Miscellany

German archaeologists think that they have found the tomb of Gilgamesh in Iraq.

The air-conditioning in our office broke down this week and I got a few funny looks when I fished a fan out of my drawer, snapped it open with a flick of my wrist and started fanning myself. Well that's tough! I can't stand a hot stuffy office and we are always having problems with the air-conditioning. I even selected a blue fan to keep at work so that it matches the furniture.

I had a voucher for Boots so I went up to their new healthy living section and bought some Pink Ginger Cordial. It is very pale pink, so by the time you've diluted it, it isn't pink anymore. Mixed with sparkling water it makes a drink that tastes like ginger beer; bittersweet and warming. Last night I tried it as a hot drink, but it was a disappointment. For some reason the lemon flavour (which wasn't really noticeable in the cold drink) overpowered the ginger so it just tasted like a hot lemon drink. I'm going to have to try out the ginger tea recipe (an infusion of root ginger) that was posted on MF.

Regarding exercise - Last week I got both a letter and a message on my answerphone from the gym asking where I've got to recently. Must do better.

An Insomniac's Lament

I lie in my bed at night,
Unable to fall asleep,
For seconds and minutes and hours and days.

Too hot,
Push the duvet back so that I'm partially uncovered,
Lie on top of the duvet,
Off come the pyjamas,
And I still can't sleep.

Too cold,
Warm pyjamas and a pair of socks,
Tuck the duvet close round me so there are no drafts,
Head under the covers,
Just a little gap to let me breathe,
But I still can't sleep.

Get up and wander around the house,
Have a drink of water,
Watch a bit of television,
What strange programs they show at 3 am!
Go on the Internet,
Read a book,
But I still can't sleep.

They say that insomniacs should only use the bed for sleeping,
Not for reading or watching television,
So I follow their rules,
Does that help?
No, I still can't sleep.

Fall asleep on the sofa,
Watching a film or late night television,
But when I roll off the sofa and into bed,
Can I get to sleep?
What do you think?
Can I hell!