Friday, January 07, 2005
Ok, someone remind me: Wednesday 19th January. Because it's far enough off that it isn't immediate, so I don't have to worry about it, yet it's too near to forget about and then remember just in time. Spot who still cannot find the new blank diary which I know is about somewhere.
In other news. I think my banana plant prefers being in a centrally heated house. It is now sitting on the floor, having been moved from the windowsill, because it got taller than the window (and this is a huge 1960s style window). It's put on a couple of inches since I last measured a few days ago, and now comes to somewhere above my hip (including 6 inches of pot). And this is despite the serious greenfly infestation. I know: ladybird and be done with it, but where does one find ladybirds in early January? Oh and it's started weeping again. But last time I checked, that was a good sign.
Bizarre discovery du jour: green tapenade on crumpets. God knows which pregnant woman originally thought it up, but it works. I've only recently been introduced to the concept, and that was because we had run of butter, and the alternative was undiluted Marmite. Coincidentally (or perhaps PM-&-Chancellor-ally), why are green olives so much nicer than black? 20,000 words on my desk by 5 pm Monday please.
And surely there must be some award for most languages used in a single blog entry? The man's a walking babelfish. As-tu vu le dictionnaire? And unfortunately my language skills come to a grinding halt there. I could fling in a bit of gratuitous Swahili, but it later turned out that my painstakingly gathered vocabulary could have been cribbed in one go from the Lion King. Sodding Disney. They do lie though. That squashed banana thing does not mean no worries. It is something more along the lines of:
"Yeah, yeah. Sure I understand. Don't worry. I have a friend. You want bus, I get you bus. You want big bus I get you big, big bus. I get you many big, big bus."
An hour and half after the bus is supposed to be here, our friend turns up in his Toyota. A brief negotiation later, and he leaves, to bring a bus. He reappears with a matatu (which in a more touristy place has the wonderful name of "tandala," as that is how much it costs without pre-barter), which is a mini minibus, basically a van with seats. We explain that we are a large group, with many people, and much luggage. He disappears to purloin another vehicle. A proper minibus this time. He takes one look and doesn't even stop. Someone else approaches us and insists that he has a coach. A coach appears driven by someone we do not recognise. A short consultation later, and we leave on it. I still do not know who organised it.
Is anyone else out there still doing last minute Christmas shopping? Isn't it so much fun? Especially going out on such an Indians-were-sitting-round-the-camp-fire night. Actually I quite like dark and stormy nights. Although I usually expect them to smell of sea.
And now the nights are drawing out, and Christmas is officially over, how soon will it be before the first signs of spring appear? I refer of course to the perennially inflating Hot Cross Bun Index. I haven't seen any yet, but somewhere in the country they will have come. The Easter eggs are already out: a stockpiled three week's supply of air for every man, woman and child.
Anyhoo,
