God's Bodkin, Man!

We had a big moment yesterday when I got home from work and Beth decided to mark the occasion by moving from a prone position to sitting up all by herself for the first ever time. Michelle and I were both dumbstruck, and were cheering and applauding when we should have been considering our baby's welfare. As a result, Beth then toppled backwards and whacked her head on the floor, triggering a few minutes of loud crying. We are such bad parents.

I finished reading Bleak House, which I have wanted to get through ever since it was recommended by 2 people I trust on these things - Lovely Kate and Bunjo. At first the whole thing is bewildering, requiring great concentration just to remember who is who and how it all fits together. Eventually, though, it begins to get easier and the last couple of hundred pages are genuinely moving.

Also I whizzed through Another Bullshit Night In Suck City, a memoir about a man becoming reunited with his alcoholic father at a homeless centre at which the son works. Groovy.

Oh, and I watched Olivier's Hamlet on video. There's a plot I know well. Well enough, in fact, to notice the omission of both R&G and Fortinbras. Great imaginative use of the camera, and some top bodkin-lobbing action in the "To be or not to be" soliloquy.

Dec 15th is Nick's birthday, and officially the start of Christmas revelries. Enjoy!