Cubs went to a birthday party today, their first for the year. <g> It was hosted at the same 'indoor recreation centre' as the last one, so they had a ball playing laser tag and cruising in the go-karts again.
Party ended at 2.30 but we didn't leave there until gone 6! We hung around to watch the Robowars finals. Was more entertaining than I would've given it credit but half my enjoyment came from observing the engineering/mechanics geeks interact [the funky rainbow faux fur shorts were a winner in my eyes]. It was all very friendly, too, with good sportsmanship shown by everyone - winners and loser. There were some spectacular clashes. In one, a 'bot with a vertical blade was flipped and ended up gouging a big hole in the floor. That was exciting. Another 'bot used a CO2 fueled ram/flipper - some of its victims went a metre into the air. :) The sheet steel and polycarb enclosure took a fair amount of damage during the afternoon, too, not to mention the carnage inflicted on a defenceless vacuum cleaner (and old printer) in the 'demonstration' bouts. Heh, needless to say the cubs are terribly enthusiastic about it all now.

KittenKong is once again a happy cat. The cubs and I finished house-sitting yesterday and now I'm back home to pay full attention to her needs - as is only right and proper.
As a thank-you, Niki gave me a jar of delicious rhubarb chutney and a slab of the best smelling peppermint soap I've ever had the pleasure to snuffle! And as a thank-you for keeping an eye on an eBay auction for him, Richard gave me a beautifully tacky lobster fridge magnet. <g> Its feelers are on springs! They wobble!
It was good to get some time away from home, just the cubs and I. Gave me a chance to get some perspective on my current domestic arrangements...

Our ABC is currently showing a series of reworks of some Shakespeare plays. Last week was Macbeth, and while it was fabulously brooding and angsty, I'm not entirely convinced that setting it in the cut-throat world of top-class restaurants really worked all that well. It was a great adaptation but it seemed to be labouring in parts. Though having the 3 witches as garbage men was inspired! James MacAvoy was particularly good in the lead, and no wonder he was familiar - it wasn't just the incidental (numerous) UK telly productions I've seen him in, he was Mr Tumnus!
This week's offering was Much Ado About Nothing. This version was updated to a TV studio, and it seemed to have a more natural flow than Macbeth. A very good cast, which unfortunately, didn't do much to relieve my ambivalence about the story. This isn't one of my favourite Shakespeare's; much as I love the Benedick/Beatrice thread I always want to smack Hero & Claude (especially Claude) over the back of the head! Gods above he's so infuriatingly gullible!
Didn't catch what next week's production is, but I know Midsummer Nights Dream is on the list somewhere. :)

(Oh, and the cubs have decided they want nicknames. The S cub is now Rocket and the M cub, Badger. Yerrss.)