Alice in Wonderland

I haven't posted anything for a while, I have had plenty of distractions as well as the usual family and work commitments to keep me busy. One of the little side issues I looked at this week was a request from a friend planning a Rally of Hope event when our PM visits the area at the end of the month. She proposed an interesting exercise and while it didn't take a lot of time it did provide food for thought.

I was asked to list various Members of Parliament and then match them with a character from Alice and Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, a fun task which resulted in me choosing the Cheshire Cat for our PM, John Key - the character description said the cat spoke in riddles, was always grinning and could disappear at will - our PM is a natural at all three so I hope he appreciates the consideration behind the bestowing of this character upon him.

My daughter watched the Tim Burton film version of  'Alice in Wonderland' many times over recently so I was relatively familiar with the characters. It is one of those movies which captivates her and she watches over and over again until we can all recite the dialogue as well as the actors. She also has a picture book about the movie out from the library and as we returned home from checking the book out I noticed our local theatre group are currently performing 'The White Rabbit'. All these Alice references were beginning to add up and starting to feel a little eerie. Not least because I had recently begun a writing project with the working title 'Down The Rabbit Hole' before all these other Alice themed incidents occurred - my brain is starting feel like I have taken one of the funny pills in the story.

Of course it isn't just the tale of Alice and her adventures which has come to the fore again in recent years - many stories from our childhoods are making a modern comeback although some are so reworked as to be merely based on the originals rather than faithful retellings. Rapunzel, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel and Jack and the Beanstalk (I am sure there are more but this isn't a research project) in addition to Alice have all been given the Hollywood treatment in the last few years which left me wondering - have the moguls run out of new ideas? Are they playing it safe with a well known story? Trying to entice the parents by evoking memories of simpler times or it is because, as people of a certain age will tell you - classics improve with maturity?

I can't entirely blame this quick Alice detour for my lack of blog entries though as I have also got a larger writing project on the go - working title 'The Happiness Dial' which has stalled until I get some decent uninterrupted quiet time (ie indefinitely!). I have also been distracted by several ideas popping around in my brain all demanding I start work on them - knitting, sewing, baking, reading and spending time with loved ones but I am finding it impossible to settle on one and make some headway. Until I can cross something off my to do list I will feel jittery and unproductive so I am making a concerted effort to charge forward with 'Down the Rabbit Hole' tonight and hopefully that will at least get the whole Wonderland thing out of my head and I can move on - visions of that damn cat are starting to drive me mad!.