In Paradisum

It’s Requiem-a-go-go right now. I’ve been working on the In Paradisum today; the final movement of the piece, which takes on a kind of "after darkness light" quality. It's scored for a female soloist and I'm presently trying to work out who that might be. We’ve had a glimmer of interest from a singer who means more to me than any other in the world. She's asked to hear the piece and we are going to try and create the highest calibre demo imaginable. Even the thought of her hearing my music makes me shudder and feel emotional. I can’t tell you her name in case it all goes wrong, although those who know me well could probably guess. We have to assume she’ll say no, but if everyone could keep their fingers crossed, I’d be hugely grateful because her singing my music would probably make my life feel complete. I keep drifting off into fantasy; imagining what it would feel like to stand with her in a studio. How proud I'd be...

There’s really not a great deal more to say. I’ve been a bit of a hermit all day, and know I’ve consumed too much tea because I’m feeling a little jittery. We’re waiting for another massive rain storm tonight, which will, no doubt cause mayhem in places like Tewksbury where it always seems to flood. For my part, I’m battening down the hatches. It’s 9pm and I really want to have a few hours in front of the telly with a plate of food on my lap before going to bed. I

Friday 2^nd May, 1662, and Pepys made his triumphant entry into London. It was, he reported, the hottest day of the year and he took himself for a wash; a rare occurrence in 17^th Century life. People actually feared getting wet, they felt water spread diseases and frankly must have stunk to high heaven!

Pepys went to see his new mate, Dr. Clerke’s, wife. Clerke had obviously stayed in Portsmouth, so Pepys was delivering a letter and some kind of token to her. He decided that she was a very fine lady. She was furthermore surrounded by equally fine women, so fine, in fact, that Pepys wrote he could “hardly carry himself like a man among them.”