I wasn’t sure how easy – or rather how difficult – Easter and its build up was going to be for me given that I’m a recovering chocoholic. I do not say that in jest, or lightly, as I know from experience that giving up sugar for someone like me is as hard as an alcoholic getting on the wagon. An alcoholic will have their favourite tipple and a sugar addict their favourite food. And mine took the form of chocolate, preferably dark chocolate, my all-time favourite being Lindor dark chocolates and eggs. But, like an alcoholic at their rock bottom will drink anything with alcohol in it, so I would eat chocolate in any colour – white or milk would do nicely – and in any form – Kit Kat, Twix, Double Decker, Creme Egg, Dairy Milk, Caramel, Turkish Delight, and the wonderful Muller Luxury Range of desserts, you name it and I’ve scoffed it. Even cheapo cooking chocolate would have done in an emergency. Strangely enough, just typing those sentences has made me feel a bit sick. And strangely enough, I’ve managed to walk by all the huge stacks of Easter Eggs that have been on offer in the supermarkets since New Year’s Day 🙂 I haven’t been tempted once. And that is an Easter miracle.
Mind you, a quick sprint to Tesco this morning left me feeling grumpy, so perhaps I am suffering subconscious resentment at not eating chocolate without realising it. As I’ve written before, Tesco seems hell bent on offering more and more self-serve checkouts. Consequently fewer ‘proper’ checkouts are open. As someone who refuses point blank to serve myself I joined the queue at a checkout only for an assistant to call over the woman behind me to be served at a desk that was just opening up. Then, the person in front and the assistant chatted away and the assistant seemed incapable of working and talking at the same time and then – of course! – one of her items wouldn’t scan and so a supervisor had to be called to sort it out. Consequently, three people had been served at the newly-opened-up checkout before it was my turn and I was in a real hurry as the carers were with Auntie. 🙁
And so,today is Good Friday. Growing up we always had a boiled egg for breakfast and then mid-morning we were allowed to make a start on one of the Easter Eggs that had been standing in a line along the top of the piano since Palm Sunday. Lunch was always fish and chips and tea always included hot cross buns. Everything was closed and we amused ourselves in many ways; mine usually consisted of daydreaming about eating the rest of my eggs after Sunday school on Easter Morning. Is it any wonder I became a chocoholic? Today breakfast was porridge with blueberries, lunch will be a bacon sandwich and then, as someone is sitting with Auntie, I am going to visit the Brother and Sister-in-Law and the Nephews for a couple of hours. Brother and Sister-in-Law zoom off to New York on Tuesday for five days. I’m not jealous – much! NY is one of my favourite cities.
I really did laugh out loud this week when I heard that the Passion Play had been refused a licence in Oxford on the grounds that it was thought to be a work of eroticism. Where do they get these Town Hall clowns from? I know we’re becoming an increasingly secular society, but if you don’t know what the Easter Passion Play is you shouldn’t be working in the licensing department of a local authority. Months of rehearsal to bring the play to the people of Oxford all for nothing.
And speaking of entertainment, I finally got round to watching the final episode of The Musketeers on iPlayer yesterday. It took almost two hours to watch the one-hour programme because Auntie was having a difficult day and I kept losing the thread. But in spite of that, I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt a certain sadness as the four of them rode off at the end. The writing, acting and action brought an hour of escapism every Sunday evening that I loved and am now suffering withdrawal symptoms. This woman needs a Musketeer in her life! The casting was excellent – each Musketeer bringing something special, although I had a real soft spot for Athos (Tom Burke) and Peter Capaldi was outstanding as Richlieu, but then again, when isn’t he? At the moment I’m dining out on the fact that “I know Dr Who”. It’s really upped my cred among my acting students!
A busy week ahead for me, though, with a rehearsed reading to industry people of Singles’ Holiday at the Wenlock and Essex in Islington on Thursday – very, very exciting. And for the last few days I’ve been busy on a piece I’ve been asked to submit to the travel section of a national Sunday paper, which is beyond exciting. I did a short course on travel writing at the London School of Journalism three years ago and this is the first time I’ve got round to sending a pitch which an editor has agreed to read. I’m working hard visualising the finished, published article.
And if you go to church on Sunday, you will be asked to include the Old Trout in your prayers. As a final step in her manipulated foisting onto the British people, she is now included in prayers for the Royal Family. Just as Diana, when she divorced Charles, was taken off the prayer list. As if you can tell people who they can and can’t pray for! What planet are they living on?
However you spend it and whoever you spend it with – HAPPY EASTER!
