Poetry, writing and rat whispering

Today is writing group day so I have to leave in about three quarters of an hour. This morning I have been working on poems for the Live Canon Climate Crises course as well as my one-a-day poetry challenge.

I did, as I thought, finish Slade House yesterday and have moved on to one I dip in and out of - Sapiens - A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. I have around 100 pages left to read so I'm nearing the end. I shall take this with me (despite it being a thick book) to read on the tube today. I'm reading about the scientific revolution. I'm learning a lot - about how a smaller nation can overcome a bigger one, capitalism with a lesson on lending and how the first insurance company used statistics to work out how much each person should pay. They are Scottish Widows, still going today. Fascinating stuff. This book is certainly giving me a grounding in how the world works. You may never view it quite the same again.


The new rats are settling in though we've discovered that Ollie is right piggy with food, takes three where Charlie takes one, and hoards it. He bit my son's finger the other day (drew blood). I think he thought it was food. These two are going to take some coaxing, but we have high hopes for Charlie. He's inquisitive but the way the cage door opens isn't ideal and I'm loath to just shove my hand in. I talk to them both and they come to the bars to investigate, but both go to bite. Meanwhile Rizzo came out of the cage of his own accord today after lots of coaxing. I've been working on him to try and gain more trust. He's nervous and backs away a lot, but I saw this as a breakthrough. Maybe I shall become the rat whisperer! We shall certainly need time and miracles with the new boys.