Mid-April 2018 Update

Richard turned 80 yesterday on the 15th of April. The Saturday evening just before, we had his birthday party. Apart from the absence of Jonah & Mitch and Rosemary & Kasia, it could not have been better. Gin & Rix arrived with some splendid hors-d’oeuvres. Ben and Tanya came with lovely cheeses plus a bottle of Oban that between us, me, Richard and Matt, we finished. The Bollinger was delicious, but some of us feel safer with the malt. We had a vegetable tart, an assortment of hot raviolis, crab-prawn salad, nuts, crackers, goat’s cheese, tomatoes, tangerines, almond bisquit, and I can no longer remember the rest apart for the birthday cake. And then Woody showed up with some of his pork chops. Some of us were pure vegans and probably most were vegetarians or pescatarians, but these chops were organic and beyond exceptional. This amounted to Woody’s introducing many of us to spiritual meat-eating. I would not have thought it possible before this.

At one point, Richard pulled out his keyboard and sang his toast and “I’m so black-and-blue” love song. This was a thrilling moment. And on some incredible level, everyone seemed to enjoy everyone else. It was a great mix. Beside out neighbour Peter and Elisabeth with Monica, Darby & Stephen, Patrick & Sue, Stephen & Roberto, Eamonn & James, Steve & Teresa and Caroline, there was our family: Chloe & Matt, Woody, Gin, Rix, Sylvester and Ben & Tan. In all, we were twenty-four. Richard and I have been coasting on a high ever since.

The other great highlight has been Richard passing his driver’s test. As the day before was the Ides of March, we ritually stoned instead of having him practice with the car. But the upshot of that was that he was utterly relaxed when it came to the exam. It was vintage Richard, and he just took control and almost lulled his young examiner to sleep until when he hit a speed hump and slammed on the breaks with the examiner crashing into the windshield. But even with that, he passed. Yes, it’s worth repeating: it was vintage Richard. It has since taken us weeks to accept it all as a reality.

At the Jermyn Theatre, we enjoyed The Dog Beneath the Skin – a collaborative production between Auden and Isherwood. It was strange, but the cast was good. At the Saatchi we attended the champagne-flowing vernissage of Known Unknowns. Another evening, Steve with Teresa treated us to a most delicious vegetarian meal at The Gate in Marylebone. We did miss the Pagan Federation equinox ritual this time at Conway Hall but did get on another evening to the Free Speech Club and heard a talk about the convenience of the Skripals’ poisoning (even though there have been multiple Russian deaths in the UK previously for which there has been no media coverage) for the Tory government on the verge of collapse. Cinema-wise, it has been Ruben Östlund’s The Square (not as funny as the preview had suggested; interesting and long and somewhat vapid) and Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs (incredibly and humourously well-done). We had a lovely afternoon tea at the Club with Gin and Rix. Before that. Kevin and Frank treated us to a dinner also at the Club. Penny and Hamish had us to their place with Jo and Richard for a most magnificent meal that began with one of my favourites, Peking duck. And finally, we attended a fascinating Nova Stellar talk by Jake Stratton-Kent on Grimoire & Goetic magick as well as Quimbanda and Hoodoo. O yes, we also have been to the Royal Academy for the Charles I collection which was surprisingly magnificent. George Frideric Watts” Physical Energy was in the RAA’s courtyard - superlative
and a perfect concept but already now removed.

After managing to lose my prescription for rivaroxaban between Andrews who did not have it in stock and Boots, and Victoria Muir refusing to write me a replacement, we have since switched to her ex-business partner, Dr. Maher Shakarchi who will also be able to give me the three-month hormone injection. I have also been to my dentist Paul Holmes several times – expensively.

Writing-wise, I have done much of my Introduction chapter for Darrelyn’s ‘Living Mountains’ anthology. She and Bernadette sent me a lovely bottle of Kilochman to get through my escapade at the Royal Marsden. I have reached the final chapter revision for my mysticism manuscript and the insertion of a material religion perspective. And my Cherry Hill Seminary class has now only one more session to go. I am enjoying my students immensely. And today was my tenth radiation treatment. Now only twenty-seven more to go!