Dear John

You know all those things you wish you'd said to his face? When you've been dumped via a stock letter that was something of a shock.  And you know you'll  never get the reaction you want.

This is my blog, after all, and this is what I said.  Quite what his reaction was, I'll never know.  Sad feeling really.

On Cloud Nine

‘Welcome to Tesco Credit Card, this is John speaking how can I help you?’

‘The people who are cremating my horse today need paying upfront and they said my credit card payment has been declined, could you tell me if there is anything wrong with my account please?’

Thus my big, brave day continued.  To John’s credit he was quick, professional and kind, not missing a beat to deal with this unusual request.  I get the feeling the call centre training pack probably hasn’t got a section for customers with dying horses, but we found out the problem: the cremation people put in the wrong CVV number.  So it wasn’t my fault, which oddly, was a great relief.

Singular becomes Plural

Well, this is a turn up for the books.  Or perhaps I should say 'be careful what you wish for'.   I have wished for respite from the seemingly unending suffering time and time again.  Why the reprieve now?  As my students, not readers of this blog I should imagine, would say, post hoc analysis is inadequate.  It would be convenient, as life seems to be going my way for a change, to attribute my actions and good fortune to some plan we all know really happens.  But does it?  Have I done my time in Heart Break Hotel, or even just thinking such thoughts, has the Man with The Big Book got me on a list to knock me down to size when he's a bit bored again.

Turkish Delight

I’ve been told that you can wish yourself into a situation, and I’m not sure to what extent this is true.  My sensible, logical brain, which is largely offline as I sit by the pool at the Hotel Era, Ovacek, Turkey, tells me that children with cancer have not deserved what they get, the responsibility for your fortune, good or ill, is not yours to determine.  My psychotherapist and I argue about this one at regular intervals as he tries to tease out of me what my part has been in my own destiny.  A prevalent thought of mine has been that I have been a victim of others’ bad behaviour, but he is quietly and irritatingly persistent I had a role to play.

truth or lies?

I'm not going off the bridge any time soon, it would be much too theatrical, I feel. But it would be nice to know there was some point to all this struggle; for it to be worth such restraint.

Desert Island Discs

Yes, this is perhaps a predictable blog topic, especially as DID is in its 70^th year.  I love Desert Island Discs, have it as one of my regular podcasts.  Sunday is my day for the horses, so if I’m left with the mucking out, I’ll plug in the headphones and lose myself in someone else’s story for a bit. Very rarely am I bored or disappointed by the guest, but then being asked to be a guest on DID must be terribly flattering and exciting, and Kirsty Young is so splendidly good at her job, gently probing and revealing the human beneath the status and title.  The only thing that disappoints me with the podcasts is the restriction on the length of time the tunes are played.  Usually the ones you like most are tiny snippets not the whole thing.

Wanted

Handsome prince on charger to rescue damsel in distress.  Kissing skills particularly important.  Happy ever after to be discussed.