Gladys also got a second verse.

Here's the link on YouTube if that's easier to see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyOfHrWG0YY&feature=share

Gladys got soul.

Somewhat bizarre soul, but soul it is. Here she is celebrating the very near possibility of a shiny new suburban rail for Bangalore.

Here's the link for it on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEnf5jjxa6Y&feature=share

I'd forgotten what fun it is.

Ah. Crayons. Thanks to my overenthusiastic Christmas generosity,
I found myself left with a spare box of jumbo Crayolas. My inner child
was delighted.

I doodled all the day.

And it wasn't easy, because drawing is what 
gives me the most pleasure (more than writing, even) 
and yet I always feel guilty about how "useless" it is. 
I know, I know, is the Mona Lisa useless, is 
the Taj Mahal? Have heard all that before, 
but it doesn't stop me from feeling guilty that 
I wasn't doing something more useful for humanity. 
It's the old I-must-save-the-world mentality, and yes, 
I do realise it's quite mental, but there it is. No advice 
required, I already give myself PLENTY on this topic.

Besides, guilt nonwithstanding, I did manage 
to allow myself the pleasure of a long doodling 
session with lots of twiddly details and colouring-in 
of white space. I was inspired by an old school friend 
who has a wonderful page on Facebook, The SuRealist, 
where she posts time-lapse clips of her doodles and lino cuts. 
(Go there and Like it!)

It was fun. And even better: it was useful! It cleared 
my mind of all the static that usually clutters me up 
(I'm assuming the clutter transformed and translated 
into all the squiggly bits I drew) and it made me happier 
and lighter. I suppose it was therapeutic but that sounds 
so clinical, so I'd rather just say that it just gave me joy, 
and that's a pretty useful thing to get these days.

P.S. Yes, those are elephants and no, those aren't teeth, 
they're piano keys.