an upbeat week

By and large this has been an upbeat week although I am sick to death of underperforming bloke at Hitchin town hall and indecisive senior management who can’t make a decision about what to do with him. I keep producing all the evidence while they are humming and haa-ing and now everybody is fed up!

I went to see J1’s A-level drama performance last week and I was just blown away. The four boys picked a Berkoff play which has a shakespearian tone, but with lots of mime. It just showcased their extraordinary talent and was by far and away the most stunning of the four pieces I saw. Lots of extremely well-timed mime and J1 just metamorphoses on stage in to alien characters. I feel so proud of him when I see him perform and also concerned that we have done all we can to try and help him keep that option open as a career. I think he has extraordinary talent and it so engages him and takes all his commitment.

Rosie is back from America bearing gifts. Curry smells are forgiven. I was glad to see her cheery face and to hear her chattering nineteen to the dozen to her ‘men’. J2 got an Incredibles video, J1 got a T shirt and Bear some electronic games thing and I got teeth whitening strips which Rosie uses all the time and intrigued me so I asked her to get me some. They don’t sell the same ones in England. Let’s hope the drain stays unplugged. She is also carrying out a war of attrition on me to get Broadband – not a gal unused to getting her own way.

On Friday I went to London and had dinner in a wonderful Persian restaurant near Trafalgar Square. I had duck with the most piquant pomegranate sauce and rice that was delicately flavoured to die for. I’ve never tasted anything like it before. It was a mixed crew and I ended up sat next to a Welsh/Greek Cypriot ex local authority big player, ex university lecturer, now local councillor. I had a close male colleague who was very much of his genre – men who have been super ambitious, married beautiful, successful women in their own right and then lost the plot (as we do!). the nice thing is they reach their 50s with all this experience and are considerably gentler and mellower and have a bigger world picture. He commented on how philosophical I was!

I believe I have had a run in with FP’s children since I wrote to you last as their 2-3 intense and unpleasant squabbles a day are getting to me and FP applies the same tactic every time which patently is not working. We’ve had a discussion about this and I’m not cautiously optimistic. That plus acerbically reminding him of the fact he should be allowing his first two children the option of being or not being in contact with him. Being of quite a strong personality he may or may not take any notice, but at least I’m being true to myself.

Meanwhile, on the home front, FH made no contact with J1 when I told him he was ill with suspected mumps over the bank holiday and I had to restate boundaries about J2 not just trolling over there every time he feels like it without speaking to or contacting me first. Ali sent me a very complimentary mug which had lots of charming, lovely things written on it that were supposed to refer to me, but it broke in the post. Apt really. I glued it. It epitomises the conflict between the desirable and the broken reality. The broken reality is fine because it’s about intent and attempt – all very human qualities.

I thought the election was quite exciting and stayed up till 2am and then fell asleep with the telly on. I would have quite liked to have had Blair lose his seat.
So when I am not working, life is generally riding (no mucking out now for 6 months as he is out in the field 24/7), doing mellow with FP because you can’t beotherwise and he plays to my better nature superbly, housing maintenance (I cut the grass last night with my gliding lawnmower which FP cleaned for me and is now not like pushing up Everest) and …….. the never-ending stream of internal consciousness.
Have a good week.