One day in history

Here's my contribution to the Biggest Blog in History.

Woke up at 7.45 with a horrible sore throat (which came on at work yesterday) and feeling generally pretty off colour. Decided I should call in sick, and also get a doctor's appointment in case it's tonsilitis. I get tonsilitis when I get run down, or when I kiss anyone new. I've had it many times.

I like the fact that these days you can ring your GP at eight in the morning and get an appointment for the same day. That never used to happen, or if it did nobody used to tell you about it. I made an appointment for 10.50, emailed some documents I was working on last night into work, and went back to bed.

M brought me porridge with dried berries and walnuts, and I got up to look at a woodpecker eating the peanuts we hung in the garden. I chose cosy clothes, including a big blue cardigan from M&S which used to be my dad's. It must be 15 years old. It's indestructible.

I decided I was too wobbly to cycle and walked down the hill to get the bus into Oxford. My GP's surgery is in Beaumont Street, which is beautiful, but the waiting room is in the basement, which is not. Most of the reading material was copies of Saga magazine. I guess 'over 50s' visit the doctor more often. Or are more inclined to donate magazines to waiting rooms.

I don't have tonsilitis. It's just a viral thing. I need to rest. I came home by way of Boots, to pick up a different prescription and a hair net for M: he does a lot of cooking and he has a lot of hair and the latter has a tendency to end up in the former. I also bought a sandwich from Pret a Manger for my lunch, and some beetroot from the Covered Market (I am having a dinner party tomorrow, assuming I am better. I am taking menu inspiration from Claudia Roden's Book of Jewish Food).

I got home and ate my sandwich. Went to check my email but our BT Broadband was down. Again. Tried next door's wireless network, but no internet connection there either. They must use BT too. Next door but one's was working though (cable?) and I used that for a while, feeling slightly guilty. But they're easy enough to secure if you don't want anyone piggybacking, no? Anyway, I lost it after a while, weak signal.

I drank some LemSip Max and went for a little lie down.

Decided I felt well enough to go to my plumbing class, but it's a 25 minute bike ride to Blackbird Leys so I begged a lift. Dave's away in Cuba for his 25th wedding anniversary so we were taught about sheet lead by another Dave. Dave's gender awareness isn't as good as Dave's. Ninety nine percent of plumbers are men, so maybe shortcomings in this area aren't that surprising.

I had a whole bus to myself on the way home, and bought some Koka noodles from Wasim's shop to make my comfort food special: tuna-noodle-pickled-vegetable. Ate it with M, back from his singing class, in front of a documentary called the Madness of Boy George and remembered back to the 1980s when we really did believe that he'd rather have a cup of tea.

No red wine, unusually. Figured it wouldn't do my throat any good. I might take half a sleeping tablet though. My scary boss is back in the office tomorrow.

joella