1April1996

My dear folks,

My little break is nearly over. It’s back to work tomorrow. The break has been fruitful. I hesitate to thrust a diary upon you. But it helps me to recall where the day actually went. I woke latish to the engine room attentions of Fatty Fatcat, who was purring like a tractor & clambering all over me for his morning huggle. After he’d received his due, we went down for breakfast. Mave perched on the ladder, eyeing the birds feeding on the nuts outside the kitchen window. He ducks involuntarily when they look up at him. I spent an hour on correspondence. The sun was up - sort of - although the temps hovered close to freezing & the wind was sharp. It numbed my fingers on the brief walk down to little Maida Vale to deposit a few cheques & chat to the estate agents.

I called the roster organiser at the Beeb to harden up my holiday plans. That’s to say, my real vacation as opposed to the weeks I manage to wangle here & there through swaps & shift contortions. I was delighted to confirm that I would be off for nearly three weeks in June & promptly called the travel agents to book a ticket to Portugal. Not only did they have a ticket available for the dates I wanted, it was at bargain prices & I snapped it up. (I’ll be flying down on Wed 29 May & returning on Monday 17 June.) By this time I was feeling quite positive about the world. I cracked a bottle of Chilean Cabernet Savignon to accompany a cheese, apple & biscuits lunch.

Then I hauled out the bike & paid a third visit to Boots to try to sort out the trouble- some pair of specs. Each time they adjust them, the focus seems a little better - for a while - & then starts playing up again. They’re fine for medium & long distances. It’s close up work that’s the problem, especially on the computer. And since they cost a packet, I reckon it’s worth the trouble of getting them right. The second pair is perfect but has glass lenses, which makes it slightly heavier & less comfortable.

I carried on to Oxford Street to look for the computer chess game I wanted to get for Ann’s colleague in her grief therapy work, Bob. As I mentioned in an email to Alan, chess games no longer come on floppy disk. There were only 1 or 2 available, Ann, & only on CD ROM. I must have tried 20 stores & the message was the same throughout. Progress in the computer world is swift & the 80’s marvels are 90’s junk. Alan will have gleaned how pleased I was to hear from him. What’s not clear to me is whether he is hooked up from home or school - & whether he can print up messages.

The lower section of Tottenham Court Road - normally a 3-lane arterial road - has been squeezed back to a single lane by road-works. The resulting traffic jams are ferocious & there’s much automotive elbowing as motorists jostle for the gap. I was grateful for the bicycle & reflected how much better off London would be if more people used one. The trees in Shirland Road - while I’m on this theme - have been dotted with brightly coloured posters urging residents to rise up & resist the further destruction of the trees lining their avenue. You may recall that 2 diseased specimens have recently been destroyed. I observed a distinctly environmental-looking gent, whom I suspect to be the author, peering at the exhortations & I thought of Luther hammering his objections to the church door.

BBC TV is running a documentary on the Saudis which promises to annoy Allah’s representatives on earth almost as much as Death of a Princess some years ago. It’s been prompted by the controversy over Britain’s attempts to deport a vociferous Saudi exile here. The courts keep on blocking it. The man has embarrassed the Saudis into warning that they will cancel a billion dollar arms deal unless Britain gives him the boot. Much fawning & arse-licking in response! Life was ever thus. xxx T