4February1997

4 February, 1997
My dear folks

I have been playing computer games, although not with much success. Even so, I am heartened. A report on the evening news gives us the reassurance that such games, contrary to popular belief, may have many positive benefits. That, at least, is the conclusion of a lengthy study among nerdish children. There’s also the benefit that while the little darlings are expending their aggression in computer wars, they are not vandalising the neighbourhood. In London, that’s a considerable benefit.

However, lest you think that I am wasting my life, let me hasten to reassure you. It’s been quite a busy day after a very busy night. During my shift, we had three live broadcasts from Islamabad to report on the outcome of the Pakistani elections. That means a constant live exchange between the studio in London & a “live point” several thousand miles away where a succession of guests is waiting to be interviewed. The whole thing depends on the presenters, producers & directors concerned reaching a precise prior understanding – plus the whimsy of technology. In short, it’s horrendously complicated & you’re in the lap of the gods. It was a high pressure night. I was deeply grateful that it went well.

I slept this a.m., waking at lunchtime just in time to catch the tail-end of a phone message from the electrician who was meant to call last weekend. He was forced to postpone that visit when his engine seized. I phoned him back & was pleased to see him get a couple of long-standing jobs done in a couple of flats. That took the both of us an hour. Following a call last night from a tenant who is moving mid-month (a pain! but then these things happen!) I have also placed a couple of ads in the local rag. It shouldn’t be too hard to find someone new.

In the mail was the medical report I’ve been waiting for from BUPA. Apart from registering that I had to lose weight & sort out the blood pressure problem, it was fine, quite complimentary in fact about my cholesterol level. So it should have been too, considering my regime of veges, fruit & fibre. All in all, I was relieved & rather pleased. One can never hear enough good news. I promptly rang the receptionist of the private GP recommended to me by BUPA & made an appointment, cycling down in the late afternoon drizzle to Marylebone High Road to the private hospital where he consults. My priority was to get an opinion on whether I could go ahead with the skiing trip. We had a useful half-hour. But he wants me to take blood pressure readings under different conditions and let him know the results before he offers me a view on that. Meanwhile my tummy continues to shrink satisfactorily. If the only upshot of the BUPA medical is to frighten me into shape, it will have been worth the money – even at £20 a kilogram.

Jones was meant to have lunch with a former colleague but the arrangement was upset by some news development. Instead, Jones went trotting off around the town. She confessed that she had felt a consuming desire for sweet things & had eaten three pieces of cake – at different venues I suspect. She’s been suffering occasional flushes & the other symptoms of the menopause. As long as these prompt her to replenish her reserves, they get my approval. She also took along a whole collection of objects d’art along to a chap who runs the local bits & bobs shop & was pleased to come away with £40. We are still in the process of trying to divest ourselves of unnecessary possessions. The problem is trying to agree on what’s necessary. I haven’t written anything serious about computers. Suffice it to say that I have bought a guide to Office 97 & it can only be a matter of time before I’m a dab hand at it.

Blessings ever,