Betty has escaped from Alcatraz, from Colditz, from the Gulags, from wherever that was supposed to be escape proof. She was going absolutely stir crazy and literally climbing the walls, only in this instance it was the kitchen window from the top of which she squeezed out through the narrow ornamental bars of the fanlight and dropped a fair distance down on the outside. Houdini could not have done it better. I have no doubt we won’t see her for a while. She’s not going to want to come back to be incarcerated again.
Have reread a play "A Corner For Dreams" I wrote in 1957 while I was acting in Julius Caesar at The Library Theatre in Manchester. I have always been of the opinion it is not a very good play and had delegated it to the darkest corner of the script cupboard all these years but I have now changed my mind and decided, with a little bit of work, I think it might very well do. I don’t suppose it is at all relevant to any of today’s issues but interesting as a period piece and period seems to be coming back into fashion.
I have just been informed the escapee has returned and is at the moment polishing off her breakfast.
The above was written yesterday and this won’t be posted till tomorrow but just to say the escapee has disappeared again so the fanlight window is about to be replaced. It needs to be anyway as the cooler weather settles in.
Have finished the Ustinov book and enjoyed it to the end. Going back to the upcoming presidential elections here is a quote when reminiscing about presidents, politicians and statesmen of the past who he has known, and later comparisons: “It seems to be the habit to elect presidents for their lack of evident vices instead of their possession of evident virtues. The existence of vices is allowed to become apparent during the incumbency.” Oh, perspicacious Mr Ustinov! I wonder what he would have thought about Clinton, George W, Bush, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Not much I warrant.
Started to watch Howerds End but got bored and gave up. The usual fine attention to period detail one came to expect but everyone appeared to be just that little bit too frenetic in order to liven up what seemed a rather drab script, and failed. The headmaster’s note on the end of term report would read “Merchant Ivory has done. better.”