A peaceful day. Helen came to see me but didn’t have time for a walk. I wasn’t sorry.

I knit resolutely on with the MKAL. I’m not greatly enamoured with the way it’s turning out:

I don’t feel it’s doing justice to the beautiful yarns. But if great enamourment is what you’re looking for, don’t opt for an MKAL. I’m on course to finish the second clue before we go to Kirkmichael, but I may take both knittings with me anyway.

Life

No, Shandy. The Patricia Routledge “Talking Heads” I remember so vividly (I think) and was looking forward to seeing re-made, is not the letter-writing one, nor whatever is coming next week. It may be called “A Woman of No Importance”. She works in an office, and she’s boring. She’s nobody’s special friend. Then one day she has an alarming symptom and goes to the doctor – that’s a lovely scene, where a young trainee finds the cancer and is proud of himself, but the older doctor treats her with sympathy.

Then she goes into hospital and has a horrible operation and gradually dies.

And all this is done with Alan Bennett’s marvellous language. Nothing is said; everything is implied. Patricia Routledge’s own line is “They don’t know what it is.”

Nowadays everything is explicit. Maybe it couldn’t be re-made.