Not my best side

There's a poem with this title by Ursula Fanthorpe which I used to share with my classes in the days when I was a teacher. It deals with George and the Dragon, and each of the three characters tells his or her own story.

Now you know teenagers and poetry - it's boring. But by the time they had found all the salacious bits in what the Dragon had to say, they were hooked. Poor George comes off very badly, in Fanthorpe's version and the ones my students wrote.

With this in mind, I give you ESMERALDA.

The name came to me as I was titivating her ears. And she was distinctly underwhelmed by the photo, so I tried again.

Her destination is Christine's of Bournville, for the Marie Curie tea party on Saturday.

I have it in mind to make at least one more, smaller hippo, so I needed more stuffing. I told Phil I needed a big bag - look what he got me!

Rhiannon has the day off work tomorrow to make fudge to sell at the tea party. The clues as to flavours are yellow, red and green.

So, Esmeralda finished, I turn my mind to Bournville show. I can't share my tribulations with you because Maureen is one of the judges, and she'll read this. But we have some workshops beginning in July, so I'll share my preparations. Onward and Upward!