Wednesday 29 February 2012

A Leap of Faith

That’s it, she thought, it’s now or never. It’s time. This year was definitely the year!
She could feel the churn in her stomach at the mere mention of the idea. The butterfly of love flitted back and forth within her chest. Or was that heartburn? The mere thought of his name still made her go week at the knees. At her age she should have more sense. But who said anything about love being ageist? ‘Love knows no bounds’ or was that ‘boundaries’. She had read that somewhere once. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have her fair share of suitors and admirers, but somehow, this was different. He was different and he made her feel different too in a special way she hadn’t known with the others. There was something about him, his smile, his presence, his ability to always put her at ease. She particularly enjoyed how he winked at her when no-one was looking. There was still something about that smile of his that made her heart beat faster.
“Morning Rosie. How are you today?” he called out in his soft spoken accent.
Even now, she could feel herself blush a little, merely thinking about whether or not he could have heard her thoughts. The love butterfly was in full flight now, frantically flying up and down, back and forth like a … butterfly possessed. Perhaps that was a warning signal? What if it was saying, ‘No, no, not one of your better ideas?’.
She could, of course, always choose to ignore it; however, where would be the fun in that? Besides what did she have to lose? Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
It wasn’t as if she would have the opportunity next year or the next. A year could change a lot, she knew that. She would be another year older. The butterfly of love may have died.
She watched him walk towards her, a tall, dark haired, handsome man in his 20s. Smiling, like he always did.
“Will you marry me?” there, she had said it now.
“What?” he laughed.
“Marry me” she winked and nodded to the calendar behind him.
The young doctor was delighted his patient had survived the operation. She had been in a coma for two days. It was touch and go. Next of kin had been contacted. He had been a little anxious going into theatre. But the decision had been made. She looked so frail even now. But she was back again, at least something of the old Rosie, the light hearted banter with the junior doctors.
“Of course, February 29, I hadn’t realised and my first proposal of the day. Thanks Rosie. Can I give it my full consideration this morning as I complete my ward rounds? It’s not every day I have a proposal of marriage to consider. This decision cannot be taken lightly.”
“Okay ” she smiled and closed her eyes.
He could tell she was exhausted.
If she ever had a grandson, she hoped he would be as caring as this junior doctor. She recalled the patient–doctor relationship of her nursing days, cold and detached. At 87, it was unlikely that she would be around for another Leap Year proposal. She wondered if the young doctor would remember this one.

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Saturday 4 February 2012

War Horse ... poetry in motion.

I love the theatre and could go every week if I could afford it. I particularly enjoy being given gifts of theatre tickets, although chocolates, flowers, perfumes and ‘surprise’ gifts are most welcome too. A few years ago at Christmas it was vouchers for horse riding at a local stable yard. This Christmas, I was particularly delighted to receive from The Man, theatre tickets for ‘War Horse’.

During the week, we took the day off work and went to see ‘War Horse’ at The New London theatre. How was it? It was amazing, wonderful and magical. If you haven’t seen the production I recommend that you do. You’ll love it! This is a very cleverly piece of theatre taking the art of puppetry to a whole new level … in my humble opinion.

The acting was first class. The music was excellent but for me the creative team who choreographed the story through the life sized puppets was truly amazing. The movement and the animation of these beautiful puppets were both creative and believable. But don’t just take my word for it, see it for yourself and be prepared to have your heartstrings tugged a little too!

All in all, a truly enjoyable day in the city, stopping for lunch at the beautifully refurbished St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, a recommendation from one of my writing bloggers. The hotel is definitely worth a visit for lunch and great architecture too. We had a trip to The National Portrait Museum to check out the current photographic portrait exhibition - Taylor Wessing’s Portrait Prize winners., the Man being is a keen amateur photographer, you understand.  However, for me, the highlight of the day concluded with the wonderful production of War Horse at one of London's finest theatres.  


A horse is poetry in motion. ~Author Unknown