Just Words

I have been pondering Neologisms and inevitable Milton springs to mind. He was a blind Puritan who wrote Paradise Lost and incidentally created 630 new words. He would make an adjective from a verb such as stunning and was the first person to use space to mean outer space. Paradise Lost was originally ten books but in 1674 it was made into twelve books, or you may like to see the film: Paradise Lost is scheduled to be made into an action film in 2012, directed by Alex Provas and to be released sometime in 2013. Milton also made completely new words such as sensuous and pandemonium which segues quite nicely into the tale of two pandas: Sunshine and Sweetie.

These are two giant pandas – endangered species - which are on loan from China to Edinburgh Zoo for ten years. They are eight years old – a good age to have baby pandas. Both of them have reproduced before but with other partners. They arrived yesterday - flown by kilt- wearing pilots - to the accompaniment of bag-pipes and are presently settling into their new quarters. In a week or so the lucky Scottish people can visit them. They eat 4kg of bamboo daily and it will cost the Zoo £600,000 annually to keep them. Hopefully thousands of visitors will more than cover the cost.