small things: 2008

Crossing Holloway Road, and feeling that I was home - without ever realising that I'd felt I'd been away
A laughter-filled lunch
A clever and funny run through a map of critical theorists over a bottle of red. Suddenly, it all made a wee bit more sense.
Twinkling at a man singing - loudly - along to his ipod. He twinkled back, later, when we crossed paths again.
A perfect silver sliver of a sickle moon, high in the sky above my flat.

A elderly man singing along with great glee to Singing in the Rain in the cinema. Made all the sweeter by his daughter snorting with giggles at him.
Toasting my dad.
A sisterly slanging match - online, whilst close enough to poke each other. Midgetlegs conclusively won out over Midgetspine, I feel.
The feeling of a long strand of pearls next to my skin - warmed through under my jumper.
Seeing some beautiful jewellery in Berkhamstead - diamonds and emeralds and sapphires, oh my.

The oasis of silence provided on an early morning easy jet flight by an ipod playlist entitled 'Grizzly Men'.
A very delicious lunch of roast chicken, baguette and aubergine dip, back at Arundel.
A new coat.
Resolving, I think, a minor spat with a flatmate
A Benedicts Bittermint

An old dress, belted.
A candlelit sitting room.
The stars aligning to unexpectedly allow me one last appointment with the best hairdresser I've ever had, before she moves back to Spain (turns out, I couldn't bear the shaggy moptop one more day).
A rare craving for coca cola, satisfied.
Claude Lelouche: C'etait un Rendezvous (A film from/of a ferrari racing round Paris in the mid-1970s, just before dawn)

Setting out this morning - not late, in no rush, with no deadlines or obligations - into bright, clear and crisp light.
Spending the evening pottering around the flat wearing a large, and faintly ridiculous, red rose 1920s headband (and perhaps dancing like a flapper in front of a mirror on occasion)
Flipping my parting. Tired, abused hair covered in as long as it took to try on a hat which needed hair in a different direction. Haircut postponed til January.
Stacking a pile of books (in haphazard fashion, mind you) on shelves - clear floors.
A fresh tube of mascara, finally.

The smell of a just opened box of mint tea bags
Feeling almost human
A pavlovian response to mugs of tea and buttery cheap white toast
Toenails: re-painted, red
A moment of hysteria, in the supermarket, trying to choose between different soups

A funny and kind quip from a man as I rotated twice through revolving doors
Plans cancelled by both partners in crime, allowing me to retreat from the world with a nascent cold
The comfort provided by a just-filled hot water bottle and mug of tea
Two medical-ly things struck off my mental to do list
Appreciating my well-stocked bookshelves: today in an academic context

A hunk of fresh baked bread with melting fleur du sel butter
Finding the gift I'd earmarked for my sister, but thought was going to be unable to buy today, in the vintage dress shop I'd popped into to look for an alternative
Watching, from my window, a tree surgeon and his team take down a large tree, section by section
Pigeons, silhouetted, on the buildings across the road
The warmth that came from sitting with my back pressed against the radiator

A new book: YUP's Coming of Age (American art, 1850 - 1950). Thank you Phoebe.
Chinese takeaway and crap tv, consumed dozily on the sofa curled up under blankets
Chattering with boys in beds this morning
A text from an old friend
Twinkling at a man in a good hat, coat and shoes in the lift at Caledonian Road

The satisfaction gleaned from leaving the office for the exact period that the entire organisation was computer-less
A full moon, behind Big Ben
5 minutes in Northampton Square, squirrel watching
Walking the whole way home alone at 2am in the cold and dark, listening to Leonard Cohen
Settling on a dissertation topic, perhaps?

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