The adventures of Miss Despina

I’m so happy that yesterday my final project deadline has been extended by two whole weeks!

I celebrated all day long. Well, I went to uni and did hours of research, then celebrated.

Firstly by buying two pairs of shoes - one for my friend *Despina*’s wedding in Prague in August, one for stomping around Italy. Then I met a friend and we went to church and prayed a rosary together. It was the first time I’d ever done it, and I really enjoyed it.

Afterwards I noticed that I was being stared at as we walked through the park, and put it down either to his delicious Ted Baker suit, or the huge sunglasses I was wearing (alas, not Ted Baker). He told me it was because I’m gorgeous, which is probably not true, but made me feel good at least! We met up with a fantastic friend of his, a girl very much after my own heart, and several gin and tonics later, I had my first visit to a boys’ school, where my friend is house master.

Then somehow ended up going out and having white wine and moules, yet again! In Café Rouge this time - they were ok but not as good as the Italian ones we’d had the previous time. And then a long conversation about everything, and then three desserts and then more conversation, and a trip to a cocktail bar where the beautiful people are reputed to go, but I don’t find these so-called beautiful people very beautiful. (There’s nothing beautiful about starting drunken arguments about football management and saying the word "fuck" at the top of your voice, whilst drinking imported lager and wearing nasty designer wear.)

And then I got home, which is not something I remember very clearly, except for the point where I was sitting in the taxi aah-ing along to the Tristan prelude and receiving some strange looks for it.

Today I am celebrating by not doing uni stuff. I am learning to make carrot cake. It’s going well so far.

And then moules and Bellinis planned with S for next weekend when I see him - keep him in your prayers because he’s really not so well at the moment. I am so excited about seeing him, it’s really very inappropriate.

Then tomorrow I’m off out for "drinks" - read drinks, expensive food somewhere beautiful and possible carnage - with someone rather sweet. (I can’t come to a decision about what I want from him at the moment, but he knows this, and it’s nice to have him around. And he makes me laugh until I find myself in tears, which is always good!)

I suppose I really should stop being quite so gluttonous. It can’t be good for me. But I love my fabulous lifestyle, and there are other vices than gluttony of which I need to rid myself with more urgency.

What are your favourite vices? Please tell me about them, or simply indulge in one for me!

Anne my love, thanks for tagging me in this insightful meme, and shaming me into blogging again! 

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before? Many things! I lived in a foreign country for three months, I did two singing and acting roles on the stage at the Royal Northern College of Music (one was the main role). I moved house six times. I ate octopus. I got fined by two Hungarian ticket inspectors, and a Czech policeman. I painted my toenails turquoise. I heard jazz in central Europe.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? If I made any last year, I probably didn’t keep them. I have a few resolutions for next year, but the main ones are to put more effort into doing things socially as a couple with Jez, and to take control of my depression.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No-one in the UK!

4. Did anyone close to you die? No, thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit? Scotland, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? Stability. Please!

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? May 11th - one year of Despina and Jez. And all the dates I counted down to in Prague. Concert dates too, 13th November in particular.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Learning to speak Czech!

9. What was your biggest failure? Not doing as well as I could have done in uni.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? One bad chest infection, cutting off the top of my thumb, styes, and of course the ubiquitous depression.

11. What was the best thing you bought? A brown and cream silk skirt, a la Audrey Hepburn, with matching brown ballet pumps shoes (I’ve had it 6 months and worn it once!) Also, a shedload of sheet music!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? Jez has been amazing this year. Many friends have been very good to me, but Jez’s capacity for supportiveness, understanding, compassion, forgiveness, and pure love, remains unmatched. Mags has been here for me both physically and virtually, and passed all her exams second time round. Mum turned her back on a horrible career and is now enjoying being a retired lady of leisure. Dad coped with redundancy, bounced back and is now doing a bit of everything, being wonderful as always (but is working a bit too hard). Kyne was also a really good friend in Prague, dragging me out to the pub and various places, when I just wanted to hide, and making sure I ate properly.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? My own, recently.

14. Where did most of your money go? Phone bills, I think!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Moving house recently with Jez, seeing Don Giovanni / Manon Lescaut in Prague, dancing on the Danube, seeing Jez after 6 weeks without him, making Christmas, going to Budapest, singing in Czech, learning Glitter and be Gay and hitting the highest notes I’ve ever sung, playing Yum-Yum, being thin enough to wear my favourite dresses, hearing Rachmaninov 2nd symphony, and many, many more things!

16. What song will always remind you of 2007? Too early to say, but certainly any Klezmer or anything by Lakatos, or Julie Fowlis, or the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, or Don Giovanni!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer? A bit sadder I think, and certainly not richer, but considerably thinner. (I yo-yod between 10 and 14 this year, I’m now a curvaceous 12!)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Travelling in the Czech Republic, making time for my friends, studying.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Working, dwelling on things, being a rubbish girlfriend, abusing my body and my mind, and fucking up my life in general!

20. How did you spend Christmas? In my beautiful new home, with my family and Jez’s family. It was a really perfect Christmas Day, in fact.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007? Yes, more and more in love.

22. What was your favorite TV program? Can’t answer this one, as I don’t have a TV!

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No. I’ve realised how much energy it takes to hate someone, and no-one is worth that when there are so many people worthy of better than hatred.

24. What was the best book you read? Ooooooh I can’t answer this! I’m currently reading the Philip Pullman trilogy and finding it mindblowing, but I loved The Historan and The Icarus Girl, and Immortality, and Inventing the Victorians.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? That I can sightread!

26. What did you want and get? To have the happiest week of my life. (And the worst.)

27. What did you want and not get? So many things.

28. What was your favourite film of this year? La vie en rose.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 22, and I seem to remember it was the first time I saw the house where I now live, and I thought it was beautiful. Then I think Jez made me something delicious to eat, or maybe we went out somewhere… maybe I was a bit drunk.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? More self-belief.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Classic, with a few quirky twists. Three quarter length trousers with ballet pumps, lots of jewellery. Tailoring. Killer heels.

32. What kept you sane? Music.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I don’t really do celeb crushes, but if I had to choose, I suppose Vincent Delerm (Sorry Jez but it is all your fault.)

34. What political issue stirred you the most? The police and government’s reaction to the murder of Jean Charles de Menezes. The words "a corporate failure" remain etched on my mind. I am appalled.

35. Who did you miss? Everyone I’ve managed to alienate in the last year. And in Prague, obviously I missed Jez and my family. I’ve missed Catherine since she went to uni.

36. Who was the best new person you met? Kindest, funniest, or downright strangest? Too many to mention - not just new friends in 2007, but people I knew before who I am now much closer to. That’s a nice feeling.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007. I will consider my response to this and write a separate blog post about it. But I am beginning to realise just what a big responsiblity life can be.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Plusieurs indices m’ont mis la puce à l’oreille
J’ouvre l’oeil
J’vais faire une enquète pour en avoir le coeur net
Ca m’inquiète

Y a des détails qui trompent pas

Les draps la couette et la taie d’oreiller
Sont plus dépareillés
A coté de mes fringues en boule
Y a des vêtements pliés et repassés

Y a des détails qui trompent pas
J’crois qu’y a une fille qu’habite chez moi !

Deux brosses à dent dans la salle de bain
Du savon sans savon et le sèche-cheveux
C’est certainement pas le mien
Des petites boules bizarres
Pour parfumer la baignoire
C’est un vrai cauchemar
Quelqu’un a massacré tous mes amis cafards !

Dans la cuisine des sachets de thé
De verveine de camomille
Un message sur le répondeur d’une mère
Qu’est pas la mienne
V’là qu’elle s’en prend à ma famille !

Y a des détails qui trompent pas

Quelqu’un en douce a fait la vaiselle
Où sont mes habitudes mon ménage trimestriel ?
J’ouvre le frigo horreur c’est d’la folie !
Y a plein de légumes !
Y a même des fruits !

Y a des détails qui trompent pas
J’crois qu’y a une fille qu’habite chez moi !

Où sont mes potes qui glandaient devant la télé
Les boîtes de pizza les paquets de chips éventrés
Les mégots de cigarettes écrasés dans les assiettes
Ma collection de new look ? Aux oubliettes !

Sur la table de nuit y a plus de capotes mais de l’aspirine
Y a une fille qu’habite chez moi
Y a aussi des bougies contre l’odeur de la nicotine
Y a une fille qu’habite chez moi !

Y a des détails qui trompent pas

Y a un vrai rideau y a plus un drap cloué sur la fenêtre !
Qu’est-ce que c’est que ça ? Mon Dieu, c’est une plante verte !

L’aspirateur est encore chaud
C’est trop je porte plainte !
Je vais l’emmener au labo
Pour vérifier les empreintes

On dirait que je suis plus célibataire
La coupable je la tiens
Elle est devant l’étau se resserre
Accrochée au téléphone assise en tailleur
Dans une jolie robe à fleur
Une fille me dit "Arrête ton cinéma
Et le loyer j’le paye autant que toi !"

(Bénabar, Y a une fille qui habite chez moi)

Hello everyone. I’m afraid this will be my last proper post for the next few days. I’m off on holiday you see.

Then when I get home I am moving software! Byebye to this user-unfriendly blog - apologies to everyone who’s struggling to get comments through. 

I’m writing this from ever such a strange little "internet and laundry" kiosk under the main railway station in Prague. There’s even a curtain behind me I can pull across if I want to look at porno - I suppose I could try to find that video of myself on youtube! We’ve come to the station stupidly early, and in a couple of hours’ time, we’ll be on a train to Krakow! I’m so excited! Budapest, Prague and Krakow in one year is more than I’d have dreamt of. Photos when I’m home, promise.

When I left you on Friday it was to go the airport to meet Jez (who is lovely, by the way. Really really lovely). I’d dressed for the occasion, thinking of how thrilled he’d be to get of his Paris-Prague flight and see a gorgeous, straight-haired, sultry brunette waiting for him with a secret little smile. As it happened though, I don’t know whether it was the time and effort required to straighten my hair (which happens about once a month) or just the fact that I can’t get organised to save my life, but when I arrived in the depertures lounge, almost tripping over my shoes and splitting another pair of trousers, I felt like a mum who was late picking up her child from school. All the other children have gone home and there’s just your little boy sitting there, looking so cute but so lonely that you feel terrible.

We’ve had a good weekend. On Saturday Jez shocked me by suggesting that we go shopping - we spent about 60 quid in Marks & Spencers. Then we went to Bertramka, where there was a wedding going on, and oh, it was so lovely, and made me so excited about singing there! Really elegant. And then in the evening we met up with the friends who will be getting married there next May. Spent most of yesterday packing - Oh My God, I’m not brave enough to talk about that yet - and then we went out into Prague.

Walking across the Charles Bridge for the last time in a little while, we saw a jazz band strike up playing. They were five old men and whilst the sound was ok, they didn’t seem like they were really into it (although the bassist who had shoved his cigarette between his fingerboard and his tuning peg for safekeeping was quite funny, as was the man playing the cd case as a percussion instrument). They finished their piece, so Jez and I stopped holding hands and clapped them, as you do. And then we realised that no-one else was applauding. I looked around at the twenty or so grumpy tourists sitting on the wall, and before I could stop myself, I just said, "You miserable bastards!" Jez thought it was hilarious.

So we arrived at the opera house to see Manon Lescaut, both looking gorgeous and really enjoying the airy building and the elegant décor. Our tickets were for the second balcony, but since there had been so little interest and so few seats sold - which really surprised me, considering that this is the Prague equivalent of Covent Garden - we were given an upgrade to stalls seats. We managed to ignore the jeans-and-flip-flops-Gee-Honey tourists behind us and wow, what a production! It began in an artist’s studio, and the characters had a Ruddigore moment and stepped out of the paintings, the main picture breaking up and forming the scenery. Act II was in a jewellery box, in delicious powdered wig, Marie Antoinette style, and then the rest of the action took place in 1950’s Le Havre and America. Wonderfully sung by everyone, an excellent production and cast. The chorus were very strong too - however I was a bit sad that they didn’t get a bow, since they worked so hard. I bet they were all in the pub already! Jez and I drank champagne at the interval again - it’s becoming a tradition! I’m so lucky that we’ve been to the opera in Prague together twice. That’s the kind of lifestyle I’d like to get used to - please?

We met up with O on Vaclavské and said byebye, then we went out for a drink with Andrea, who I will miss so much. She is such an angel. She’s frighteningly intelligent and intellectual, and just so kind and giving - for example, she offered us to stay in her flat when we come in May! Then we said goodbye to her and went back to the flat, where Jez talked to me about trains until I went to sleep.

So it’s byebye Prague, and hello Krakow! Thanks for the travel / language tips everybody. We’ll talk when I return.

Despina x 

Yesterday I bought

• 2 tickets to see Manon Lescaut at the Prague State Opera on Sunday
• 2 tickets to take a train from Prague to Krakow on Monday
• 2 tickets to watch the Simpsons movie (well I don’t want to die of culture overload do I?)

and only tried to pay by using the word for swim once!

This fills me with hope.

Now there’s some more language geekery I’m afraid, a question aimed at you all, but especially any visiting language experts - you know who you are!

As I said, I’m going to Poland next week. Do you think I’d get a better reception by speaking English, or by speaking Czech? (I’m afraid I only know yes, please, and thank you in Polish. I didn’t try to learn last year as I think two new languages at a time is enough!) Jez will be speaking some Polish (as he did in Prague!) but I’m not sure whether people would think I was being considerate, amusing, or just plain offensive if I spoke Czech there!