If yesterday was tortuous for whatever reason spare a thought for me. My day too was sufficiently stressful, but I then had to endure a chronic play in the Cambridge Arts Theatre, surrounded by an audience composed almost exclusively of OE’s. The play was about a middle class father who maintained relations with his dysfunctional, public school educated, child by writing letters to him which were read out to the audience. Who would air their dirty washing in public I thought to myself? “Dear Lupin”…I wouldn’t rush to see it if I was you. Anyway I got home, settled down in front of the TV and, fuelled by cups of Earl Grey tea and a large bunch of grapes, sat engrossed at what was transpiring in the General Election. Before I knew it it was 3.00am at which point I adjourned to bed for a couple of hours before the 5.00am alarm bell and the train into town. I know I normally hide my colours quite well, but what a terrific result.
Talking of politics if I’ve heard the refrain, “ nasty Tories, planning to privatise the NHS “ once, I’ve heard it a hundred times. But it seems to me the NHS is alive and kicking. Both Sophie and I received letters last week saying we could go to the local health centre and have a free blood test. Well, who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that special offer. Sophie got her results first and she was delighted to tell me she had a 2% chance of dying from a heart attack in the next twenty years. I’m a stalwart sort I suppose so it took me longer and quite a lot of nagging from Sophie to get round to ringing for my results. But when I told her ( in jest before you get too excited ) that I had been informed I had a 25% chance of a heart attack within the next two years her response was less than sympathetic. “Go and hike your life assurance”
You may have noticed from the all the above I have adopted a rather cavalier approach to life recently. Jokes about mortality and almost managing to pull an all-nighter. Wow. And I havn’t even mentioned my successful completion of that cross country marathon last weekend. Oh maybe I should. I don’t need many of you, who perhaps had simply missed my earlier emails or it maybe it had just slipped your mind, to donate in order to get me over the £10,000 mark for the Gurkha Welfare Trust. If you recall I decided on the spur of the moment that if I was pledged £5,000 I would head on down to Wiltshire and run in a marathon which I had grave doubts about truth told! Surprise surprise £5,000 duly landed with disconcerting haste. It was almost as if the opportunity to inflict pain was cheap at the price. I knew it would be a nasty one and it was. Much of it was cross country albeit it included 7 miles or so on a dirt track across Salisbury Plain. The first 15 miles were also uphill and into a nasty and persistent headwind. The ground was muddy, rugged and treacherous! We were told we would have a lovely view of Stonehenge at the end, but that was a myth. Didn't see it. There were a few water points, but no other provisions. Basically this was a run from Avebury to hell! Nonetheless, having been left at the start by our 20 year old nephew Charlie who ran it in 3hrs 39 minutes finishing in 11th place and raising himself c. £1,500 for the GWT, my brother Will and I slogged away and got it done. For the record I finished in 4 hours 17 minutes. And then I crawled back into my poxy BMW 1 series ( did I tell you the Porsche has gone??) and drove two and a half hours back to Newmarket where a couple of bottles of Chasse Spleen 2009 eased the leg muscles nicely.
www.justgiving.com/david-sandison1
Well, truth be told, the reason for this uncharacteristic joie de vivre I’m displaying is that Soph and I are heading off the week after next for some R&R and a cheap and cheerful holiday a deux on some dodgy Greek Island. When I say cheap and cheerful I mean it. When I googled restaurants on Lefkos it appears it’s a choice between one called Penguin run by a couple called Gary and Mary or another, Tom’s, ( where have all the blinking Greeks gone?? ) which has this compelling review…... “We go to see Tom and order chicken and potatoes done in the oven every visit and sit next to the sea to enjoy this wonderful meal. The guys here are so friendly and Tom is a great bloke”
Sophie and David Sandison….lifestyles of the rich and famous.
Oh well, have a good weekend and spare a thought for Hen who insists she is still heading to Downing Street on Saturday to join a protest against Cameron’s “illegal” occupation of Number 10 following his “coup d’etat”. What a numpty she can be.
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