This post isn't about the play, it's about names and what people call each other.

I don't know if it's the way I think or something but I can never remember someone's name unless I know how it's spelt. It can come as a big shock if I've assumed one spelling and find out it's another because it changes the picture I have in my head. That's definitely because I'm not a visual person at all, so the picture of someone I have includes how to spell their name and what they're like.

It's similar when seeing them written down too, because you get a picture of someone from their name and there's a big difference, to me at least, between, for example, Nic and Nick - even if this person is definitely a boy.

One thing that fascinates me about names is what people call each other. I can't quite decide, if you had a baby, or a pet, whether it would be better to give them a name and call them by something shorter, or just give them that shorter name in the first place. The trouble with the latter is that you're always going to want to find a variation, so at least the former gives you something to play with.

In our house everyone gets reduced to one syllable. Or lengthened. Hence the cat, whose name is Merlin, is known variously as Merl, Mel Boy and Merley Bird. And this is why, when someone uses my whole first name, it takes me a moment to realise they mean me because my parents chopped the second syllable off long ago. Although I think they're more attached to it than I am.

Back when I was still writing LOTR fic, I wrote a fair bit of Aragorn, someone who has rather a lot of names, so whenever you write him, you have to think about who is going to call him what. It's easy up until Arathorn dies, because he's Aragorn. Between then and when Elrond reveals to him who he is he's Estel. After that it gets a whole lot more complicated. People who knew him would be used to calling him Estel, but since the name Aragorn is important and a bit of a symbol would they make the effort to remember and call him that? I can see Elrond doing so and Gilraen wanting to, but being human I think it might take her a bit more time. Arwen is an interesting question on that front because Aragorn introduces himself to her using that name, but she would have known him as Estel before she met him in person.

Moving to Doctor Who, there's a similar question over Sarah Jane Smith. It's interesting, that everyone in SJA calls her Sarah Jane, rather than Sarah. Yet in DW the Third Doctor and Aunt Lavinia called her Sarah Jane, the Fourth only did occasionally, but she was Sarah to everyone else. Harry never called her Sarah Jane. He only called her old thing in The Sontaran Experiment and did stop when she complained. The old girl stayed, though. In the SJS audios she's always Sarah, except to Josh, who is probably just looking for a shortened form, whether she likes it or not. The SJS audios tell us that Harry likes to call women old girl to see the reaction. He certainly did it partly to get a rise out of Sarah, but then give that the Doctor quite happily called all sort of people old chap, I think it was a thing of that time I like the idea that he only does it to Sarah now, so it's become a sort of pet name for her.

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