Hypatia Avenue

Jim Hacker: "You know, your trouble is that you're more concerned with means than ends."
Sir Humphrey: "There are no ends in administration, Minister, except loose ends. Administration is eternal."
Bernard Woolley: "Forever and ever..."
Bernard & Sir Humphrey: "...amen."

Had an extremely good evening with Sir Humphrey earlier on in the week, catching up with each other after four years (four years!) of no communication – despite working and living not very far from each other for the last two and a half. I lovingly introduced him to My Favourite Place to Take People for Food and Drinks, the ICA, and am now awaiting an introduction to Sir Humphrey’s Favourite Place to Take People for Food and Drinks: the game is on!

Four years – and of all things, I’d forgotten how tall he is. We spotted one another in the doorway and as we walked towards each other, I felt my neck craning further and further back as we neared. Question: did he remember how short I am?

In our breathless, tireless, unflagging conversation that night, amongst all the other millions of things we talked about, we tried to recall all the plays and films and talks and events we had been to together at university but clearly all the alcohol and 17th century history and literature had too profound an effect on us during that time and we only managed to recall one play and one talk (which we identified as the talk where it all started). I’m frankly horrified that either a) our memories are so bad or worse - b) we didn’t actually manage to go out and do cultural, enlightening, intellectual things despite all my fond, possibly false, memories of going to the theatre and sitting around talking loudly about the artistic merits of Brechtian Alienation devices in a devised show about getting drunk on Benilyn cough syrup and accidentally sleeping with your own brother.

We clearly must make up for lost time. I’m going to spend my lunch hour tearing pages out of the film, theatre and visual arts section of Time Out. Brace yourselves: I’m feeling one of my Must Do and See Things and Drag Everyone Else Along With Me moods approaching. Duck and cover, boys and girls.

I’ve been in an extremely good mood since Monday night, feeling in generally high spirits with good news on the job front from Boatie Flatmate and good news from our very own Provincial Princess that has only added to my happiness. However, all silver linings are accompanied by clouds and I have just cocked up a whole morning’s worth of training and possibly pissed off three paying people, all the while trying to keep the understaffed office on its feet; also Taxloss is away from this evening until the weekend but I will do my best not to pine for The Beloved or at least, not whine about it here on the blog.

Sir Humphrey: It takes two to quango, Minister.