I played scrabble with my girlfriend.  I had the letters I, L, O, E and Y, O, U.  I placed a sentence across an exposed V.  She protested the 14 points: “That’s not a word.”  When I argued, she told me that rules were rules.  I scored 7 for VOLE and no longer loved her. 

Background

Another short post this week. I’ve been enjoying the good weather, and also still haven’t quite caught up with everything following my holiday.

Vole was published in Notes From the Underground in 2009. It’s only now, 16 years later, that I realise that using all 7 letters from the rack is a bonus score, and the girlfriend should have been protesting 64 points. But 14 still seems like a funnier number.

Recommendations

My friend Sooxanne is putting on a multi-media exhibition in Rottingdean windmill on Saturday July 26th and Sunday July 27th. It’s all about masked pagan rituals in Europe.

Over the past few years, Sooxanne has been travelling with her friend Melita Dennett to European festivals and taking photos: from Krampus in Austria to bear dances in Romania. You can see some of the photographs on the exhibition’s website.

The exhibition itself looks like being quite an occasion. For a start, it’s taking place inside Rottingdean Windmill, where some of the photos will be hung. There will soundscapes from Spirit of Gravity as well as pieces from artists. And morris dancers! The programme lists some of the events taking place.

If you’re based in Sussex, you should go.