Wednesday 30 November 2016

Waterloo sunset

I have woken up for three days now with the words "Jodrell Bank" floating about in my head. I don't know what that's all about. Until I did a Google search, I had no idea that Jodrell Bank is a giant telescope. Even if I knew that fact in my subconscious, why would it be fighting to make its way into my conscious thoughts? It's all very odd. I went to school with a girl called Jodrell Banks (I didn't.)

I have felt all day today that I'm about to fall off the edge of a cliff. This walk, which starts tomorrow at 9am, seems an increasingly bizarre prospect, the nearer it gets. I keep asking myself why I'm doing it and not coming up with a better example than that it's simply a life experience. And I suppose that's why we all go on holiday and such. I'm just not sure I'm physically, or mentally ready for the challenge. I don't think I've dealt very well with the year in general to be quite honest, so I guess I might as well try to buck the trend and end the year with a success!

I went into London to meet a lovely lady from the Arts Council this morning and then took myself down the South Bank where Nathan is working at the moment. We had lunch at Wagamama and then went up into the gods of the building to the office where he's working with Philip, one of our best men at the wedding.

I love the Southbank. The building is such a wonderful example of brutalist architecture and there's always something going on. Nathan introduced me to a little upstairs bar which members of the public can visit during the day to sit and work. It's a gloriously calm spot. Utterly silent to the extent that people walking through are forced to whisper.

Walking across Waterloo Bridge was a glorious experience. A haze was coming off the River Thames and the sun was low in the sky, tuning Hungerford Bridge, Westminster and the buildings of Vauxhall into layers of silhouettes which went from dark brown to pigeon grey.

I came home to pack my tiny rucksack, trying to work out what it is I really need and what I can get away with leaving at home. I read an article today which suggested that Kate Bush has praised Theresa May. The news made me feel a bit ill. This is Theresa May who is "putting her faith in God to guide us through Brexit." Just what you want in a prime minister. There is a huge amount of fear in the Arts community about the meaning of Brexit for us. The European Union is directly responsible for a huge amount of money going into British Arts, and no one in central government has made a single pledge about how a post-Brexit Arts scene in the UK might look. Maybe Kate Bush is angling for a dame-hood? It's about time...

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