CHAPTER I

Down the Rabbit-Hole

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `and what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?’

So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.

There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, `Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!’ (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat–pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.

White Rabbit checking watch

In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.

The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/alice-I.html

Among my mess is the beautiful small quilted image of a ship at sea under the stars made for me by longtime, though distant, friend Chimaki Sato. 

So things have gotten a bit out of control! 

I’m just rushing about from one adventure to the next as our time rushes past TOO FAST!!!!!!

Sunday I went to Art Group and Randal and Singkey went to Kensington Palace.  Monday Randal and Singkey rode the London Eye and I went to the Tate Modern with a lovely person name Jane Lane-Roberts.  Jane is an artist, an art teacher, and a member of the Tate so took me as her guest to the Klee exhibit. What a treat!  Tuesday several of us carried our unneeded clothes and things to the Pimlico charity shops and then went to an organ concert at St Mary at Hill.  This morning we started with a Friends of St Katharine Docks coffee.  After that Randal, Singkey and I took the Tower Hill District line tube to Monument where we had to switch to the Circle Line.  It feels as if you’ve walked across London by the time you actually get to the Circle Line platform.  At Holborn we “alighted” from the Tube at which point Randal and Singkey headed over to the British Museum and I headed over to the great Oxfam Used Book shop just near the museum.  It’s a wonderful shop and  I could have stayed hours but had to find something to eat and a loo before joining a walking tour of the St Giles Rookery.  But that will take me ages to write about as I just had to download Dickens Sketches by Boz so I can read  On Duty With Inspector Field which is set in the area of St Giles.  Our Singkey will be returning to University Friday so we’ve been trying to make the most of these last few days with her. 

     Tomorrow we will visit Singkey’s China University teacher, a visiting scholar here in London.  So not much time for writing lately as I’ve also been spending more time reading.  But I will catch up….hopefully.

Try to stay warm all of you!

Ru