13January1996

My dear folks,

How has your day gone? Mine started badly at 0230 with the riotous departure of a chorus of tipsy guests from a party in the ground floor flat - a cacophony of shrieks & slamming doors that woke the rest of the house from its slumbers. I was not pleased & had ample time to mull over my displeasure in the two hours until I fell asleep again, with the assistance of several pages of algorithms. I left a little note pinned to the front door of the house when I went out. I can’t change people’s habits but I can change the people if necessary, as it has been once or twice. There are carefully worded clauses written into the leases on not disturbing other householders at night. I wrote them in myself after learning the hard way to appreciate nocturnal peace & quiet.

At least I wasn’t working today. I woke again at 0930 with the arrival of toast & coffee. Mavis had decided to join us overnight & tried to bite me when I attempted to shove him off the bed - both of our attempts half-hearted. He’s strong on feline rights, old Mave. I shall have to revive my water pistol, the only way to deal with the little bugger when he insists on sharing the bed. We took more coffee downstairs. Jones had spotted a pair of shoes she liked during a visit to town & at my urging we went in for a second look at them. Jones never buys anything the first time round. As usual, we walked much of the way. I needed the exercise.

Oxford Street was swarming with humanity, a section of it crowded around a salesman hawking fake perfume on the pavement. He was pointing to barcodes on the boxes as evidence of the goods while a claque oohed & aahed. People still fall for it, only too ready to whip out fivers in exchange. We took refuge on the upper deck of a bus. Crowds are really not my thing, nor Jones’s.

The shoes were lovely & I persuaded Jones to take them. She equally liked a second, slightly different pair but declined to take them on principle, so I had the shopkeeper sneak them into the bag when Jones wasn’t looking. Let it be said that noone was ever more pleased by a deception. She was thrilled when both the truth & the shoes emerged. She’s frugal enough & it’s a pleasure on such rare occasions to get her something she really wants. As she reflected herself, she does do a lot of walking.

We drove over this evening to SA friends to mark a birthday. They always prepare a feast to mark such events &, given the state of my tummy, I was resolved to practise moderation as part of a virtuous New Year. It’s hard when a range of appetising foods is offered & when hosts take their disappearance as a compliment. I wasn’t very successful or pleased with myself though the evening was relaxed & entertaining. Our hosts had recently returned from a holiday in Switzerland & other guests from a trip to SA. We had some interesting comparisons to make. I’d had an inkling that tonight was my big night to make a killing on the lottery but I’ve had to postpone the anticipation for yet another week. It’s taking longer than I expected.

We got home again to find Mavis gone AWOL & a lengthy complaint on my answer phone from the tenant below us whose heating system has been playing silly buggers in spite of the attentions of a plumber. Pissed me off good & proper, I can tell you. The system causes me more trouble than it gives the tenants. I doused the fires of irritation in my breast with some of the wonderful brandy Brendan gave me for Christmas & put on Dvorak’s New World Symphony to accompany the writing of this note.

There’s my day. We’ve more guests tomorrow morning for brunch so I’ll say no more than good night.