More anti-semitism

I turned the telly on for a bit of distraction at about 11 this morning. I looked at the planner on the set and saw that there was a lovely-looking documentary on BBC2 about Victorian Derbyshire which I assumed might be about the potteries and the Peak District in the 19th Century. I switched over and was a little confused to find someone talking about the Scottish National Party. Turns out the programme was actually a chat show hosted by a woman called Victoria Derbyshire! I was greatly disappointed... Largely because it made me feel so out of touch. There was a time when I could recite the day time telly listings like Nathan recites the Hunting of the Snark!

We're both a great deal calmer today and thank you to everyone who read last night's blog and left a message of support. Nathan was working at the box office today and I stayed at home writing a song. It was rather lovely to be able to get all the anxiety and anger of the last few days onto a piece of manuscript!

Fiona cheered me up during the morning with a series of texts about a glucose/dairy/food free loaf of bread she was making which she described as having the texture of a muffin and the taste of a cardboard box! It went into the bin five minutes after coming out of the oven.

In the midst of writing - good writing as it happens - I took myself to the gym for the first time in about two months. I am slowly attempting to reclaim my life! As usual, when I haven't worked out for a while, I got all itchy the moment I started sweating. In fact, I didn't feel very well at all. There were a load of Praire dogs on the telly which for some reason were making me feel nauseous - particularly the newborn ones which looked like pink slugs! The short-lived sickness may have been triggered by the graphic report on Radio 4 about Horror Films I'd listened to as I drove down to the gym.

When I got into the changing room, I found with horror that the entire roof of the shower room was covered in a thick layer of mould and mildew. One of the lights in there was out as well, so the whole thing looked a little like some kind of sleazy sauna. To compound my sense that the LA Fitness Highgate has gone to pot, I opened a locker to discover the same piece of deeply offensive anti-Semitic graffiti which I'd made such a fuss about on July 31st, demanding its instant removal. I am ashamed of the company for leaving that particular piece of graffiti there for THREE MONTHS!

I instantly reported the graffiti to the Jewish Chronicle, and the regional manager of LA Fitness who happened to pass me in the building whilst I was talking to the newspaper. The JC took my call very seriously and I think they're, quite rightly, going to make a big thing about it.

I came home and continued to write until Nathan finished his shift, whereupon he came up into the loft to sing through everything I'd written.

We've got the heating on for the first time this year and it's making a fearful racket around the house. In fact, earlier on, we both timorously crept into the kitchen calling "hello, is anyone there?" convinced someone had broken in whilst we were singing upstairs. It sounds like someone is inside the pipes banging on them to be let out. We're genuinely worried that one of them will explode!