It boosted morale when our cleaner came back to work yesterday after a nine-week absence. I was so cheered by having a clean house that I cut the front hedge and made fagioli e tonno for supper, it being a warm evening.
But as fast as lockdown restrictions ease the longer term outlook is more uncertain. “It will be over by Christmas” may be as true now as it was in 1914, although it seems likely the expression was only coined some years later. So far events have been cancelled as far forward as October. Wexford seems to be going ahead – indeed they are still advertising a fund-raiser in Dublin in the middle of next month. Glyndebourne’s summer festival has been cancelled but their autumn touring season, starting on 9th October, is on.
A friend told me there are brown trout in the brook that runs through Wimbledon Common. I saw two shoals of fry yesterday and another walker confirmed they are trout. A heron was in attendance. The Common was uncrowded suggesting that people are returning to work but traffic is still light.
The YouTube link to Joseph Losey’s Monsieur Klein doesn’t work so I bought a boxed set: The Sleeping Tiger, The Criminal, Eva, The Servant, Accident, The Go-Between and Mr Klein. Losey made Mr K in 1976, only thirty-four years after the events depicted. It is a disturbing, thought-provoking film that doesn’t stoop to be entertainment. A scene showing anti-semetism in a cabaret is superficially reminiscent of Bob Fosse’s Cabaret, released in 1972, but runs deeper. Losey exposes the deceptions, the turning a blind eye and the hypocrisy of Paris in 1942. It is a chilling exposeé of the city but on another level a psychological study of Robert Klein and his journey. To say more would be a spoiler.
If you’d rather something less challenging I can thoroughly recommend the adaptation of Leave It To Psmith on BBC Radio 4. I listened to the first episode on catch-up last night while I was slicing peppers, a red onion and garlic and it is brilliant; a gem as sparkling as Lady Julia’s diamonds. The continuation will be next Sunday afternoon.
Even more surprising was the email we got announcing that the Rossini Festival in Pessaro would be proceeding in August. Very punchy of the Italians, I thought.
Chalfont St Giles too has a heron who is visiting the village pond every morning.
Early walkers have met, roe deer and muncjack standing quite happily in people’s driveways. Brazen foxes are too common to mention. There are compensations in a closer relationship with wildlife but I really want to meet up with human friends for a drink, conversation, food and a hug.