Enjoying the confusion

I went to see Life Game at the Lyric Theatre in London this week - a show where a group of actors recreate defining moments in a person's life. The twist being that the actors only meet the person for the first time at the beginning of the show. The whole night is improvised.

As the show went on, we got to see replays of the guest's first kiss, when his dad first came home wearing a wig and all manner of family arguments. It was great fun.

In fact, the night flew by. Partly I'm sure due to an almighty tension in the theatre from no-one (including the actors) knowing how the night would pan out.

That delight in knowing something unexpected is going to happen reminded me of the feeling of reading a new card. You can feel your eyes widen, your mind cogs stir and an enjoyable sense of confusion play with your head. 

And so, this week I'm not going to introduce the new card at all. No tips or clues. None of my own thoughts to cloud what you think lies behind it. 

You are free to enjoy the confusion in full ...

Where I am being cured...

Where I am being cured...

Last week, I posted a couple of coded messages - the authors of which made you work hard to get anywhere near what was going on. This week, the drama is all too clear.

Consciously or otherwise, Bob simply can't hide his pain at being so far from home.

And for someone who apparently has difficulty communicating, he seems very adept at drawing you into his suffering...

By beginning his message on the front, he forces you to take in the full Gothic horror of Brampton Park - with its twisted chimneys and heavy shadows.

Then, he paces the first sentence to maximise the impact of him being "cured". As the first word on the back of the card, it kind of takes your breath away.

The final blow - that he won't be back till August - makes his jaunty signature appear utterly hollow.

Receiving such a card must have been pretty tough for Janie. Although by choosing to send a card rather than a sealed letter, did Bob have another audience in mind? Did he want others besides Janie to see it? Maybe his parents?

In a twist Daphne du Maurier would be proud of, Brampton Park burned down in 1907. A blaze lasting three days completely gutted the front of the house. I'm thinking Bob wouldn't have been too upset.

Don't be frightened to tell me...

Don't be frightened to tell me...

Stresses of exam results could always spoil a holiday.

You can just imagine our heroine doing everything she could to distract herself. In the end though, the temptation to send a card was just too much.

Did she pass? Did she fail? I reckon she aced them.