Red Rumps and Red Planets

It was a weekend of sadness and joy, of loss and of sharing.

Friday brought the terrible news that our beloved red rump parakeet Ruby had reached the point where her chest infection, which had seen her spend three days in an oxygen tent at the beginning of the week, had reached the end of the line, and so with very heavy hearts we agreed to the vet's advice that the kindest thing would be to have her put down.

Those of you who have or have ever owned pets will no doubt feel the same pang of loss, of sorrow that descended on us, and those who never have will wonder what all the fuss is about, but the fact remains that we will miss Ruby's unique character, her personality, her look of absolute hatred at me whenever it was time to capture her and clip her nails, and her melodious tones that used to serenade us from dawn until dusk.

Spark, her partner, is doing a grand job of filling in the missing notes, and has set about adopting us as his flock now that he's on his own in the cage. We're only too happy to oblige.

Saturday brought smiles as we ventured up to the O2 arena to see Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds in all its live glory. It was my third time, and the best yet, not only because of the enhanced special effects, but because I got to share it with the people who mean the most to me, Deborah, Kez and Tav.

Such is life, though, the ups and the downs, the peaks and the troughs, the deaths and the martian invasions, all of which make it a wonderful experience, best shared with loved ones.