Woke up this morning with a start in Ealing having stayed overnight with French Bloke and Matty boy. I'd responded to this emailed crie de coeur from the French Bloke:

I am hiding in the deep, dark, safe place at the bottom of my soul. The area above I have allowed to be filled by a humunculus of my own creation, an automaton that can go through the motions and yet feel no pain. This empty doppelganger seems to be all that is required to fulfill the role expected of me by the vacuous husks of humanity who have me surrounded. The only way to reach my withdrawn soul is maybe to allow the fumes of ethanol to seep slowly by my vapid creation and into the refuge in which I have imurred myself....

So we went for a drink. And ended up at the boy's house talking nonsense to them and poor Eva.

Yesterday was fine. Attended inaugural board meeting of my part of the business which was full of nosebleed-inducing figures, and little else of consequence.

Got a lovely email from Romy, who is a big fan of Persuasion too. Romy and MJ are ladies who like the same books.

MJ is doing a reading on the radio tonight. Which is streamable over the internet. I will enter link here later when I get home as I don't have to hand. One week till she is in London!