, saxaphone and tambourine playing on the next corner and were treated to the sight of a silent but amazing display of dance/ballet/acrobatic/dramatic performed by about eight lads who drifted into view, delivered their choreographed routine, then melted silently back into the crowd, disguising themselves by putting their jackets back on. As they left, the yourng trumpeter decided to demonstrate he could do backflips and cartwheels too.

Sid declined to visit in the evening as the short people were imminent (smothered laughter). they arrived, exclaimed squeakingly and shrilly about the peppa pig and Ben10 books with stickers; peacefully scrawled all over the sheets of paper stuck to the fridge door, played for ages with the £1 each flashing light wands (and only broke one each), ate all their dinner and demanded the 'book with rhymes' for their bedtime story.

They're asleep, I'm exhausted - night

ah - the hat! I introduced Sid to the covered market, and he foolishly encouraged me to go INTO the Hat Shop. There it was; a confection of black sinnamay with an explosion of net and polkadots. It had to be tried on. Once I figured out the best way to wear it, I fell entirely in love with it, plotting to marry people off so I would have an excuse to wear it. Soooooooooooooo tempting. I took it off and told the sales lady it was time for her to terrify me, then, and only then, looked at the price tag.

£250.

Yearning, but I didn't buy it. Even #I# can't justify that price for a whimsical hat. Hmmmm. I did get my annual bonus letter this week, and the bonus will be paid this month instead of next (due to some weirdness about tax rules changing) but it's not exactly a life-changing amount and - oh, dear ; I do so like that hat. Perhaps I'll have forgotten about it tomorrow