Friday, February 03, 2006

Friday 3 February 2006

A day of drama at home - have had the firemen out. The neighbour in the flat beneath ours lit a fire and the chimney caught light! Whilst beavering away in my writer's garret, I did think that it seemed a surprisingly foggy day (great swathes of dark grey smoke drifting past the spare room windows, you'd think I would have guessed ...). Next thing I knew there were 6 hunky fireman with pleasantly large hoses pouring water onto the chimney up a ladder, and a nice flashy engine outside.

However we are all safe - luckily - though as I look out the window now, the chimney does seem to have more cracks than normal. Hmm. Though the fire brigade promise it's safe and the neighbour is going to get it checked out, cleaned and relined soonest. Till then, he'll be using his central heating only. My, the fun we have in Surrey! And such nice totty visiting on a Friday too - it's enough to make any girl swoon ...

There's a short story in there for someone, surely ...

And in the meantime I've managed to do another 2000 words of "The Gifting" - have just about got Simon to the point of near death at the end of Chapter Three. Which will with a bit of luck be a nice page-turner to persuade people to turn over to Chapter Four. We live in hope.

Also had lunch with a good friend of mine from my Detica (old job) days - Ronnie Yearsley - a charming raconteur of the old school. Would that he'd write his memoirs, but he always declines whenever I nag. Shame.

I have to say that last night's trip to the theatre was something of a disappointment. In spite of the glowing (well, almost glowing) review in the Surrey Advertiser, I thought Alan Bennett's "The Old Country" was boring, clunky and meaningless. Even Timothy West, playing the main character, seemed to be so bored he hadn't even bothered to learn his lines properly. Not that I can blame him for that. Still, we made our first venture into the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre's Vanbrugh Club which, thankfully, sells ice cream - we were in dire need by the interval. It was full of fogies, but pleasant ones, though we soon escaped to the more cosy surroundings of the top floor. Pity it's not open for matinees though.

Tonight we're seeing "Lysistrata" at Christ's Hospital school - so we will I'm sure be better people after it. Takes me back to my Classical days.

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com

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