Of shopping, plays and assorted trivia

Well. I must be the only girl I know who can rush with cries of glee into a hoped-for Glam Shopping Experience (GSE for short) and after two hours come away from the shops with ... um ... a flannelette nightie for going to hospital in. Ah well. It's evident I haven't got the concept of Being A Woman (BAW for short) quite right yet. Not that Guildford helped at all. Yesterday, there was absolutely, entirely nothing in the whole of that fair metropolis that I actually wanted to buy. In fact, 90% of shoes, trousers and tops appear to be only available in brown or black this year. Is it the effect of the Credit Crunch or another Government directive I have missed??... Anyway, the urge is gone now - and as I only get the shopping urge once every decade, you'll have to wait to my mid 50s to see me in pink or green or orange. Which is no doubt a good thing of course.

However, my mood of total despondency yesterday afternoon was much lifted by (a) a great meal at the Riverview Restaurant, which we shall definitely be visiting again, play or no play; and (b) the best, most incredible and richly human play I've seen in a long, long time. Yes, The Drawer Boy (it's "draw-er" like an artist, rather than "drawer" like a table, and yes I should have realised that from the blurb but I didn't, sorry ...) is a real-live tour-de-force and a total pleasure to watch. It's like witnessing the creation of genius before your eyes. This is what the theatre is really about. Every line is perfect and the actors were brilliant - excellent individual performances all round (and that even with one of them being a stand-in at only seven days' notice as the original actor broke his leg last week - yes really) and even better teamwork. Honestly, I can watch a play like that every day and never get tired of it. If The Drawer Boy comes anywhere remotely near your way and even if they're acting it in a shed with no lights, drop everything and sell your body for a ticket. It shines. Great stuff.

Anyway to today. I have been beaten into exhaustion by a wave of tiredness and have only managed 500 words of Hallsfoot's Battle, with little inclination for more. I've also managed to get my medication sorted out, thank the Lord, and now have the right pills in the right dosages. I think. Mind you, the pharmacist said the nasty doctor had still not got one of them written out correctly, but she dispensed it anyway along the lines of the hospital instructions, the sweetie. So at least I have them, phew. However, the pay-back is that I have to make an appointment to see the nice doctor - who was also kind enough to respond to my letter in writing today - just to get some kind of grip as to what's going on, and hopefully before my operation on 9 October. That said, the nice doctor has no more appointments until 13 October when he's off on holiday anyway, so I have to do the irritating "ring up first thing in the morning" palavar and not get anywhere until we all self-destruct or something. How I hate that same day appointment nonsense. It's soooo wearisome and, really, I'd rather book ahead - in an emergency, I'll use the walk-in centre at hospital. Still, I'll start the 8am ringing routine on Monday and see how I get on ...

In the midst of all that, I've nipped into Godalming to stock up on essential items - the local paper, a sandwich, flowers etc - and fitted in a two-hour nap. Which has been bliss, and I feel more normal now, hurrah. Though, with my recent history, I doubt that will last. Tonight, there's the joys of the Strictly Come Dancing gossip, Ugly Betty and QI to look forward to, and I really do have to do some ironing. Sometime.

Ooh, and I've finished the marvellous and very enlightening "Hadrian - Empire and Conflict" by Thorsten Opper. It's the book that goes with the British Museum Hadrian exhibition. A lovely and very worthwhile read, and I can highly recommend it.

Writerly Facts:
Time since The Gifting Submission with no response: 4 months and 6 days.
Number of copies of A Dangerous Man sold since 2007: 145 (though I admit I haven't asked Flame Books for an update since the end of March 2008, as it's too depressing).

Today's nice things:

1. Dinner at the theatre
2. Thinking about the really wonderful play
3. Writing a little more to Hallsfoot
4. Napping
5. TV
6. The Hadrian book.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website