Grey old Wednesday!

Had dinner last night with my friend C, who was looking amazing after 5 months on a healthy eating and exercise plan. It’s strange when you haven’t seen someone for so long (both our diaries had been a nightmare since Xmas) and you get to see the visible results of being good and doing the right things for a considerable amount of time. She is being featured in The Sunday Telegraph magazine for her efforts (who are sponsoring her personal trainer etc) so I got the low down on the 'smoke and mirrors' that are employed by the media to produce the magazine stories. Fascinating. In spite of my many years crawling around in the underbelly of the media myself, I am still amazed when I hear about the reality of it all.

I walked back from Bank station through the City at about 9.30 and really appreciated my surroundings. There is a slightly ghostly feel you get between Bank and Monument, when the ‘suits’ have gone home and the businesses are shutting down for the day. Plus, nothing beats the view down the Thames at night as you cross London Bridge and look left to HMS Belfast and right towards the London Eye. It’s the scale of the buildings that always impresses, and the ant-like quality of the folk walking alongside. I felt truly appreciative that I was happy and sober after a lovely evening chatting with a friend and that the vista was so impressive.

Has been a busy day at work and I have started to get the ‘buzz’ back that had died since the credit crunch truly manifested itself. I much prefer to be busy, as the day goes so much quicker, and I have the feeling that I have done something worthwhile with my time at the end of it.

So today I am thankful that:
· I live in London and have done so very happily for nearly 12 years. Much as I can not wait to get to Rye for our wee sojourns, and definitely picture myself there permanently in time to come, the energy of London can not be matched and sometimes it’s a thrill to feel it;
· I am in a loving and supportive relationship. Some days just a few words with my beloved at lunch can raise my spirits and make me smile, and it’s the moments like that which I treasure more so than the special events;
· My head feels less fuzzy than ever! Clarity has come back to me slowly, but as it starts to take hold I am all the more appreciative of what this actually involves. Experiences and interaction with others feel so much more rewarding when hard edges aren’t softened by an alcoholic haze. I am more aware than ever that the last 20 years will always be somewhat less crystal clear than they could have been, had I been sober over that period, but I have no intention of dwelling on that. What went before should not be lamented forever.