Well, it's Wednesday morning and I've been waiting for the gas man to call. He was requested to look at my gas boiler and confirm that it needed replacing which he duly did. He recommended a few more improvements to the system and left me with the decision as to whether or not I go ahead and spend £2,000. And he wasn't even cute.
Unlike most of the male population of this blessed isle I am therefore having the morning as holiday rather than the afternoon. And why would they be having the afternoon as holiday? Well, today the World Cup begins.
It's astonishing how many of my male colleagues have regressed by 10, 15, 20 years over the past few weeks. There is a gleam of teenage excitement in their eyes and the surge of enthusiasm is palpable. I'm afraid I don't get it at all. Not to this extent of fan-frenzy. But then I don't get it with opera either. There's a point at which I cut off and say there's more important things in the world. Maybe I'm just afraid of letting myself go.
News from elsewhere. As one Colin (the Brixton one) is recovering form his gammy knee, the other (the Lowestoft one) appears to have trapped a nerve in his spine and is in agony (or rather was until the morphine kicked in).
Also it's cold, bloody cold. This is certainly not flaming June. However, I like it. I like the temperateness of the climate. I like the lushness of the foliage from the rain. I like the sound of the wind in the trees when they are full of leaf. It all reminds me of summers when I was a teenager. Warm days were a rarity. The tabloids became excited if the temperature rose above 70°F. The back garden filled with water when it rained.
On a brighter note, I went on a training course on Monday to evaluate a training
company. The course and the company weren't up to much but the trainer was
a cutie - one Mark East. Mid 20s, slightly Jack-the-Lad, medium build, dark hair,
hettie but slightly flirty. I could have quite easily bent him over a PC and, in
Keith's immortal phrase, ramrodded him to
high heaven. And, in fact, in my fantasies on Monday night, I did just that.