Posted by Tania Kindersley.
Huge work day after a restless and fretful night. Deadlines are charging down the track and I am haunted by the fear that the damn thing will not be good enough. I think I might have once imagined that when I got to be this old a pro, I might become hardened, even cavalier. It seems not. Probably just as well. One does not want to grow slapdash and smug. But I do wish I could get a decent night’s sleep.
I reward myself with a dash of Test Match Special. I need some silly mid-on now more than ever. As I tune in, one of the commentators (the one whose name I can never remember) is reading out an email from a scientist who is working on the Large Hadron Collidor, whilst listening to TMS.
‘Which do I want more?’ the boffin writes. ‘News of the Higgs Boson, or another Indian wicket? Easy: another wicket. The Higgs will come eventually.’
Michael Vaughan snorts, rather dismissively.
‘Don’t understand a word of that,’ he says, in his blunt Yorkshire accent.
I, on the other hand, am beside myself. The combination of brilliant scientist, the God Particle, and Test Match Special is my idea of absolute heaven.
Long and short of it is, what with the lack of sleep, crazed book writing, and the last day of the Test, I have no brain left. So today is mostly pictures. Still, we all need some visual delight after the last few days of horrible news.
It is dull and rainy again, so here is a selection from the last few days:
And, just because it is a rainy Monday, and why not, here is a perfect Festival of Pigeon. In her serious, misty mode:
And in perky, where are the rabbits mode:
PS. Just in case there are any of you out there who have the BBC iPlayer and love the cricket, there is a marvellous documentary about the extraordinary Ashes of 1981 here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b012qlbx/Archive_on_4_The_1981_Ashes_Series/
Even if you know nothing of cricket, it is such a dramatic story that I think you still might find it fascinating.
It is narrated by Mike Brearley, who turns out to have the most glorious voice for radio. After hearing it, I am quite hopelessly in love with him. Of my great radio crushes, it is now Brearley, Roger Allam, and Sam West, tied. (Should I always admit these things? When I don’t get enough sleep, I lose my edit button. So sorry if I am veering into overshare territory.)
And now, I return to Blowers, who, according to Aggers has ‘hot news’. Blowers with hot news! I collapse into a heap of delight.
I hope your sleep comes back soon. Not sleeping makes even small problems seem like big, horrible things.
ReplyDeleteI have just heard that my cousin's dog has been hit by a car and killed. So looking at your pictures of Pigeon was hard today. However, she is still a delight to behold (...those perfectly placed paws!)
I must know, what was the hot news?
ReplyDeleteWe won, hurrah!
Been having the same thing with sleep problems, part of the grieving process I think.
ReplyDeleteKnow the pressure of the deadline, but if the writing in the book is as eloquent as it has continued to be on the blog, even during this tough time, then it will be superb.
No better solution to work stress than TMS. I encounter Aggers and some of the England team for work and it is a pleasure. Must iplayer the doc. On the subject of cricket, have you seen Fire in Babylon? Out on DVD now and v.enjoyable.
And oh yes Roger Allam, and the voice, put to such good effect in the glorious Cabin Pressure.
Good to see The Pigeon looking so perky.
Rebecca - am so very sorry about your sad news.
ReplyDeleteAlex - it was that hotspot confirmed that the not out decision WAS in fact LBW. But wasn't it lovely that they won anyway?
Elaine - so glad to hear the TMS people are lovely in life. And thank you for reminding me of Fire in Babylon; I remember those West Indian teams from when I was a very little girl, and long to see it.