Catch-up

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and saying this in a whisper, but my tooth appears to be settling down. It's less painful than it's been in six months. I think I want to marry my dentist. Shame he has a wife already. He's Greek, around 50 and while he's operating inside my gob, I try to count the hairs on his extremely hirsute arms. He used a machine I've never had used on my before, which fizzes and goes beep. I think it was to cauterise the root canals and kill the infection. He said he would have to do it all over again before he could think about doing the crown. Another hour and a half of hair-counting and marvelling at their colour and springiness. They are all I can see as my specs have to be removed in order to place the safety goggles on my schnozz.

Had a visit from my oldest friend Claire, from Liverpool. We started primary school on the same day, she lived half a mile or so up the road from me and we were friends until our paths parted and she went to Calder High and I to the Liverpool Institute High School for Girls, Blackburne House which involved taking the bus into the centre of the city every day. I would far rather have gone to her school, but I won a Margaret Bryce Smith scholarship that entailed having to go to Blackburne House. (On the old photo from Booker Avenue County Primary School, Claire is fifth from right, second row in. Can you spot me? And have I posted this pic before? Can't remember!) It's great that we are still pals after all these years. She is now the proud grandma of three granddaughters, the last one born just three months ago. We went on a walk through the local woods today, dodging scarily huge hornets. No way will I be going back in there in a hurry! These things were like flying yellow chickens they were so big.

I had half a plan to visit the Regent St Festival today but another friend who was planning to go decided to sit in the garden instead as the weather is so gorgeous. Think I shall don my shorts and do the very same thing.