8July1995

London: 8th July 1995
My dear Folks,

A sweltering evening! Clearly we are sharing the hot, heavy airs that have Cathy & co gasping for breath over in Germany. Thank you for the fax, Cathy, & thank you Jones for yours earlier in the day. My day started sevenish when I awoke reluctantly, had a pee, tumbled back into bed to listen to the news & fell asleep again till eight. I had discovered the previous evening that the Post Office had sold me thirty 19-pence stamps instead of the 41-pence stamps I had ordered & paid for. They're much the same colour.

So after feeding the basement cat this morning & photocopying my latest letter, I cycled down to the PO to exchange them. I collared the gent concerned & persuaded him of my case. He had done his sums on a receipt form but failed to give it to me; neither had I requested it at the time. So, although he was a bit dubious, he handed over the stamps & a good thing too. I was ready to stand up for my rights.

Beside me, a little old lady was peering short-sightedly at her pension book & a form she was trying to fill in. She couldn't see, she complained & had filled in the wrong line. I offered to help but she decided to take the problem home with her & sort it out there. From the PO I went along to the local nursery to find some muti for a plant that is looking very unhappy (the small creeper hanging from the basket in stairway, Jones.) The leaves are covered in little brown spots & a sticky substance. I took one along to show to a nurseryman who diagnosed red spider's mite - & sold me the appropriate antidote. It was one of those potent, treat-me-carefully toxins, a few drops of which I mixed in the sprayer before soaking the plant. I was told it might need a couple of doses.

I joined two friends, Jane Francis & Rod, for lunch in their flat - about a mile beyond BBC TV centre. It was a pleasant ride through a pretty part of town via cycle routes which avoid the worst of the traffic. Would that I could do the same going to work! My contribution was to take the wine & I wrapped the three bottles I'd chilled, in paper, before putting them in my knapsack. My hosts had added a winter-garden type extension (like yours, Cath) to their dining room which adjoins the garden. The result is spacious, airy & luxurious; snug in winter, open to the garden in summer. Other friends (Ann & Julian) were there & I was glad to chat to them. We have missed a couple of invitations to join them at their home much further over in south London & I think they were in danger of feeling a little put out.

I came back via Sainsburys to top up the fridge (& found some kettle descaler for you Jones; I think I ought to be able to bring most of your order). The only drawback of my visit was that I missed the ladies' singles final. I turned on the TV at home to find the men's doubles final underway & very boring - & promptly fell heavily asleep in the TV chair. I shall see the highlights of the Graf - Sanchez-Vicario match later tonight.

Jones, Dillons did not have your book in stock but I have ordered it & they will post it down. Re the cat muti discussions with the graciously ageing receptionist, you do me an injustice; the question was not whether the Tigovan (which is available only on prescription) is effective, but whether Noite would submit to its application. To work, it has to go on the skin between the shoulders & that requires a submissive cat.

It's useless if it merely lands on the coat & vicious if it gets on one's fingers. As it happens, I have a spare vial which I shall bring down with the collar & we can decide which is the lesser evil. There were other preparations, which I also discussed, various aerosol sprays both for cat & furniture, but our discussions were limited to their practicality in the circumstances & none of them would have done the job.

There, the men's doubles is over & the ladies are about to take their places on court. Shots of the Duke & Duchess of something looking suitably dressed & gracious. They get wheeled out each year to present the prizes - which is what they're doing. I can't take this royalty business seriously. It's good for tourism, fund-raising & selling tabloids & Queenie does a pretty good job, but their royal highnesses are a lark! As for the side table of lesser royals, it's hard to know what they're about.

And the business of selling lesser titles, both genuine & spurious, brings to mind the trade in indulgences which the popes once found so useful for filling their coffers. I saw a great story a few weeks ago about a couple of spivs who were selling fancy scrolls to (inevitably) silly Americans, having convinced the buyers that these bits of paper entitled them to call themselves Lords of the Manor of this or that. The best part was that those victims who discovered the fraud, chose to keep their stupidity to themselves.

I had confirmation from Judy Cornell that she had received my test email message - delight on both our parts. It's my firm ambition to get the whole family on email - so quick, cheap & easy. The Beeb has just installed the first of a series of new computers in our office. The present ones enable us to log into only one of the BBC's five systems at a time. The new ones can log into several simultaneously & come with email and all kinds of other facilities. I have been showing some of the novices a little of how "Windows" works. I tested the email by sending myself a message & it worked. Some of the systems are internal only. I struggled a bit to send one in the opposite direction - until I'd sorted out the full address.

Anyhow Mum, Judy expressed her pleasure at her meeting with you & looked forward to easier & faster communications in future. I also had an email letter from Jones's nephew, Lloyd, who works for Escom & has been involved in various ventures. I gather that Escom has been struggling to convince many of its consumers of the need to pay for the product rather than simply hooking themselves up to it. Old habits die hard.

My thoughts have been much with Uncle Desmond. There's nothing one can do & little one can say. Strength to the family in this hard time! I hope his going, which seems to be near, is quick & free of pain.

Good luck Cathy with Monday's party. Roll on Portugal. See you there soon. Let me sign off & go to water the flowers & feed the cats. I may also watch something of the ladies' doubles which is proving a vastly more attractive match than the men's.