Real life

Strangely, regardless of other circumstances, real life seems to have returned this week. At the prayers after the funeral of our oldest friend's father I saw my past. The family were the centre of my social life from birth, and most of the people I knew were somehow connected with them. So despite London as it is having few if any communities I found myself back in the only one I had outside Devon, which was my summer community till 1989.
However long it had been since I saw anyone, a few years back to about 25, they were all part of my life and vice versa, and shared many memories going back as long as we could remember. So despite a large gap that continuity at least will carry on.

Yesterday I also met a neighbour from 4 doors away, except he left in 1955 and returned for a few days from Australia after 40 years away, and turned out we had a lot in common as well as our roots- I lived in the road opposite until I was 5 from 1960-1965. And he has revived some of my faith in the supernatural, with some reports showing he is clearly at one of the highest developed levels. I mix in those circles and rarely meet anyone like that, including the pros- they are in the main just good at talking and selling and I'm as psychic as many of them. The really good ones tend to be working quietly and rarely get any media attention. Peter Walker was one, and Geoff Boltwood who actively avoids publicity (sorry Geoff!) is another. Uri Geller has the personality but also the ability to probably imitate all the tricks he claims to do, and even he admits they may not be genuine at times. It's very simple to me, I either witness it for myself or don't believe, like anything else.

Big Brother (sister?) is now on, and as would happen I had to record the opening night as I was at the prayers, and heard the lot on the radio in the car home before I saw the tape. All women? I think they are beginning to realise what I already knew, same sex groups become very dull after a short time and however much many claim to dislike men few will not be missing them by now. It's not natural. I spent 3 years at a boy's school and my parents really should have known better than send me there. Just because half of them ended up at Oxford or Cambridge isn't the only point. I bet there are enough with mental problems as well, although I can't prove it. Will Self was one who did the usual route, school, Cambridge and media success, although from all my 7 or so schools I kept up less with the people there than any others, mainly as apart from a few I didn't get on with them. And the few on friends reunited didn't reply besides one I was never friendly with who invited me to America. How people can change. OK, I did correspond with a few but nothing compared to the other places.

Besides a dodgy appointment on Tuesday I have cleared the diary for this week, and unless a disaster falls will now finally be on TV again (3rd speaking role) next month. With the biggest audience so far. That is so important as the media career is the one thing that has improved in recent years, with my health, love and social life almost disappearing. I have a couple of extra TV ideas, and have saved up a summary of a walking tour of North London I want to try and get off the ground. With agoraphobic tendencies making a programme that gets me to walk around familiar roads is also very good therapy. Chronic fatigue was the real killer though and that's nothing to do with phobias, just stops you doing very much. On the mend now but I really have to limit my activities so far to one at a time. It does mean a lot more housework gets done though which is pretty useful.

I am now off to see what photographic gems I can see in NW11 on the way out, someone just posted a few classics in my local photo group which I had missed so it proves it can still be done. If they had to find one I'd put the new centre of London right in the middle of Finchley Road, Temple Fortune. Then you could watch the news on CNN in America and see them say 'And here's the news from Finchley Road'. We'd be on the map at last! It's the centre of my London already though.