24January1997

24 January 1997
My dear folks,

It’s a lovely day, far nicer than the weather forecast led us to anticipate. We are stopped briefly at East Croydon station on our way to Brighton where we are to visit Fregs and admire his new flat. Fregs - a long time friend & colleague ex SABC days - has had the good fortune to retire in his late forties from the burdensome business of earning a living. He has settled in Brighton where, he hopes, his investments will see to his future needs. Judging by his record, I expect they will. He’s a sharp fellow with a knack for playing the stock market.

We rose early this a.m. so that I could get to my BUPA health check by 0800. One undergoes a range of tests & then has an examination by & a chat with a physician. A full report reaches one in due course. But in short, I am to lose weight & advised to stop drinking & avoid vigorous physical exercise until my weight & blood pressure reach satisfactory levels. These I shall do. We may also need to cancel our skiing holiday next month. I hope not. Having said which, I think that’s quite enough health news for the week.

I met Jones at Victoria Station. As usual, she’d walked. (She walked half way round London yest during visits to exhibitions & other favourite haunts.) She is wearing a long black woollen coat which I found marked down to half price on a sale last week & persuaded her, against her better judgement, to accept. The last thing she needed, she insisted, was another coat. This is partially true. She has several. But I was anxious to find her one that was warm enough for her to wear without needing lesser coats beneath it. This one is both warm & smart & suits her very well.

Speaking of which, one of our guests noticed the other day when I was donning a similar coat, one I inherited from Dad, that the garment had come from Acquascutum, apparently one of “the” places to buy quality clothing. I had no idea. So the pair of us are very well presented, if you will permit jeans beneath. I’m delighted to say Mum that the coat is giving me excellent service. Without trying to sound like the family inheritance trust, I can say the same for the mock suede Kevin was pleased to present to me some years ago as well as the black leather I most recently received from Brendan. Pity that Rolf isn’t a little bigger. On the other hand, Jones does well from that household so we don’t complain.

On the work front, I am coming towards the end of my month long management of the Asian programme; just another week to go. It’s been a pleasant interlude, although I do find a 5-day week an imposition. At the end of the month, I go back on to night shifts for 2 weeks, after which I’m on holiday from 14 to 26 Feb. I had an email from Trish a few days ago asking about our July plans. I suspect that Jones may find it hard to get away from the Quinta at the height of the season. I certainly intend to go to Canada if at all possible. I shall put in for leave right away; I had meant to do so last week. What’s not clear, however, is what will be happening in our dept. at the end of March when a huge shake up is due, nor whether I shall get a job in the meanwhile with BBC OnLine, as I hope. Will let you know soonest, Canadians, what the state of play is.

London: Saturday 25 Jan:
We had a lovely day yest. Fregs is most comfortably ensconced in a flat with a sort of a sea view, very close to all amenities. We went for a walk along the seafront before taking a long relaxed lunch in a restaurant. Then we walked back to Brighton station, reflecting on the pros & cons of early retirement. When we arrived back at Victoria, Jones said she was walking home: “ it only takes an hour”! So I walked too. Up to Hyde Park, across the huge dark expanse of the park itself, through Paddington, over the canal and. He also gets the inspection done. I pay him cash & we shake hands. That’s it. It saves me a small fortune. The difference between the paper world and the real world is often just a lot of money.

Today I have to work, repaying the swap that enabled me to escape to Germany for Christmas. And since I have to be off shortly, I’ll bring this to an end.

Blessings,
T