The first ice of the season and some good news

Ah, the rot’s set in already, Carruthers. There was frost on the grass (though Lord H insisted it was ash – though where he thought the ash came from is another question entirely …) this morning and the car had its first thin layer of ice on the windows, groan. And I’m wearing my winter coat. Soon it will be time for the winter duvet, you know. Not to mention the hot water bottle and the bedsocks. And that’s only in the day time. As you can tell, here in Godalming we maintain our position at the cutting edge of fashion. Anyway, here’s a poem about it:

Winter arrives early this year.
Ice streaks the car window
and I must search for the scraper again.
It's a cold hunting,
doors open, heater on full,
air scratching at my neck.

Somewhere a bird pierces the sky with notes
that don't warm my hands.

Still you tell me it's autumn
and all the frost is ash.


This morning, I have attempted to coordinate my professors (an impossible task indeed) with marginal success only and have also reorganised my filing cabinet so the folders are now in some sort of logical order. God, but I’m good. This is mainly because I now have some of the boss’s folders there and I don’t want him to be shocked if he should peer inside now and again. Though, as any secretary knows, it’s always best to keep the boss as far away from one’s own cabinets as possible. We don’t want to frighten them after all. And I'm doing all these exciting (well, exciting for me anyway) things because we've had a slight change to my job and I'm now acting partially as the boss's personal assistant as well. Which is much more in tune with the experience I've had in the past. Actually I'm hugely looking forward to getting my teeth (virtually of course) into the new venture. And, hey, a chance to organise someone and know more of what's going on? I'd be a fool to miss out on it! Power-crazed redhead sweeps through campus - you heard it here first ...

Most of the rest of the day has been spent in Open Day firefighting (not literally, I hasten to add – that’s what the Security Department are for …) – I helped set up our stand mid-morning and then staffed it for three hours during the afternoon. I think that’s my quota of people inclusion for the next six months done then.

Oh and this week’s heroes are: Ruth (for carrying on with The Pirates of Penzance in spite of not being able to sing properly), the Pirate King in the show (who’s fabulous, apparently) and Jodie Kidd (for being marvellous in Strictly Come Dancing).

Tonight, I’m hoping to be able to get to the doctor’s in time to pick up a prescription and still rush home for It Takes Two. My, how I like a challenge. And I’m also planning to spend some time on Hallsfoot’s Battle which now stands at 47,500 words, hurrah. And I’ve named the Elder’s Wife. She’s called Iffenia. For the moment at least. I think it goes with her hair which is silver.

And the great good news is that the cyst they removed during the operation a couple of weeks ago definitely isn't cancerous, hurrah! Apparently, it's a "chocolate cyst" (no, my advice is: don't look it up ... I have: it's scary) which is common with endometriosis and I'm fine. Even the endometriosis has been around so long that it's given up and burnt itself out. So it looks like, if my luck's in and the wind's in the right direction, there are still a few more years left in me, double hurrah!

Today’s nice things:

1. Cabinet organisation
2. Surviving the Open Day
3. This week’s heroes
4. Poetry
5. Hallsfoot’s Battle
6. A non-cancerous cyst (Gawd bless it!).

Anne Brooke
Anne's website - complete with a clean bill of health!