For the Love of Puffins

"Who that ever had the privilege of knowing a puffin did not love him?"

Elizabeth Taylor, 1900s

Now, this quote (by an Elizabeth Taylor, not the Elizabeth Taylor) doesn't actually have anything to do with what I wanted to blog about today, but I discovered it on the back of a book I was having to read for uni and I felt it needed to be shared. Now I have never known, nor (therefore) loved a puffin, so I can't quite appreciate the deep truth here, but maybe someone who reads this has and can. This was for that person.

Speaking of puffins, this weekend I celebrated my 24th birthday. 24. And I'm actually pretty cool with it. I wasn't looking forward to it, because I thought it sounded a little too old and I don't like even numbers, but I'm actually pretty comfortable with my new 24ness. I had always said I would be married and maybe even have a kid by the time I was 25, so time's running on... I'll let you know how that goes.

Thanks to everyone who sent birthday cards, texts or emails - sorry for not replying, but I was actually in Denmark this weekend. I'll get back to you!

ANYWAY, the night before I went to Denmark, I met up with a few (local) friends for a birthday meal - which was very nice. Now anyone who knows my friend, Ben, will be aware that his birthday presents are usually somewhat... unusual (if something can be usually unusual - surely something that was usually unusual would, in fact, be usual). So when he gave this to me, I wasn't exactly sure what it would contain (I was thinking perhaps a bottle of some kind).

I hope I gave the right reaction when it turned out to be this:

I have no idea how he managed to conceal the pineapple's pineappliness.

The waitress summed it up when she said 'That's a random present' (we used it as a centre-piece).*

On the way home we were approached by a guy who was high on something, who wasn't the most pleasant guy we'd met (and I was very conscious that I was holding a pineapple) - it all turned out ok in the end, but there was a short spell when me and the people I was with were slightly fearful for my life... (I'm not even being melodramatic there. Well, a little).

*Without wishing to appear to favour any present from the evening, I should mention that I was also begifted with some playmobil, a book entitled Rumble in the Jungle (which I'm assured will be a heavy read) and a keyring with my face and some Yoghurty Special K on it (breakfast just isn't the same).