Rabbit rescue; Legends of Kung-Fu; sat nav debut

I write this while in the damp countryside, house-sitting for my parents. It's wet and misty. There are hills hereabouts, but I can't see them at the moment.

To backtrack over the past week ... In the immediate aftermath of Jake’s death last winter, I rashly said that I’d be quite happy to have another rabbit to live at the house, so on Thursday evening Ruth dragged me along to ‘Reading Rabbit Rescue', a local animal sanctuary that takes in rabbits on behalf of the RSPCA, returns them to health if necessary and then finds them good homes if they’re suitable for adoption. It made intriguing viewing as the devoted owners have given over most of their property to the rabbits and their care - a good portion of the large garden was taken up by rabbits in runs. We were given a tour of all the rabbits who are currently up for adoption. Ruth fell for Harley, a lively young male – although as he was due for neutering two days after we saw him, I’ve suggested a return visit just to assess how lively he is in his reduced state of manhood. RRR only rehome bunnies in pairs so we’ll be getting two if we adopt from them.

In anticipation of rabbit-related high jinx at the house, here’s a picture of the late Jake chewing my Muji flip-flops. They’re still just about wearable. He developed a cute habit of picking them up and throwing them along the hallway.

Had an evening of theatrical kung fu on Monday night when we went to the Hexagon to see Shaolin Warriors: Legends of Kung-Fu. A couple of hours of seeing impressively fit chaps (and two small boys) strut their stuff. The show is a nice mixture of graceful stuff with nice lighting effects, and macho feats such as cracking metal bars on foreheads. Reading Arts’ website tells audiences to be prepared for “flesh against flesh, flesh against steel, body over spirit and mind over matter”. The show included some audience participation, which I wasn’t prepared for, but quickly realised that only boys and men were being chosen - perhaps women would have rendered the whole thing unclean.

Ray kindly agreed to lend me his sat nav for the few days' trip away this week, so I had my first ever experience of driving with it yesterday. Had expected to find it an irritating distraction and to switch it off after half an hour, but am actually somewhat converted. Initially drove from Reading to Cheddar to visit Ruth's grandmother, and was guided through the centre of Bristol and down into Somerset without incident (although we did also consult a road atlas and the passing signposts). There were a couple of occasions close to Cheddar village where the disembodied female voice failed to give directions when I could have done with them - but we theorised this might have been a reaction to Ruth's having spoken harshly to her a few minutes before. On balance, I may even get one for myself at some point.