I now own lots of waterproof clothes. My son was being so vague and not getting up etc. that I went with my daughter, an accomplished skier, and we just bought his entire outfit in size M. Choosing a low key but cutting edge design. When we brought it home he liked everything, tried it on and it fitted perfectly and then he wandered away again. So I packed it into a bag and he is now ready down to the last detail of lip salve. Life is so simple when you are young and thin.

It is always exciting dressing up for something that has any kind of uniform. I really don't need to actually go away at all now. I have the clothes and I've seen the video. The holiday can only be an anti-climax.

I managed to miss a mini-hurricane yesterday which blew down our largest 100 year old beech tree, once framed in my bedroom window and the haunt of owls. My husband, who was still here, was practically crying but I feel so much better 'in myself' since the outpourings of moaning last week that I was nauseatingly positive. I pointed out that we could use the wood to make a large dining table, which we don't have, and it could be the first of many bits of furniture made from our own trees and would be the start of a whole new hobby for him designing them. (And then we could tactfully move his parents things out to the barn after all).

The train journey to London produced a new excuse for lateness for my collection. The train slowed down randomly and after a bit a voice came over the 'tannoy', or maybe PA system, 'This is Jeff your train manager and I'm afraid we've rather a problem with cows on the line. We can't get hold of the farmer so we will be proceeding with caution while someone tries to catch them'. This is not some single track branch line. This is the main London-South West inter-city, high-speed top of the range whatever. No wonder people are calling us a third world country. Speaking of which, my daughter will be back from India in three weeks. She sent an e-mail saying she felt it was probably time as she had just seen a man sitting typing at a desk by the roadside in the middle of nowhere and then a flock of goats wearing pink cardigans and had thought nothing of it. Interestingly she said that our worries about her returning as some placid Buddhist were totally unfounded as everyone was so pushy and tough there that they had been forced to sharpen up. 'I HAVE found myself', she said, 'but the person that I have found takes no crap'.

As I once predicted, my son has just been offerred an unconditional place at the one university he definitely didn't want to go to. Perhaps he could abandon all idea of academia and become a champion skier.
- posted by Iris @ 2/03/2004 01:10:00 AM comment