15 May 2010

Sad times these are indeed. After Monday, things went progressively down hill for me. I've had an awful illness that's incapacitated me for most of the week. Tuesday was spent in bed; wholly in bed but for two hours when I managed to rouse myself to the office where certain matters were screaming for my attention. But they did not get the best of my attention, that's certain. Wednesday, again, I was in bed every moment that I wasn't at work, and again Thursday. Rubbish really. The exhaustion. It was uncanny.

But, we could imagine that my week actually went according to plan and I went to the Pie and Mash store with Andy on Thursday night for some real Eel Pie. It's down on Royal College Street and it's one of those traditional English style places where you all sit together on these stalls and demolish great plates of pie and, well, mash. And then I lifted a great wad of mash atop my spoon (because I imagine I have a spoon) and I say to Andy, "I'll ssss...mash you" or perhaps, "I'll give you the mash". And he guffaws and starts churning out a host of awful puns that wouldn't bear repeating (thank goodness, because I can't think of any - what an excellent escape from a sticky pun situation).

There's another Pie and Mash outfit that's acclaimed down on Goldhawk Road but, although I lived there for at least a year, I never tried it. Perhaps my time will come soon. Then I'll get ss...mashed.

I'm not even going to apologise for that one, even though I acknowledge how horrendous it is.

And so, Friday. Again, I managed work and Sandra made me promise her that I would take it easy this weekend. This is probably because she is sick of hearing my hacking old hag's cough ringing in her ears all day. I'm feeling much better, but for the cough. I even managed to stay awake last night long enough to use my ticket to the orchestra down at Cadogan Hall. And I'm so pleased that I did. Two very enthusiastic young men - one on the cello and one on the piano playing all the best songs written for the two instruments. Yes, they played the Chopin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnYYM_DMeOU

Love, Nelsova... just look at her billowing dress... But this man (Guy Johnston) was brilliant too. He actually broke a string in the Polonaise and threw up his hand to stop Mr Piano, (Finghin - what an exquisite name!) and turned to the audience with such a polite "I'm terribly sorry"... oh, the English. So refined.

And they played Mendelssohn which I adore! And the real thrill of the night happened to be, of all things, the Britten. It was very, very enjoyable to watch him plucking away whilst the piano banged a bit. Having just seen Britten (portrayed, not quite so dirty an old man as Auden, but dirty enough) in the Bennett last week, it was quite appropriate.

And today I went to work. Yes! Saturday at the office! Damn this illness which stymies my attempts to stay on top of my inbox - which, by the way, I always am. More than ten items in my inbox sends me into a panic. Upon reflection, and with a positive outlook in mind, I think that the illness was just the knock I needed. You know when you just keep on pushing yourself until you burst? And then one is forced to recoil for a spell to right oneself again. What is right. I don't know. But, it's been a week sans wine, I haven't fallen over once or made any silly decisions and I think I might just try to lay off it for a while. Again. Wish me luck, Lord knows, I'll need it.

I'm listening to Siouxsie and the Banshees singing The Beatles.

And, with such an uneventful week as this has been, and unless I set out the details of my feverish dreams that I had in my mammoth sleeping sessions - none of which are particularly interesting, but all of which were set in my parent's backyard for some reason - I really can't see that this post should go on any longer.

Why don't you set me a topic to muse about. Like cabbages. Why cabbages? Well, have you read Mrs Dalloway? Only the best of writers can use the phrase "musing amongst the cabbages" on the first page of their novel and still sound sonorous.

Long live Virginia in a posthumous manner!