11November1996

11 November 96
My dear folks,

It’s one of those days that vanished without trace or, at least, with very little. I must have packed in 12 hours sleep last night, punctuated with the usual weird dreams. Nothing useful, like what lottery numbers might come up next week. I barely had time to put the coffee on when cousin Judy & friend arrived - on the dot of ten, as arranged - for a computer discussion. Friend & partner are both thinking of buying new computers & I’d promised to lend them some computer mags. First I sat them down to consider a diagram of priorities which I’d drawn up & then they paged through - & borrowed - appropriate mags. They departed happily & better informed.

Next I hauled out the bike & set off for Oxford Street to look for some items Bren wanted for his new venture in Nelspruit. Lots of shoppers around & early Christmas decorations. I can’t tell you how I bless the bike, so easily secured to a handy parking metre of pole. Bikers are nearly as reliant on poles in London as dogs are. I had to visit three shops to find what I wanted. My purchases fitted into my knapsack for the return journey. The day was clear & cold, temps just above freezing. There’s rain moving into tonight & the country looks set for a dousing tomorrow.

I’ve kept half an eye on the news bulletins, not that they’ve had much to report. One of the national radio current affairs programmes kicked off with a row over the observance of 2 mins’ silence this a.m., the 11th of the 11th of the 11th. The regional television news led with a story about a baby who’d been nipped by foxes in the garden - mother wanting something done & inevitable wildlife campaigner to defend foxy interests - boring! boring! The local Hindu temples are celebrating year two thousand & something, beating Christians to mark. In fairness, we do get daily updates on the really awful things happening in eastern Zaire where there’s a catastrophe of huge proportions underway. But it’s such a complex story, arising from the Hutu slaughter of Tutsis in Rwanda 2 years ago, as to be almost untellable. Most of it is happening out of camera-shot, & the shots we do see, of endless miserable refugees, are gradually causing viewers to glaze over.

Jones sometimes wishes for a great scourge to wipe out 80% of the world so that the other 20% can start afresh - a great purge! I have my doubts as the Khmer Rouge tried this one with dubious results - & there’s a more than even chance of being among those exterminated. But I do sometimes look at the young nursery school faces in Maida Vale & wonder what kind of a world they’ll be growing old in - a sign that one is growing old oneself.

Thank you Mum for your long fax. I’ve noted down your thoughts re RSA. The trip is just around the corner & will come at me with a rush. That’s the way I like it. Jones looks forward to special treats so much that they take ages to come. I just let them happen in their own good time. What I haven’t learned to do is to slow them down once they’re underway. Cathy, - re your fax of a few days back - I won’t do anything about reinvesting cash in my German account until I’ve come back from RSA. Will you be kind enough to draw some 750 Dms from my account for me for our Christmas trip - as the banks may be closed by the time we get there.

I’ve a computer evening ahead. just bits & bobs I’ve long been meaning to do, & a computer day lined up tomorrow for the BBC OnLine trial. I look forward to it.

Blessings ever
T