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| Sunday, 18 January 2004 |
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Weekend Meander : In the bleak midwinter Eyeruone is in hybernation. It's bitter midwinter. Snow and frost on the ground. Nothing green is to be seen. No blade of grass in sight. Actually, everything is quite silent. It's really a blanket of silence, as silent as the snow itself. No one is anywhere to be seen. Christmas is over, but some trees are still there, reminding us of the wonderful time of year when nothing is like it at any other time of year. We are in our forest quarters-our favourite trees, now totally denuded of leaves, and snowbound-but still our favourite trees. The queen is still sad: she is wrapped up up in her silver mink robe which she draws closely round her. She also wears her silver mink hood over her dark brown hair. Often, we see a teardrop in her eye. But we don't ask why. She is not herself at all; Queen Tit used to be so full of fun. Silence from Bottom, Starveling, Snug and the rest. There was a sudden snowfall late one afternoon; the queen was not to be seen. She was not in our tree and she was not in any part of the forest. Should we send out an e-mail to Merlin or to Robin O' the Hood who takes our urgent messages, asking where she is? Meanwhile, we had decided to issue an edict that no mention of the Sri Lankan Advisor was to be made in any circumstances whatsoever anywhere at all. We had the edict itself nailed on a tree, but soon it was covered in snow. And then it was that we saw Queen Titania, wrapped in her snowskins, looking wistfully up at the edict. We think we saw a teardrop glisten in her eye; she did indeed seem to be very sad. But why? Why? Why? We guess that that question has been asked millions of times before in history and will be asked millions of times more in the future. Just then, Bottom, Pyramus and Thisbe (P&T) arrived through the snow singing: 'Why is a very sad question. Why, why, why?. Why is why so sad, they chorussed. P&T or course had tears pouring down their cheeks. They are in a state of perpetual melancholy, even in the bleak or crisp midwinter. But we think that what made them so sad was that they had seen the queen in a sad mood. And everyone in the forest loves Queen Tit. Why is the queen in a sad mood? Good question; important question. Just then Bottom rushed in to defuse what might have been rising tension.' What's all this about rising tension?' he asked. But his question wafted into the snowy air and as the saying goes, went into thin air thereafter. The air is bitter and thin-almost freezing, and it is sometimes difficult to know whether it is morning or evening. You have to go by instinct, really. Puck is a master of instinct, but thar's because he is in so many places at so many times. That's Puck, which is why Will Shakes will call him so many centuries from now. "Where is the queen? Where is our queen?' That was a small little chorus from the Little Blithe Spirits of the Night-Cobweb, Peace Blossom and the rest who were snuggling in their snowdrops, shileding as best they could from the cold. They were missing Queen Tit. She had always been like a fairy godmother to them, shielding them from all danger and even from the elements when summer gets too hot and winter too cold--like now. So what shall we do now? Actually the queen was dozing in our favourite tree, trying to escape the cold herself. She was all wrapped up in her silver fox robe and had a beautiful cap which had been designed and made for her by Starveling himself. She looked beautiful as she dozed-just like the queen in Camelot looked six centuries ago. Silent snow lies over the forest. Although Christmas is gone and with it the New Year, snow lies thick over the landscape and there is really very little else. Nothing to do either. The squirrels are not to be seen and the little animals are all hybernating in their respective corners. Just then Puck rushed in from the snow and danced a fandango; it was the only way he could keep warm. Puck has been known to do this kind of thing from winters to winters. Sometimes he actually puts on a really good performance and gets an encore from his little fans out in the forest. Sherwood is quiet; not a mouse stirring. But there aren't many mice in Sherwood-never have been. Sherwood is not mouse country. The foxes are out-silver as well as the red ones; they too are feeling the bitter winter. But they have their fur to keep them warm, so they dont do so badly, actually. It was late afternoon and there was no winter sun to be seen- not even a streak of the setting sun. But in winter the sun doesn't set. It simply stays on the horizon, sometimes quite red, sometimes hardly visible. Just then Bottom came in. He usually enlivens the scene because his ideas are so original. But Bottom's ideas are usually connected with cocktails or pre-lunch or pre-dinner drinks. But this time he came in with a really original idea- New Year pantomime to be staged in Sherwood with Robin O' the Hood's gracious permission. Now, 'pantos' are only staged at Christmastime, but Bottom has these original ideas, as we said. The 'panto'was an original one, not from traditional literature. Bottom had the idea of getting Pyramus and Thisbe (P&T) to join in writing the script. Although they are rather laid back, P&T are quite capable of turning out quite original things, that is, when they could bestir themselves to do so. Most of the time they hybernate, sometimes even in summer. But Bottom was not going to reveal his 'panto' plans just yet. Right now he just said, shivering in the bitter winter wind: 'With their majesties 'permission, lets' bring on some warm cocktails to get us through the dark afternoon.' Ob |
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