Inside Out

Nothing demonstrates the passage of time more ruthlessly than the knicker drawer. One minute it's full of freshly-laundered frillies, the next it's teetering on the brink of a void. What has happened in between feels like a couple of sleeps, a few crosswords completed, one walk, two and a half friends interacted with, and a supper or three. Where is the pile of 12 you aired so lovingly and folded away a few days ago? Nearly all gone. And so you embark once again on the journey that will leave you feeling happy and satisfied, another drawerful of beautiful bloomers. In a way, as well as showing the fugit of tempus it highlights the utter futility of life. It's the same with everything. You shop and then you eat your shopping. And so you shop again, and you eat it again. You go to a party, then you come home and start being alone again. And so on ad infinitum. Time for a change I'd say. So I may try wearing me pants inside out to make them last longer, maybe back to front, upside down. I might, with a bit of ingenuity, make them last for 48 days. At least I'd feel time had slowed down.

The chilly weather continues, and it's Easter next weekend. I'm gearing up for a very busy week, with whole-day courses, Easter concerts at Orford and Blythburgh churches and finally the Tallis Scholars at Snape on Easter Saturday, three gigs which I was lucky enough to be given. Music heaven. In the meantime I'm manning the main door tonight for the last of the school concerts. I forgot to say that when I ushed on Tuesday, two of the schools were among the most deprived in the country, a primary and a secondary from Lowestoft. It really doesn't get any worse for kids from this area. The standard of education here, like the quality of life and the state of individual health, couldn't get much lower which in itself makes me seeth. For these children, coming to somewhere like Snape, being treated like stars and eperiencing singing on stage to rapturous applause - from their own proud families but everyone else as well - will be something they will never forget. I well remember the thrill of singing Quinquereme of Ninevah at the Hitchen Festival when I was 12. Whatever happens to them in the future, leaving school with a small handful of GCSEs as they will if they're very lucky, I hope their confidence levels will have been raised a few notches and always carry them along. Who said life was fair?