If you've been reading the past few entries, you'll know that I've been going through a bit of a mental thorny patch lately. Things are definitely on the mend, I'm happy to say - dizzy spells are receding and my brain, while still not the firm-yet-supple instrument I am accustomed to, is not the pile of mushed banana that it's been for the past couple of weeks.

I've been refining a few morale-boosting tactics to see me through, the latest of which is these marvellous emotionally supporting socks which I found at John Lewis in Southampton. How can one fail to be confident and impressive in a meeting when one knows that under one's trousers and boots one is wearing red polar bear socks - and that no-one else knows! Another key technique is the tiny bear in the handbag. Gerald bear has been accompanying me to work on some of the worse days, hiding in the bottom of my red camera bag - again, a little comfort that only I know about :-) erm... till I told the world just then. Oh well. You can't see him, so you'd never know he was there if I hadn't just said so. Now you'll wonder, eh?

OK, maybe not. But it makes me happy :-)

I decided to be spontaneous last night and took myself off to a recital of Britten and Bridge songs at Wigmore Hall by 3 young artists from the Britten-Pears Programme, with Phillip Langridge. Some really fabulous voices there - a few small uncertainties here and there, but all three have marvellous tonal colour. Gorgeous repertoire too, of course, and Wigmore Hall is just lovely - the perfect size and acoustic for chamber music.

Weather is getting really cold now - tonight is just icy and I'm looking forward to another good lot of frost in the morning, camera at the ready. Tomorrow night I continue my hunt for a good winter coat - wish me luck!

# posted by minim @ 12:11 AM