Emerald Green

Emerald Green

 

Australian Sporting Colours

 

When I was ten my family moved to Australia. Emerald Green reminds me of the sporting colours of Australia, Green and Yellow (that’s Gold, Gold for Australia, not Yellow, and don’t you forget it). Having now spent many decades living in the UK it is nice to remember that once I played sport in a country that does sport properly. I miss Australia and I miss the members of my family who still live there.

 

Green Tree Frogs

 

One of my favourite memories is of finding baby Green Tree Frogs hiding the centre of bromeliaeds on the veranda of the our home in Townsville. They were a beautiful green colour and with their shiny eyes amongst the red tinged leaves and the dark water made them look like jewels.

 

Green Tree Frogs also remind me that I love nature. I love the theory of evolution and the economics of animals and genes making a living. I used to sit in our garden for hours watching ants or frogs or beetles go about their business.

 

 

Evening Sunlight Falling on the Meadows

 

I live in a flat that overlooks the Meadows in Edinburgh. This is a great source of joy to me and a great good fortune, mainly brought about by the financial prudence of MLW. I love the fact that we live in the middle of such a beautiful town, within walking distance of the city centre and my work and right next to a park full of vibrant people doing interesting things – or just laying about in the sun

 

At this time of year I am often looking out of my window at the falling sun striking the Meadows at a sharp angle. The area of the Meadows in front of our flat has a large shallow depression in it and is fringed by trees so the light falls unevenly on the grass. In some parts the light seems to be refracted from the Meadows as if it were falling through an emerald and the very air glows with a rich luminous green.

 

I can watch that for hours.

 

The Captain’s Sleep Suit

 

The Captain has an emerald sleep suit. The colour suits him and he looks mighty fine in it. It has robots on it and reminds me of when he was a Space Commander before he became a Real Life Boy. Sleep suits also remind me of singing the Jejama Time song at bedtime, which the Captain used to like but now he prefers The Captain’s Tackle is Naked and Free (Naked and Free Like He Likes)

 

For various reasons I won’t go into here the Captain is particularly precious to me.

 

Light Sabre

 

I was a boy in the Seventies. I wanted to be Luke Skywalker. Sensitive warrior monk over cynical piratical rogue? – no, I just wanted a light sabre and an X-Wing. Keep your Millennium Falcon. I’ll have the single seat fighter and the Jedi mind powers, and the Light Sabre. In Emerald Green, because I am the Master now.

 

Cordoniu

 

Condoniu is my favourite brand of cava. I like cava, I prefer it to champagne. Champagne in my view has disappeared up it’s own bubble. I like cava, I like Catalonia. I have relatives who fought to keep Catalonia free. I like the part of Catalonia where they make Cordoniu.

 

I have fond memories of a Condoniu tasting at Taste Edinburgh with two friends; two of the nicest people I know. Some people just radiate loveliness and these are two of them. One of the reasons I took up Improv was because I like these people so much. It was the last tasting of the afternoon and the chap running it was getting overly enthusiastic. A case and a half between eight of us later on a lovely warm Edinburgh summer’s day. Fantastic.

 

The label of course is emerald green.

 

Properly Cooked Peas

 

 

I love properly cooked peas. Peas just on the right side of under done. Peas that pop in your mouth with all the joy of bound up sunlight being released to scamper into your brain.

 

I lived for a while with some people who could not cook. Eating boiled to death, tasteless, texture less, bland gloop in front of a soap opera contributed to a soul death. I then lived on my own and could cook what and how I wanted. Now I live with MLW, the Captain and (in spirit) Bluebird. MLW cooks with soul and loves me. I enjoy food more now, especially peas.

 

My favourite dinner is steak with chips and peas. The popping moistness of the peas helps to refresh the palate after each mouthful of steak or potato. Lovely, food of the Gods.

 

The colour of properly cooked peas. Emerald Green.

 

 

The Green Lights

 

            My pal M is in a band called the Green Lights. I really like that I have a friend who is in a band. I’ve very excited about the possibility of my improv group and the Green Lights doing something together next year.

 

            You too can enjoy the Green Lights at

 

http://www.thegreenlights.co.uk/

 

Green For Starboard

 

There is always  a little red port left in the glass. On the other hand Green is for Starboard. I used to sail when I was a lad in Australia. In fact I owned my own racing dingy and racing cat and I was foremast crew on the best 12m racing yacht out of Townsville. I was responsible for not drowning, pulling some ropes, not blowing the $20k Jenniker out and sinking the yacht and making rum and cokes on long reaches.

 

Recently I took Bluebird sailing. We had a fab time and I was so impressed by how calm and good humoured she was when we capsized in the cold lake. She’s a star.

 

 Green reminds me how much I enjoy sailing and how I hope to do more of it and pass on some skills and interests to Bluebird.

 

Wizard of Oz

 

Emerald Green is obviously the colour of the Wizard of Oz. I enjoyed all the Oz books and I sometimes wonder if I was the only person who read them in my generation. I had a little bit of a crush on one of characters which caused me some concerns when I was in early teenage because there were some transgender things going on, but I got over it.

 

I especially like the fact that people argue that the Wizard of Oz is a parable about the gold standard and not a slightly weird book written by someone with an eye for a good story and decent living with no heavy lifting.