the owl and the pussycat...

...marmaduke, on the other hand, could put on a very silly face when trying to out-stare his friend the owl...

duchess on a good day...or bad hair day...

...in a certain light, duchess has been seen to bear an uncanny resemblance to the strelitza...or a secretary bird...

"blue, blue, my heart is blue"...

...duchess loved to sing as she spring-cleaned the lighthouse. She polished the brass fittings, swept the the spiral staircase and washed down the windows, with a little help from her friends. As she toiled away, her mind would turn to other things. She imagined herself on some ship, working for her passage across the seas and around the world. Her song was as blue as the ocean... "blue, blue, my heart is blue, blue bajou, blue eyes, blue moon, blue velvet, duchess sings the blues"...she sang and sang, until the glass cracked, the moon turned blue, water dripped blue drops and marmaduke's eyes turned from golden- green to icy-blue...

from china to afghanistan...

...duchess loved to travel. She also loved to shop, in fact, if the truth be known, she was a bit of a shopaholic. So, combining the two was as natural as breathing. The further away, the better and more exotic the wares. Her heart beat fast as she crossed the red bridge and entered the red gates of china. She pressed her hands together in the shape of dove-wings and raised them to the temple of the gold buddha. She bought fat red buddha candles and soaps - a wide variety of chinese bowls, dishes and plates, adorned with ornate colours, designs and patterns - ginko plants, ginseng incense, pills, tablets and tea - bamboo shoots, leaves and furnishings. She walked through the exit window and followed the chinese wall into japan. The sight of mount fuji quite took her breath away, lying there as it did, basking in glory, regally reflected in the lake, it's snowcapped peak glowing pink in the rising and setting sun. Here, she bought delicate red flowers, with petals as fine as calligraphic brushstrokes against the air - branches of pink orange blossom - miniature bonsai trees for small gardens and windows. Then, through burma, cambodia and vietnam, where she purchased fine cloth and jewels, semi-precious stones and precious, she made her way via india, where she bought multi-coloured pots, to afghanistan. She was immediately struck by the stark beauty of the place and it's inhabitants, reflected in the bold green gaze of it's women. In contrast, the finely intricate patterns of gold and blue mosaics, covering the ceilings and walls of the mosques, reflected the millions of faithful, who bowed prostrate on the ground and prayed in quiet reflection before their holy shrine. She bought mosaics, in every shade, shape and size, for the bathrooms of the wealthy west...

a bridge too far...

...duchess had crossed many a bridge in her lifetime..."many rivers to cro..o..oss"... she sang, every time she was faced with a new challenge. Reggæ music always made her feel good...

the red room...

..."one day," duchess always said, "I will live in a red room and have a sweeping red staircase, which I will not sweep as there will be others to do the sweeping." She said this, looking meaningfully at marmaduke...

a cross to bear...

..."we all have our crosses to bear," the duchess was fond of saying. She believed we all had our guardian angels, but was thinking of the poor people in far-away places, like guatamala and morocco. She also believed that there was a window of hope in every situation...