Celeste

I worked til about 3 in the morning last night and, as a result, went easy on myself today, which basically meant allowing myself to work with the telly on in the background!

Hilary came over this afternoon and in the process gave me a much-needed break. The weather was surprisingly beautiful, so we went for a long stroll through the breezy woods in the late afternoon sunlight.

It was rather lovely to see her without her son. I adore Jago, but it's so good to talk an old friend about the things it's impossible to discuss in front of a three-year old. I think there comes a time in all new mothers' lives when they feel the need to reclaim their minds! I think, in amongst the moments of great joy and discovery, being a Mum must be one of the loneliest and most stifling jobs on the planet.

The woods looked glorious this afternoon, the green moss attached to the trees was almost luminous in the bright, white sunshine. We wandered through Highgate Wood and Queen's Wood, and then ambled up to Quarter's Cafe, where Hils had a Pims and we shared a delicious lemon drizzle cake. The cafe is also an antique shop, and there's was some fabulous stuff in there today including a tiny, portable, three-octave box piano, which sounded a little like a Celeste. I've never seen anything like it before. They're quite rare instruments, apparently. I'm told they were popular with early missionaries. I immediately coveted it, of course, imagining how useful it would be as an alternative to a twinkly synthy sound in one of my studio recordings. There was a sadness to it as well, however, which I couldn't quite put my finger on...

I came home and ate a bowl of pasta in front of Saturday night telly, watching an advert for a sort of snack bar called Barny. As a tag line they used the phrase:"made with ingredients like wheat, chocolate and eggs..." Could anyone name an ingredient which is LIKE wheat, chocolate and eggs? I don't even think we can call chocolate an ingredient. Have wheat, chocolate and eggs got something in common which I haven't realised? It's all nonsense, of course, but worryingly, it's nonsense we accept in the process of being blinded by faux science or anything which purports to be organic. Surely we need to start questioning these statements before  the wool is pulled permanently over our innocent tragically gullible eyes!