Monday 17 August 2009

Spinnenreinheit

There is the most beautiful spider's web that I've ever seen in the kitchen this morning. It is a perfect taut disc, about 18" across, with a spider smaller than my little fingernail at the centre. It's anchored, almost invisibly despite the sunlight, at various spots up to 4 feet away. There should be flies hovering around a piece of over-ripe fruit (not unknown at Castle Inkspot) as prey. It's a shame that I can't share this with my family, but Mme and Mlle Inkspot both have a horror, atavistic and unfaked, of spiders and their webs. I spend a certain amount of time being summoned to deal with them, and a corresponding amount of time issuing loud, cheerful and authoritative pronouncements that the spider has been cleared away, despite my not having been able to find the thing.

Last night we were outside in our Israeli neighbour's garden. I was cold, so borrowed his coat. Black cashmere, made in Poland, designed by Hugo Boss, who also designed the Gestapo uniforms.

7 comments:

Gadjo Dilo said...

The title of this post instantly made me want to listen again to Lizzy Schwarzkopf singing Gretchen am Spinnrade.

I never buy Higo Boss aftershave for precisely that reason. But who, pray, was the "over-ripe fruit (not unknown at Castle Inkspot)"?

Lulu LaBonne said...

Your coat gives me the shivers Inky - pass me the Sal Volatile and ask your over-ripe fruit to loan me a pashmina

BEAST said...

I am sure Herr Boss was just following orders .
An overripe fruit....is Herman Goerring hiding out in your kitchen ???

nursemyra said...

Did you look suitably glam?

xerxes said...

Gadj, you sure can link. The wikipedia bio of ES makes it unsurprising that she had a successful career in Nazi Germany. The over-ripe fruit could have been one of a number of unsuitable godfathers.

Lulu, the pashmina wouldn't have suited me, honest.

Beast, and what are you wearing in that avatar? You look smashing in it.

Nurse, more than the coat's owner. He's an amusing bloke but, put it this way, his wife's the pretty one.

Dr Maroon said...

Your clever-dick commenters have beaten me to any over-ripe fruit material. Sods.
As an engineer may I point out that a spider's web and the silk thereof is not as strong as they make out. When was the last time you saw a silken JCB? That's right, never.
Kind regards,
AHK

Kevin Musgrove said...

Local legend has it that a large proportion of the major rebuilding works in Manchester has been done by giant spiders in the middle of the night. Non-prescription medication seems to have featured, too.