When I was in my late teens I tackled some heavyweight literature such as Homer’s The Iliad, and The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. I loved history – still do – so I devoured history books and historical fiction, particularly Sharon Penman’s books about the medieval Welsh dynasty of Gwynedd, namely Llywelyn Fawr and his descendants. There were three books in the series, and I can’t remember which one, but one of the characters had the nickname Bran as he had black hair, and in Welsh mythology Brân the Blessed is associated with Ravens. I always thought that if I ever had a dark-haired child, I would call him Bran, but given that both me and my [former] husband/father of my children are blond, it might have raised a few eyebrows.
For the sake of balance, I must admit that the heavyweight literature was vastly outnumbered by Jilly Cooper novels, and I even enjoyed The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (sorry).
Anyway, I have a yellow Labrador who is now nearly six, and I really wanted to get another dog while Ned was still young so that I could enjoy them both, and really wanted another yellow one just because I can see them more easily in the dark. I have tripped over my black cat often enough for this to be a genuine concern! The universe, however, had other ideas, and when enquiring about a new pup from a breeder I trusted, the only boy left was a black Lab, so even though I will have to use a torch far more often, I get to call him Bran.
Here are some quick sketches of him while he was sleeping. I love his paws.
