Murphy's law

When arranging music, it's important to tell oneself repeatedly that there are only a certain number of hours in a lifetime, and that, when it's not possible to complete an entire rearrangement in a single day, one mustn't beat oneself up or become too depressed!

I was at the kitchen table by 9.30am this morning with my computer open and my music software programme up and running. I'm working my way through the songs from Brass in alphabetical order, and it was the turn of one of the big beasts today; a number called Letters, which is not just a hugely complicated, incredibly lengthy piece, but one that features the full orchestra, twelve soloists and a choir. It's also one of the songs which has changed lyrically and musically from how it was on the soundtrack, so there's much to do... and it's taking forever.

There's little else to say. I went to the gym after lunch. It felt rather nice to be there, and with any luck my being able to complete a workout means that my cold is further away than it once was. I wish I could say the same for poor Nathan who's had a chest infection for the best part of two weeks. Poor bloke keeps coughing. Why is it always singers who end up with these terrible problems with their lungs? That's Murphy's law for you. I've no doubt I'll end up deaf by the same principle.

We're trying to use up all the food we brought home with us after our picnic on Saturday. It's forcing me to be rather inventive in the kitchen. This evening we had some really posh cheese on toast with the remnants of a bowl of mushroom soup from last night, blended with four types of cheese, some milk, a grated red onion and a chopped up pickle gherkin. I added some walnut chutney to the bread before putting it under the grill, and the end product was utterly divine.

We had strawberries and cream for pudding... I could get used to mopping up after a picnic!