Monday, October 23, 2006

A day of variety

I was very industrious this morning, but all domesticity. Before the rain came, I collected up about 20 pounds (I can't think in kilos and things like that) of huge apples from our Bramley tree, and stored them in a shed. This is a disgusting hole, and I had to negoiate my way through spiders' webs, even putting my head through the doorway. This year's spiders are skinny and spindly but they are very efficient web builders. I'm finding them everywhere, even in the cupboards and doorways of my house.

I coooked some apple too and filed it for future use. We bought our apple tree about 35 years ago, when it looked as if the EEC might phase out Bramleys or call them something like Grade II cooking apple. We have had wonderful crops some years, and my apple crumble is always well received.

This evening Goldenford Publishers, the small publishing house, of which I am a director and which has brought out my novella A Bottle of Plonk, held a presentation at Barclays' Bank in Guildford, as part of the Guildford Book Festival. What nice people they were at the bank - really helpful and welcoming. My fellow writers, Irene Black, Anne Brooke and Jennifer Margrave each read passages from their books, as did I. I was the lucky one tonight, as I sold some books - thanks to Anne's friends that came along, having already bought copies of hers.

When I came home the OM was in a panic about a telephone call that had come in from a restaurant in Covent Garden. I had to put on my other hat as secretary and try to find the invoice that gave details of an extract fan installed two or three years ago. I spent an hour trying to find the info. What an anti-climax to the evening. He is rushing off tomorrow to try to solve their problem.

Should a diary be corrected? An interesting philosophical question. I have just corrected Bloody in the previous entry. At some time I really must look up accrued and see if that's right. Spellchecks have made me lazy.

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