For Bek

(Seeing as I know for sure you'll be reading this, I thought I'd specifically dedicate it to you!).

Today I got one of the best compliments I've ever received. I'm not sure it beats the guy with dreads who was standing outside his house in Holloway smoking a spliff and sang Shaggy's Angel at me as I went past (equally amusing and embarrassing), but it did make me laugh. I was walking along listening to music quite obliviously when I noticed a man trying to say something to me. He had become quite frustrated that I wasn't listening to him (unfortunately for him, I won't be picked up by randoms in the street, so I pretended to remain oblivious) and was nearly shouting that I was scrumptious. That quite amused me in itself, but he was a typical Sun-reading white van man (the grade of the compliment and the man that gave it are not proportional!) and didn't seem the sort to have a vocabulary extensive enough to contain such a word and, although he probably picked it up 'reading' about 'scrumptious Scarlett from Scarborough', I prefer to think he got it from watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

I don't think I looked scrumptious though. I feel vile. Last night Bek came around for fish, chips and wine. I actually had meat pie (I'm sure fish will be in abundance in Japan), mushy peas and a gherkin with my chips. The gherkin was superb, something else to add to my list of what I'll miss, although I think the Japanese are big on pickling, so maybe not. It was a really good night; we went through old photo albums, forcing Assaf to feign interest in our many assorted haircuts through the years and stayed up late to plan her trip to see me in Japan (Christmas 2006 - don't book the tickets yet, we can't be sure I won't hate it). It was all very lovely, but late and drunken, so I feel quite vile today. My head feels completely wrong and my mind is blank, it's almost as if I was born this morning (without having to go through that awkward milk teeth phase). Bek, you have my sympathies. I have no idea how you made it to work for 7am! You are a stronger woman than I.

My little brother got his GCSE results today. He did well, getting six Cs and 2 As, so is off to college to get thespier. Congratulations Charlie! (See, no mention of the Government dumbing them down!) Tomorrow he gets christened to become 'Muslim' so he can be Eliza's godfather. It's quite a week for the boy.