Clapham

Blogging is back.

I have the Internet.

And a brain full of stories.

Some of them funny....and not many of them interesting....(what an incentive for you to keep reading....!)

I'm back at the ranch in the west country. My week away is over.

 And I am now referring to it as my week in Clapham. Not London. Because apart from an evening in Balham and an afternoon ind Wandsworth....(both within walking distance...) I failed to venture out of Clapham. All the grand ideas for visiting galleries and spinning in the Turbine hall never happened...

To be truthful, I just wasn't well enough. Just being somewhere different was a challenge in itself so I'm going to try not to beat myself up about it....

There have been some definite distraction techniques used this week...Nadal, of course being the number 1 distraction...(I think I might just be a little bit addicted.....)

Oh and what other distractions have there been....

Pitta bread and houmus. That has been the staple food choice this week. Yum. And wine...defo wine has featured this week...And cider. Oh dear. Probably much too much of both...

A whole lot of staring out of the window has also been done. Especially at the slightly odd older gentleman neighbour who I've discovered is particularly partial to sunbathing in his speedos at 9am in the morning. I say sunbathing...actually, even when it was cloudy he seemed to be out there. Top off, belly out, loud and proud. I must admit I admired his sense of confidence...and nothing else...!

People have been fun distractions this week. Well, I say people, that sounds a little impersonal. So lets go for friends instead. Who have looked after me, made me laugh, and generally speaking, have made the whole trip worthwhile.

Particular hilarity was found with Charlie and Ben...(seriously guys, if you ever need a housekeeper can I have first refusal? Genuine pleasure was gained from hoovering with Henry, folding Ben's pants and cooking you both dinner...)

Julia and Fish....Shells on noses, prawns on fingers...We were the life and soul of that bar..(mainly because it was empty at 3 in the afternoon...) Also massive laughs when asked if we were celebrating the end of our A Level exams..Ha! I don't even use antiwrinkle cream! It must just be the look of complete innocence and naivety on all 3 of our faces....Defo...

Hmmm who else has made me giggle this week?

Oh yes, the gorgeous Miss Bradley of course. How could I forget your lovely smile. And your overgrown garden. A trip to the jungle, it was very exciting!

And now I feel like this entry is turning into a bit of a who's who in Clapham. But its not. And genuinely, when I've had an awfully massive, head splitting, mental, huge big black dog day..people can make a difference. When all that's going through my brain is, "Whats the point...You're not worth anything"...etc etc general shit depression stuff... Then its people that have managed to make me smile. Although this goes against my theory of having to rescue and rely on yourself...Hmmm. Walking contradiction? I think I might just be! But I know what I mean....Even if no-one else does.

Some things about this week have been shitty and scary. But I've got through them. And the hardest things I've got through on my own. I've found some little nuggets of hope to cling on to. And I'm still here.

So maybe it is a combination. Ultimately you have to rescue yourself, but other people can make the journey a little smoother. A bit more interesting. And hopefully a bit more hilarious too....

Which reminds me of my random Thursday evening...When I suddenly found myself having a mini Lufbra reunion (well tiny really, all of 3 people...) drinking vodka and playing charades until 2am in  the morning...If only I had filmed Trigs rendition of Billy Elliot. Those pirouette's and balletic stretching exercises were nothing short of comedy genius...Partly due to the amount of alcohol he had consumed...but mainly because of his general macho persona that was suddenly consumed by all things balletic...Could of been a YouTube phenomenon...!

xxx