Warming Up

I got script 3 up to recording draft standard today, so just three more to go (but with one a half first drafts already done). It took quite a lot of sweat and tears (and a bit of blood and spunk) but this draft is a lot better than the first draft. I don’t like to plan too far ahead so I am not sure how (or if) the characters are going to get out of the hot water I have put them in, but that’s all part of the fun. I still feel queasy and it’s not going to be easy, but I have a clear fortnight to work on this and nothing else and after a bitty and busy autumn that feels like a huge luxury. No choice but to get it done as the recording studio is booked. I have somehow pretty much avoided the illness that had lain nearly all the rest of my family low for the best part of a month, so my main fear is that I get afflicted at this point. But if so the scripts should get pretty trippy!

My son got some new musical story books for Christmas which I have been enjoying as much or more than him. They are about a character called Poppy and involve buttons you can press which play little snatches of usually orchestral music. My favourite is Poppy and Mozart but there’s one about the orchestra in general and another with Vivaldi that we read and listened to tonight.

I suppose they are meant to introduce children to classic classical music, but they are really hitting me emotionally. It may be because I am tired at the end of the day or because I am usually getting cuddles from the child that likes me (my daughter only cuddles her mum), but these short snatches of Mozart and Vivaldi are really tuning into my heart and I find it all oddly moving. Again this might be about me having got to the point where I want to read in front of the fire, so love of classical music has just kicked in. But I think reading these books with my boy on my knee might be my defining emotional memory of him at this age.

He likes it too, though gets frustrated if I press the buttons (as they are just flat on the paper it can be a little difficult for tiny fingers to make them work (but I still manage ok).

They have made me want to seek out more of this kind of music and also to again appreciate the sublime genius of Mozart. They’re recommended for kids and adults, though as an adult you might need a kid with you if you’re reading them in public or you might look a bit weird. But who cares what people think?