Words, words, glorious words;
Nothing quite like them for polishing turds….
I’ve always loved words, I even used to collect them when I was younger. Interesting words I found I would write down in a little book, ready to spring into use when I inevitably wrote my Gilbert and Sullivan-style operetta. Just the usual kid stuff.
My first favourite words were Sweet Lemons. Nice and simple and lots of E’s, which I felt a special affinity with, being the first letter of “Estelle”. Plus, it’s a nice oxymoron.
The name Estelle itself was interesting as well. I didn’t know anyone else called it, and I was quite taken with the idea that I was named after a character in a book – Estella from Great Expectations. Mum loved the book, and as soon as I read it (although that wasn’t until I was an adult for some reason – I rather felt like it was waiting for the right time) it became my favourite book straightaway. It’s perfect – no one writes people like Dickens, the scenes are vivid sketches in their own right, and it’s still funny (Pip’s real name being Philip Pirrip made me laugh on page one and I knew then that we would get on). And for a lover of words, the names of Dickens’ characters are an untrammelled delight. Jaggers, Magwitch, Wemmick and his Aged P….
The fact that my husband’s middle name is Phillip is a good sign, I think. And thanks Mum, I can’t think of a better name for me – a name meaning star for someone who loves Dickens, anything Victorian and space.
As a teenager I loved Jewel and Jeepster, especially as both were dead cool T. Rex songs as well as being pleasing to my eye. And I had a “thing” about the letter J for a while.
Now my favourite words would have to be Nebula, Ephemera and Interstellar. Although the first two are gloriously woody, I’m troubled slightly by the fact that Interstellar is a bit tinny. But it’s a bit like my name, so I like it nonetheless. This Monty Python sketch had a big effect on me.
Tell me yours!
(The strange featured image for this post is the Engraved Hourglass Nebula, if you were wondering.)