Of Delightful Past Events

 My gentle readers,
   I'm back! In case you're wondering why I didn't return at Easter, I decided to postpone it until summer, because I wanted to finish the school year well. So, now, I have so much to tell you all! First off, Happy Belated Easter! Christ is risen, alleluia! Next, a Happy Belated Birthday to Shakespeare! Last month, on April 23, he celebrated the 448th anniversary of his birth- and I celebrated my seventeenth. To commemorate the occasion, I had a small group of friends over for a Jane Austen Murder Mystery Party! I bought the kit online, and then one of my dear friends and I spent several days arranging the various papers and editing the scripts- there were some truly horrid lines! The plot ran thus: A murder was committed at Rosings Park, where a group of Austenian guests were gathered. The body was that of Mr. John Thorpe (yay!), and the suspects were- Lady Catherine, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Lizzy, Darcy, Mr. Collins, Marianne Dashwood, Willoughby, Emma, and Frank Churchill. I was Lizzy, which was delightful!  We added a few unscripted roles for my friends' siblings, so they could throw in a line when they wished to, but they were so excessively diverted by the proceedings of the main characters that they remained silent for the most part. My two favorite moments of the evening were Mr. Collins's proposal, which he passed to me as a letter which I read aloud (I did my best Jennifer Ehle-P&P95- imitation), and at the end, when all the deceit and plotting had been brought to light- including Willoughby's relationship with Eliza Williams. When was discovered that Mr. Bennet was the murderer and was destined for prison, Mr. Collins quipped, off the top of his head, "While Mrs. Bennet is sleeping single in a double bed, Mr. Willoughby will be sleeping double in a single bed!" At that, we all roared with laughter, and when a pause occurred, I added, "I'm sure Lydia and Wickham are doing the same!" I'd mentioned the elopement in my script, you see, and once Marianne got my remark, her laughter set everyone off again! It was such a glorious evening! And here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure (pray pardon the red-eye)...

The dapper gentlemen- from left to right, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Collins, Willoughby, and Frank Churchill (my wonderful brother!)

The beautiful Bennet girls- from left to right, Mary, Kitty, Jane, and Lizzy (me!)

The lovely Dashwood ladies- Marianne, Margaret, and Elinor

The supper table

Miss Emma and Miss Marianne sharing a giggle

Mrs. Bennet is scandalized by the cover of the society magazine she was reading- Anne de Bourgh was alone with John Thorpe in his carriage during a drive across town! I can just picture it: "How do you like my barouche, Miss de Bourgh?"

Me receiving the proposal from Mr. Collins