Shrieking Shaneequa

I sat up incredibly late last night working on the motet. The Cambridge trip inspired me hugely, and I was terrified the muse would vanish in a strop if I kept her waiting! I have to say, I’m suddenly feeling the weight of this project. So many people have now expressed an interest, that it’s no longer an option for it to be a load of old experimental tosh!


After the gym today, Nathan and I decided we needed to drive. We just wanted to head out of the city and find somewhere where the air smelt of wood-smoke. We also wanted to find a spot where we could watch the bizarre weather unfolding, so we headed straight up the M1. One moment, the deep orange sun was glinting in our eyes, the next we were negotiating a full on blizzard; cobalt blue skies to the left and bruised snow-laded clouds to the right. It was thrilling.

We ended up in Dunstable of all places, standing in the clean soft breeze on the chalk downs as the sun set. Such an extraordinary moment. We could see snow falling on a village at the bottom of the hill, yet on the horizon, the sun was an exciting glowing ball of fire. I suppose it felt almost biblical.

We ate our tea in a pub in Hemel Hempstead, surrounded by women, all of whom seemed to be called Shaneequa, each one with a louder voice than the next.

It wasn’t a particularly interesting day for Pepys today. He had lunch with his brother, John, to whom he gave some books to prepare him for Cambridge. He popped into Westminster Hall, to catch up on the latest gossip. Speaker Lenthall was apparently playing hardball and dragging his feet about the logistics of the new Parliamentary line up. Pepys then headed to his Coffee Club, where nothing particular was discussed. So all in all, a pretty dull day. He should have headed to the hills!

The Dunstable Downs at Sunset