Brilig Place

Brilig Place Episode 19 - Disharmony

2010-09-27T13:27:00.000-07:00

The quintessential spirit of this place
is innocence. Just look into their eyes.
They would not dream of telling porky-pies.
Behold three girls with angelic faces.
Down to earth; no put on aires-and-graces.
Loud voices, arguments are so despised !
Rude words precipitate such heavy sighs.
Witness this; A heavenly oasis !
In these three little mouths, no butter melts.
They gather round the hearth most every night
To play their games, Kerplunk and Fuzzy Felt.
With Ovaltine in hand 'tis such a sight
Disharmony would be so nicht gestelt !
The Brilig Girls asleep and all is right.

But Hark ! From yonder bedroom muffled screams !
The eldest of the girls how she doth snore
At volumes that one simply can't ignore.
The younger Brilig girls, distrurbed from dreams
Let halos slip; the cherubs turn to fiends.
With cuddly toys employed to stifle roars
They do their sister in behind closed doors.
Sleep deprivation causes ugly scenes.
Or perhaps, sibling envy is to blame ?
So is this an elaborate facade ?
Do they call each other really nasty names ?
And in the playground kick each other hard ?
Mon Dieu ! Me thinks these Brilgs are the same
As every other brat in the school yard !

Yeah right ! What happpens next - soon to be reveavled in glorious 3D.

Briligs' Favourite Places - Number 1415

2010-08-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

Les Champs-Elysees - shock and horror. The Briligs are going through a worrying cosmopolitan phase which we might put down to their awkward age. Whilst it is maintained they have been brough t up on strict diet of all things traditional to the Cantium way, it is feared they are venturing out and parental misgivings are brushed aside with not so much as a Que'ce que c'est que ca ? No doubt logic will prevail in the end, one can only hope. It is with some regret I have to inform you that escargot and (expensive) fizzy water have been consumed (in some volume). Whilst exposure to foreign climes and cultures are to be encouraged, let us remember that we should always aim to be home for tea. Briligs ! Take heed !

Briligs' Favourite Places - Number 19

2010-05-10T14:39:00.000-07:00

The mystical Blue Bell Woods that surround the Borrowgoves.

Briligs' Favourite Places Countdown - No. 8

2010-04-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

The Borrowgove village May Pole at the Spring Fair - let joy be unconstrained.

Briligs' Favourite Places Countdown - No 7

2010-04-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

The Beatles visited Knole Park in January 1967 to make the videos for Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane. This might be the tree they frolicked around - but there are a lot of trees so Briligs not sure

Briligs' Favourite Places Countdown - No 5 Revisited

2010-01-06T15:21:00.000-08:00

The park opposite the Brilig Home - especially when it really snows !

Briligs' Favourite Places Coundown - Number 9

2009-11-12T14:07:00.000-08:00

Folkestone Sands on a sunny day but not as sunny as I remember.

Brilig Place Episode 18 - The Night the Goldfish Died

2009-03-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

Oh woeful day ! Evie's little goldfish has shaken off its mortal coil. It is no more. It is a dead fish. But Evie wants to know where he has gone. She suspects foul play - she wants the truth and she's gonna get it....

And so she asks :-

Prey tell me, what strange alchemy is this ?
A carrot floats where once swam my goldfish !
Dear Schwestern you shall dine on a cold dish.
Truth is beauty, revenge is now my wish.

My fishy friend your fate must now be told.
A watery end ? Flushed from a toilet bowl ?
Did you ascend ? Does heaven now behold
Your buggy eyes, your tarnished coat of gold ?

Witness this; two crosses and there beside,
Stood still, a little girl with tears undried.
Her sisters; silent, sombre by her side.
Remembering the night the goldfish died.

But Brilig girls step back from the abyss !
Click your heals, move on and make a wish.
A slap-up tea, prepare your favourite dish.
Perhaps, tonight, give fish and chips a miss !

The whole unhappy story revealed in video next week.

Brilig Place Episode 17 - Sweets

2008-11-02T01:33:00.000-07:00

Evie, you had a secret but you can no longer keep it,
Coz we saw you stuff your face with liquorice lace pulled from your pillow case.
And in your bottom drawer there’s more, there’s scores of sweets we saw,
You can’t ignore the fact that sweetie wrappers litter-up your bedroom floor.

Girls, this all started with a kiss,
A Hershey Kiss that went too far…
I had to have the Hershey Bar.
Girls, I’ve gotta get that sugar rush
My Curley Wurley Puppie Slush.
Ten times a days – that’s not so much !

Evie, you have some problems but we want to help you solve them.
We have booked you into re-hab with support it won’t be so bad.
But the clinic’s precondition is that prior to admission,
You must sign upon this dotted line which covers chapters one to nine.

Girls, what’s this you wave before my eyes.
The small print seeming to imply,
My sweeties are no longer mine !
Girls, I see right through your grubby plans !
You want to get your dirty hands
On my sweetie contraband.

My Wall

2008-10-31T02:56:00.000-07:00

Brilig Place Episode 11 - Ice Cream Revisited

2008-09-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

Part 1

Part 2

The youngest Brilig child is not a baby anymore.
She yearns to find out what exists beyond the Brilig door.
She longs for sweets and ice cream treats and comics by the score.
We had to stop the alco-pops - she does not have them anymore !
(School days, that is)

These Brilig girls are not afraid of difficult subjects
Like sibling envy, sweetie quotas, jealousy, Touretts.
As Heidi licks her Ninety-Nine she quietly reflects
"..are two flakes, sprinlkes, extra sauce..as good as it will get?"

Don't think so much, devour each cone as if it be your last.
Grab this moment by the throat; don't dwell upon the past.
Old Shep is dead, the tortoise too; stiff as a cobbler's last !
Yesterdays are tiny specks; your tomorrows are vast

Now listen up, you Brilig girls, these summer days seem long.
Fill your buckets, turn around - the sand castles have gone.
When the siren call of the ice cream van becomes your favourite song,
Remember that the Borrowgrove is where your hearts belong

Brilig Place Episode 16 - Tantrum

2008-08-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

A wailing child with gnashing teeth is not a pretty sight.
The words writ large around her neck – “Beware this Brilig bites !”
What metamorphosis is this that takes a form so slight
Transmogrifies it to an evil creature of the night ?

So please take heed, do not proceed to cross her angry path
Let’s calm her down with camomile, let’s run her a warm bath.
Let’s read her chapter one of Dr Spock to make her laugh
Break out the Ovaltine and tell her stories by the hearth.

The hour’s past, the dye is cast she’s heading for an ASBO
The neighbour’s cat ? She petted that (now buried under patio)
She's in a rage and centre stage, she won't settle for a cameo
So spike her gin with Ritalin and remove the orange Haribo

Brilig Place Episode 15 - Dawn

2008-08-02T02:14:00.000-07:00

A cock crows in a field not far away,
As Heidi dreams she’s eating toast and yet
Downstairs the breakfast table is not set;
Dawn light tiptoes into the Brilig day,
As on their little stage unfolds a play
Of well known lines, familiar silhouettes.
Their childish days danced out in pirouettes.
Be here ! Be now ! Let all else be delayed.
These moments in their minds cannot be sealed.
Memory and these innocents will succumb
To entropy ; their laughter is no shield.
But that picture on the wall in years to come
Returns in dreams and through that painted field
In dazzling light together they will run

All Together Now

2008-07-23T14:49:00.001-07:00

Brilig Place Episode 14 - Love Letters

2008-06-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Letters, if they’re carelessly juxtaposed,
Might cause a foreign army to invade.
A sad hand scrawling on a final page,
The memories of a life about to close.
But Brilig Girls - don’t dwell on morbid prose.
The lexicon of letters on display,
Like L.O.L, S.W.A.K,
Precipitate a kiss on cheeks aglow.
But Lovers’ gift of tiny teddy bears ?
Each with baby scarf, their names upon it?
A million trash gifts say “How much I Care ?”
Tortured letters twisted into sonnet ?
A love oblivious to those who stare ?
(Pass me a bag I think I need to vomit !)

Such cynicism comes from those half dead !
‘Love is real’ but threats are all around.
Words are simply echoes, empty sounds,
Reverberating something once half said.
Memory’s like a painting with colours bled,
A reminiscence found then lost then found.
That first date yellow dress with bow tied round,
Fondly recalled tomorrow coloured red.
And even declarations carved in stone,
‘An honest man much loved by family’
The mason’s efforts cannot long postpone,
These words from being washed out to the sea.
There is no anchor, we are all alone.
If love is real define reality.

Brilig Place Episode 12 - Collector

2008-06-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

Since ancient times mankind’s collected things.
But sandals, baldness, glasses, unkempt beards
Are traits, perhaps, of curators’ careers,
Like bad breath and a phone that never rings.
Beware the anguish that this hobby brings
As new collections in your dreams appear;
The marvellous, peculiar, the weird,
Like snowflakes, teabags, toenails, cheesy strings.
A form of madness, Heidi, this way lies !
That grain of sand is somewhere on the beach
The last collection is the one despised
The missing piece is always out of reach.
Collections are reflections ! Virtual lives
Will lead to virtual kisses Friday nights

Cast off the flotsam jetsam ! Waste be gone !
Covet ye not inconsequential things
Don’t think about the teabags, cheesy strings,
On ebay fetching such outrageous sums.
But pity those who trade; those lonely ones
A Meal-for-Two ? Well, hope eternal springs !
The microwave sends out its soulful ping,
But silent is the planet they live on.
Remember this all started with the stamps ?
A habit, innocent and well contained.
The album once withdrawn lead to the cramps
And cravings for imperforates remained
Wake Up ! Rejoin us from that other land !
Where three inch plastic Jedhi knights still reign.

Brilig Place Episode 11 - Ice Cream

2008-05-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

The youngest Brilig child is not a baby anymore.
She yearns to find out what exists beyond the Brilig door.
She longs for sweets and ice cream treats and comics by the score.
We had to stop the alco-pops - she does not have them anymore !
(School days, that is)

These Brilig girls are not afraid of difficult subjects
Like sibling envy, sweetie quotas, jealousy, Touretts.
As Heidi licks her Ninety-Nine she quietly reflects
"..are two flakes, sprinlkes, extra sauce..as good as it will get?"

Don't think so much, devour each cone as if it be your last.
Grab this moment by the throat; don't dwell upon the past.
Old Shep is dead, the tortoise too; stiff as a cobbler's last !
Yesterdays are tiny specks; your tomorrows are vast

Now listen up, you Brilig girls, these summer days seem long.
Fill your buckets, turn around - the sand castles have gone.
When the siren call of the ice cream van becomes your favourite song,
Remember that the Borrowgrove is where your hearts belong.

Brilig Place Episode 9 - TV

2008-05-11T07:56:00.000-07:00

At the Brilig House, Heidi's in a Televison Mood
And a cutural agenda is being pursued.
No time for Blue Peter, that's too twee by half
(Although the health of the tortoise is always good for a laugh !)
Chuckle Brothers ? Watch with Mother ? They're just flotson and jetsom..
Intellectual stimulation - she's gotta get some !

But then income her sisters, they fight for the control.
They want Dougal and Badger and Ratty and Mole !
They want a full-on, technicolour, Watch with Mother experience !
Not Rigid, Black and White, existential adherence !

Brilig Place Episode 6 - Sneeze

2008-04-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

Bless you child but when you sneeze,
You raise the rafters from their eaves,
Deaf men fall onto their knees,
And then you wipe it on your sleeves !
That's such a chavvy thing for you to do !

And when you sneeze what do you see ?
Do you stare into infinity ?
Stands the clock at ten to three ?
And is there honey still for tea ?
Does the pidgeon get caught by Dick Dasterdly ?
Prey tell me child if this is false or true !

And so it goes that Heidi's nose is feeling oh so tender
Chicken Chowder ? Beechan Powder ? They won't cure her influenza !
Those germs fly out and hang about. A hanky we should lend her.
Her head it aches, her body shakes. Quick to the doctor send her !

Johnny B Goode

2008-04-17T22:33:00.001-07:00

Cry Cry Baby

2008-04-16T22:45:00.001-07:00

Briligs' Favourite Places Countdown - No 7

2008-04-13T00:13:00.000-07:00

Brighton Penny Arcade. The Fortune Teller is still working her magic but the Laughing Sailor has laughed his last.

Briligs' Favourite Places Countdown - No 4

2008-04-11T11:01:00.001-07:00

The South Bank Second Floor on the way to the Poetry Library. Walk in, spin round three times, point to shelf, select book according to random attribute (today's colour is blue), turn to page 3 times lucky number. ....."Every branch big with it, bent every twig with it. Every fork like a white webbed foot. Every street and pavement mute." More accurate than fortune cookies

Briligs' Favourite Places Countdown - No 5

2008-04-07T13:49:00.000-07:00

The park opposite the Brilig Home - especially when it snows

Briligs' Favourite Places Coundown - No 22

2008-04-01T15:57:00.000-07:00

The CyberCandy Store in Covent Garden relieved of my life time supply of loose change - but it was worth it to taste those earwax flavoured jelly beans

Brilig Place Episode 11 - Dream

2008-03-15T02:08:00.000-07:00

Oh deary me, those Brilig girls are thoroughly perplexed !
They don't know where they are right now or where they're going next !
Who could deny this storyline is overly complex ?
Heidi thinks she's lost the plot and quietly reflects
On the twisted mind that controls the hand that writes this tortured text !

Briligs' Favourite Places Countdown - No 6

2008-02-12T13:48:00.000-08:00

The Penguin Pool at London Zoo. We were really sad to discover that the penguins had moved on to another place.

Brilig PLace Episode 7 Chav Revisited

2008-01-24T15:25:00.000-08:00

It's Evies first day at Primary school and she's already got an attitude. Her sisters do not approve of her new friends but have they got little Evie's best interests at heart - or are they just snobs ?

A 'Melting Pot' approach to life this Brilig House embraces.
Any hint of snobbishnes ? Then shame upon their faces !
It's a thoughtful spot, they think a lot, a cultural oasis !
Tolerance and empathy should define just what this place is !
But there's no excuse for language abuse, so please don't drop your aitches !

Evie's new friends, Charley and Chavina, are street cred !
The mantra of 'Whatever' is tatooed on their heads.
At a slap-up Brilig supper well they would not be seen dead
With stuck-up girls who don't know 50 Cents from Fireman Fred.

So Brilig Girls, the point of learning from this episode ?
Etiquet, let's not forget is latin for 'Snob's Code' !
So the hoodie with the cider in the middle of the road
Could be contemplating Plato or, perhaps, DaVincci Code !
For safety sake keep walkimg quick and never say hello.

London Sales

2008-01-05T17:06:00.000-08:00

One suit, 4 shirts, 2 pairs of trousers and a pair of very sensible shoes - and still time for a Guiness and to act a a tourist in my favourite place

Brilig Place Episode 10 - Jingle Belles Revisted

2008-01-01T08:57:00.001-08:00

It's Christmas Eve in the Brilig House and excitement overflows !
The final advent calendar chocolate piece has been swallowed.
It was in the shape of a reindeer poo ! But Evie say "Ho, Ho !"
"If its dark and sweet, that's what I eat, I'm a chocolate freak fellow !"

But the Brilig Place is a thoughtful space right now,
Those Brilig Girls have gone all high-brow
If a tree falls in a forest they would like to know how,
If there’s no-one there to hear it, you can tell it makes a sound.

Was the light on in the fridge before you chose to raid it ?
If you had not watched this video would the Brilig Girls have made it ?
Infinity plus one is a sum best that’s best evaded,
Can you have a shoulder that’s only semi-dislocated ?

At the Brilig Place conundrums are thoroughly debated.
We have no time for those who are philosophically constipated.
One uffish thought still remains uninvestigated.
If Evie shuts her eyes do we become evaporated ?

Enough already of Beamish thoughts. the season is Christmas Tide !
These Brilig Girls want fun-to-go with laughter on the side.
Let's not deny them. so super-size them with dishes both trusted and tried.
Like sprouts that's been cooking since November the first, and a plate of last Christmas mince pies.

London Cake Shop

2007-12-15T10:43:00.000-08:00

The Brilig girls Theatre trip to London back in Aug 07. We loved the Fame show then just walked around a bit. We had dinner at Schmolesky's Baloon last visited in 1991. Great place. The girls drew some picture of the singer who thanked them.

A Day In The Life

2007-12-12T08:29:00.001-08:00

I'm Gonna Find My Baby

2007-12-12T08:28:00.000-08:00

The Wall

2007-12-12T08:27:00.000-08:00

Brilig Place Episode 1 - Homework

2007-12-12T00:16:00.001-08:00

The Brilig Place is the space where it's at !
Come in through this door, wipe your feet on the cat.
Heidi, Caity and Evie request that
You join in the fun coz fun's what they're best at.
So if you're all now confortably sat,
Pass me the popcorn and let's hope these kids can act.

The Brilig Place is the space where you've been.
The fun and the joy and laughter you've seen.
The Brilig girls hope you come back soon,
But not tomorrow as they're tidying their room.

Brilig Place Episode 8 - Sleep

2007-12-12T00:14:00.000-08:00

At the Brilig Place the cloak of night has silently descended.
The Brilig mirth that fills this space, temporarily suspended.
Perchance to dream beneath these eaves; the mimsy day is ended.
Queen Mab and all her fairy folk should now be well attended.

But wait a sec, there’s something wrong. Old Heidi’s wide awake.
The wardrobe’s bare, no lions in there, there must be some mistake.
She stands before the mad mistress of maths at half past eight.
Sleep now my precious Brilig girl ! Sleep now for pity’s sake !

But now awake, the land of Nod’s a distant land indeed.
Cast up upon the shores of consciousness at half past three.
Five hours left until a test in trigonometry !
Get back to bed, put down your head ! Go easy on that Cheese.

Oh cursed moon that cow-tows to the fragile light of dawn.
Heidi’s slightly bleary eyed, she’s stifling a yawn.
Wake, wake my perfect Brilig child, there’s maths open the morn !
No time for honey’ed monster puffs, no time for flakes of corn !

You naughty, younger Brilig Girls what mischievousness is this ?
Your night-time screams gave such bad dreams to the insomniac older sis.
Who’s snoring through her test in long division in ignorant bliss.
And in her slumber, dreams of numbers tumbling, crumbling into the great abyss.

So let this be a lesson to the Brilig Girls all three.
A good night’s sleep will help prevent mediocrity,
And did you know the brain will benefit from things fishy ?
What a healthy, fun-packed, bite-sized slice of life the Briligs be.

Brilig Place Episode 5 - Moon

2007-12-11T14:09:00.000-08:00

This scientific Brilig House is innovation packed,
Heidi's 3D lunar landscape's testament to that.
Evie's worrying about the possible impact
Of ethnic cleansing Clangers from their natural habitat.

But little Evie's chocky chips upon the homework fell.
Changed Living Rooom to Living Moon. Oh curse, oh drat, oh hell !
Oh trice woe, the tears will flow at Heidi's show-and-tell.
Such bad luck the crumb got stuck upon the letter 'L'.

What's Othma's game ? This homeworks's lame ! A 'living room interior' ?
'Design a chair with space to spare for all sizes of posterior' ?
The sort of task that one might ask of those who want a career in a...
Day Time Show ! No, Briligs, no ! Aspire to things superior !

Brilig Place Episode 4 - School Trip

2007-12-08T07:06:00.000-08:00

The Brilg school trip, Oh what fun. It comes but once a year.
With fizzy drinks and iced buns, the kids are in good cheer.
Their favourite songs are played out load as corners are careered.
One hundred school kids throwing up ? It's not a sound you want to hear....

And so it seems Ms Othma dreams of islands in the sun,
And to wave goodbye to little Heidi when the trip is done.
She's not forgotten the stupid rotton homwork got wee'd upon.
Irwin the cat, he can't help that. He's old, he's ninety-one !
Cat Years that is.

Brilig Place Episode 3 - Poem

2007-12-08T07:05:00.000-08:00

In the Brilig House, the Heidi girl is struggling with verse.
This literary landscape's proving tricky to traverse.
She's an amateur at pentametre and her ryhming's getting worse.
When those naughty little Brilig girls are overcome with mirth.

Oh curse, oh curse this writer's block, old Heidi she doth tire.
To make things worse, this lack of verse with raise Ms Othma's ire.
A pointed hat with 'D' writ large shall be this girl's attire.
A rhyming dictionary is what these Brilig girls should buy her.

Brilig Place Episode 2 - Library

2007-12-08T06:59:00.000-08:00

The Brilig Place is a virtual space, don't you know ?
These girls aren't real but don't tell them so.
They're out there playing on the information super highway.
So come in through the portal and wipe you feet by the way.

The Brilig Place is a cleaner space today,
Because Heidi's putting all the things away.
But cataloging every item is insame man !
Your sisters think you're tunimg into Rainman

But Heidi, through your efforts, you've done very well.
On the question of libraries it's best not to dwell.
The book of books has driven philosophers insane.
So relax, chill-out else it'll do in your brain.