Sunday, July 29, 2007

it's past my bedtime and although i should be packing for tomorrow's devon adventure (i have a whole week off work...) i'm watching people across the road in the 24-hour shop, stuck in that lethargic state you get to when you're too tired to go to bed. things i did today: got up early (but not early enough) for a half-hearted run up to hampstead. didn't make it as far as the heath, and had to walk back. i feel out of shape. church this morning was good, and i didn't make too much of a fool of myself up front, behind the keys. tried to buy a camera on new oxford st. but the shop was shut. on the bus back to oxford circus i got into a conversation (part english, part french) with the man opposite me who was half french and had lived in paris and the US. i ended up missing my stop because i thought it would be rude to leap off the bus part-way through the conversation. had to walk back from oxford st. manners get in the way sometimes. tonight i managed to be at two services, broken up by a much needed drink outside in the sun. i love my church but even i have my limits, and three services in one day was too much. so is it wise to be embarking upon a week's holiday with them all? only time will tell. but at least the sea will be there too, and perhaps the sun as well, if we're lucky. though no one's counting on it.

why haven't i packed yet? i'm thinking about other holidays, other summers, and how odd it is, really, to be off to devon with a whole pack of people you barely know. part of me would like to be sitting on a train up to some remote corner of the scottish highlands, armed with some walking boots and a suitcase full of novels. but it occurs to me that those types of holidays are best spent in the company of one's closest friends and so i think i'll save it for now. there's always next year, after all.

posted by Joanna Ruth @ 11:19 PM

Friday, July 27, 2007

this was my day today:
early to work (seat on the tube and a few pages of my book) to get a head start on the day before heading out into the country on the top of an open-topped double decker, no less. it was meant to be all about an extended lunch in a beautiful house in leafy surrey, but what i most enjoyed was winding our way southwards through london, over the thames, through brixton and streatham, past the church in purley where m&j got married last december, and out into the country beyond. we left in bright sunshine and arrived windswept and hungry. we were back in london in time for me to run up to tottenham court rd to buy jg's birthday present. i made it there 5 mins before the shop closed. the kind security guard told me to stand in the middle of the road to hail a taxi, waving his arms at me when he thought i wasn't being energetic enough. eventually the 56th (or so) taxi stopped, and he helped me jam myself into the back with my purchase (a chair almost as big as i am). lovely scottish driver with billy idol playing in the cab. later, i ran into dl on south molton st. or rather he ran past me. late for dinner somewhere.
now i'm home and watching an amazing film that i love, and that reminds me of being in aa. there's a scene in the middle (involving a dance to cher, unbelievably) that makes me smile every time i see it. i've played it back four times already this evening.
that was my day. a good day. tomorrow i'm going to buy wellies.

posted by Joanna Ruth @ 11:07 PM

Thursday, July 26, 2007

torrential rain in london, and wintery grey skies. the sun is back now though - like we're on a weather rollercoaster.

off to see the inimitable trevor lock and his philosophy club tonight, with the rest of the chorleywood/west hampstead clan. dinner first. i can't wait...

posted by Joanna Ruth @ 4:04 PM

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

i'm back. decided that i miss this space, and miss the writing. it's a wednesday night and i'm sitting at my table looking out at the main road outside, buses and cars rushing by with their lights on. i'm listening to chet baker to keep me company. on dm's recommendation i've been watching something scary on tv and needed some good warm music to calm me down. or cheer me up? too many prepositions and i'm not sure which one is better. jg is out on the town and i - although there was the offer of a zulu musical extravaganza - decided that i needed a quiet night in. just me and a book and the strange food that i always cook when i'm by myself.

i haven't written here for a while, but i've been writing nonetheless. mostly in cafes before work (on avery row for a while) or during my lunch hour (on piccadilly, quite often) or on saturdays when it's raining and there isn't anything else to do (on west end lane, usually). i've realised that i need to carve out, set aside, moments when i can escape and be by myself. the 9-5 doesn't give you much space, it would seem. not mine, at least. and reading on the tube, pressed up against someone you've no desire to know intimately just doesn't seem to count. hence the blog, even though i don't know who's reading it, if anyone. it still seems to be worthwhile to write.

the summer seems to have passed us by without anyone noticing. the greyness in london has reached new heights. not that we need any excuse to talk about the weather. but still. this year has been incredible - floods and storms and dark skies at midday that make you think perhaps it's the end of the world. although outwardly disgruntled, secretly i quite enjoy it. especially the storms. i've always been partial to a good thunderstorm, particularly when you can sit inside and open the windows so you can really hear the rain pounding down. i'd much rather that than find myself sweating on the underground and freezing in air conditioned offices. but that's just me. and it would be nice to see the sun once in a while.

i've been thinking about travel of late. perhaps because it's the season for foreign adventures. i've been daydreaming about paris, and about new york. wondering vaguely about a trip to hong kong and very vaguely about perhaps maybe one day going back to tanzania to climb kilimanjaro. for now i think i'll stick to the eurostar and perhaps work up to east africa. it's good to have goals, after all.

currently reading: a spot of bother by mark haddon (bought at a service station somewhere outside wiltshire on the way back from a waterlocked wedding in ludlow).
currently listening to: mr hudson and the library, courtesy of my favourite source of music in west sussex.

posted by Joanna Ruth @ 10:23 PM