I’ve had a pause between projects, so have been using the time to tackle a few things on my to do list. One of those items is a postcard, inspired by the story of Vasilisa the Beautiful and Baba Yaga. Reading about the tale, I realized this Ivan Bilibin illustration was in the collection of stories I read as a child, an edition my mother had owned herself when young. Frankly, I have zero memory of those skulls, which fascinates me. It didn’t take much to scare me growing up: I still remember the terror I felt when the commercials for Twin Peaks aired. So I’m intrigued that I don’t remember the ghoulishness of those skeletons, but do remember Vasilisa’s heroism. Which if you’re going to remember anything, is, I suppose, the better thing to recall. Also, if you want to do a deep dive into Bilibin’s art, wow.
Anyway…
I’d watched the ITV remake of Professor T this summer and didn’t think it possible anyone could supersede Ben Miller in the titular role, but the original Belgian production is absolutely stellar. Caveat: I skipped the first episode, because of the subject matter, but have enjoyed all the others.
I’m reading The Penguin Book of Mermaids at the moment. It’s a compendium of merfolk stories, from all over the world and throughout history. The best parts have been the oral histories from Estonia and Scotland, where locals recount their stories of mermaid interactions. It’s worth a read for those sections alone.
And the lemon trees I mentioned back in December? They’re still plugging along, pictured below. They, too, are rather anxious for winter to get a move on out of here.
