I'm on a train out of Waterloo travelling to Southampton for a conference and the major question is - what happened to all the beautiful weather we were promised over this shortened (one hour less) weekend. It's been mild - sure - but no direct sun and a lot of garden softening showers.
Actually, it's been so mild that I'm almost thinking of casting off my long johns. You might wonder why I'm still wearing these winter garments. Well, after the illness a few weeks back, I just started to feel the cold more. And I realised that, by keeping the legs warm, I felt much less tension. So, in the current spirit of doing what's best for David and sod convention, I'm still donning the under clothing. And, do you know, I feel much more comfortable and have put back on half a stone in weight in the last 6 weeks. So, maybe I waste a lot of energy burning it to keep warm.
What else. Friday night was aromatherapy with Anita. Another good session. She gave me some Reiki at the end - like a cleansing, healing energy. Anyhow I certainly felt better and my sleep is getting back to being deep and satisfying at last. I also had a very powerful memory of my mum from when I was little. I don't know quite when and where but she would have been in her early 30s, making me under 5. She was sitting on a settee and massaging her own feet. It was a nice memory.
Saturday afternoon I took myself off to the National Theatre on a whim to see The Day I Stood Still by Kevin Elyot (he of My Night with Reg fame). As it turned out, it was a apt choice for me at present since it was a play about memory and resolving and reconciling with the past. Adrian Scarborough was good and I lusted after Oliver Milburn who has been on TV a few times.
He looks a little like James - same intent look in the eyes, same wide mouth - so there was a moment of surprise for me when the play almost did a re-run of the conversation James and I had two and a half years ago when he came out to me and told me of his broken relationship with his first male lover, Gary. Woa! Spooky!!
Aside from that I did a little house tidying and cooking and gardening, listened to Alagna and Gheorghiu from the New York Met on Radio 3 in Roméo et Juliette (his voice has lost all of the liquidity of sound quality it once had when I heard him sing the same role in 1994 - then, it was like honey dripping through sunshine), spoke to Rod and Dale about Dale's trip to the UK in September and found out that Rod has been ill with double pneumonia recently.
Onto Sunday and telephone calls with Roland, mum and dad, Ross, Colin and Chris. More gardening, in fact much more as I sorted out the honeysuckle which had become moss bound, planted out the geraniums and started grubbing out the top end of the garden so that I can plant out some nice climbers and possibly some runner beans or the like.
It was the first real hard physical work that I have done for some time and it left me exhausted. But, it was a good and honest tired and I slept well last night.