adore amy

and breathe…

Well the final phase of pack-unpack-wash-repack-in-bigger-case is well and truly underway and I shall be leaving for Cambridge after lunch, having dashed back from Oxford last Wednesday to a patiently waiting sea of lovely gentlemen with the net result being that today has been my first much-needed day off for a week. Gosh.

Oxford (as suspected) turned out to be a charming city with much to commend it, not least my very nice apartment whose kitchen was almost better equipped than my own – when I return I will be sure to stay longer and take advantage! The punters, as ever with the exception of Adultwork (for the first time ever not a single person whose contact originated from the site managed to secure a booking, largely because anyone mailing me at half past three wanting a four pm appointment is on a hiding to nothing faster than Usain Bolt after a Red Bull binge) have been delightful – perfectly punctual, well mannered and properly scrubbed and I am very much looking forward to going back.

I was fortunately able to get out and about for a couple of hours one afternoon, and happily managed a visit to the aforementioned Pitt Rivers Museum as well as the wonderful Natural History museum it is housed within (currently boasting ‘Swift Cam’, a live feed from the nests in the eaves and a kind of passerine Big Brother only better, since the characters are entertaining, likeable and far more articulate than their TV counterparts). The PRM is exactly as described last week and really demands more time than I had to spare but is well worth a look; artefacts are arranged and displayed by their nature rather than their age or country of origin which sounds eccentric, but if you want to look at flutes, masks, wedding rings, religious figures or water bottles from every imaginable culture and era, you just find the right case and lo and behold, there they are all together to be usefully and interestingly compared. Perfect!

The dimly lit maze has too many good bits to list without filling the whole page, but favourites were the Haida totem pole (at 11.36 metres), a curly wig from Ancient Egypt, an eye cleaner from 19th century China (see pic – me too) and best of all a ‘Phantom Shield’ from Papua New Guinea! The comics left behind by US soldiers in the 1940s after fighting the Japanese along the coast became popular with the native people, and among the super heroes featured the Phantom especially was considered morally upright and thought to be indestructible. He was therefore an eminently suitable figure to adorn a battle shield (some of these can still be bought, apparently – don’t tempt me). There were also ‘tea bricks’ which were used in trading and smelt very appetising to a Yorkshire lady on a warm day, but in the absence of an obvious source of hot water I left them be and went to look at the shrunken heads.

No time for the Ashmolean, sadly but definitely on the next visit! Meanwhile back at the ranch, availability for the coming week is sparse indeed; there are scattered appointments left and the intervening time will be constructively (or at least entertainingly) spent as always. Since I will be missing one of my regular evening gentleman this time, I have even managed to appropriate a discounted show ticket for ‘Chicago’ to while away an evening and am already getting extremely excited at the thought of high-kicks, sequins, and the requisite special-treat trip to the big KFC on Leicester Square after.

So to practical matters; I am packing right-now-this-minute and will arrive bright-eyed and neatly trimmed in Cambridge later today – there are scattered appointments remaining tomorrow afternoon and evening whereas Tuesday is almost fully booked – room for a little one, mind! London-wise, again the last few appointments are dotted about a bit, but juggling is very much my thing and I will as always endeavour to make room for the pleasant and polite. Email, as ever, to book – the new BlackBerry has a far better hit-rate than the old and I ought to receive enquiries straight away.

To Cambridge! After I’ve had my Weetabix, anyway.This weeks deliberate mistake – well, you’ll have to wait and see. Let’s see if our resident troll picks it up…

Oh, and a nice gentleman asked me if I could please put more pictures of my feet on the blog please. In case anyone was wondering.

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