Pinata! Pinata!

Several things earning a mention in my entry today...

I wrote an entry awhile back about Thursday's Falls Group, and how there were several strong personalities, and I was having trouble with women not getting along. I breathed a sigh of relief last week when they all "graduated." Except they hadn't finished the physio's balance class, so they were all back again this week. Well, I wasn't aware of what had transpired during balance class, but I went over to get some feedback from one of the ladies for the Falls Group, and she grabbed my arm and proceeded to tell me all about how one of the other ladies had had a go at her this morning for no reason whatsoever. She proceeded to say "she's just a jealous #@!$*!" and believe you me you never hear this kind of language amongst older adults here. Not in public at any rate. I know it's different at Roosevelt, Viv, and I'm sure all the more so with Vito being back ;) Since the one woman was done with everything, they rang for the ambulance, because the physio and nurses thought it'd be a good idea to get them away from each other. Next thing you know, as the one woman is being led out by the ambulance crew, she picks her stick up and makes for the other woman, shaking the stick and saying something like "why I ought to..." Yikes! Soap opera at the day hospital this morning.

Phrase for the week-- "Not a dicky bird!" In this case the person was using it to mean "no one said a word to me" but you could also use it in warning someone as in, "Don't say anything, not a dicky bird!"

Ok, so the sultan's elephant. In the end, I did not go searching for it today, because I went to the web site and discovered it doesn't make an appearance until tomorrow. It's a 40 foot tall, 42 ton mechanical elephant that is the centerpiece of a street theatre type show that will take over central London from tomorrow through Sunday. It is supposed to be the tale of a sultan's magical journey, and there are events scheduled at particular times each day for places like St. James Park, Trafalgar Square, Pall Mall, and Haymarket. However, the whole ensemble or cast or whatever you like to call it goes on parade each day as well I believe. To accommodate the elephant they apparently had to do things like knock down curbs (which I assume will be replaced). Anyway, if you're curious, the web site is www.thesultanselephant.net or BBC online has some good coverage as well. I am heading into city center on Saturday to catch a train at Paddington station, so I will definitely go and find it then!

Instead tonight, I've done things like cut up all the fruit for the sangria, make the guacamole, work on the decorations a bit with my roommies...we have balloons in the colors of Mexico's flag, Leeanne cut out multi-colored chilli peppers, we have tealights, we have little Taco Bell chihuahua printouts (no idea how to spell that), which no one but Americans will get - Yo quiero Taco Bell!- and the piece de resistance...we have a pinata!! A bull, which we are currently calling "Bob's your uncle". And all I can think of is donkey in Shrek2 about how everyone was bashing him with a bat and yelling "Pinata!Pinata!" and then he says "What IS a pinata anyway?!"