Nice and Nightmarish.

You might remember the woman from the coffee shop in Uttoxeter who I’ve mentioned a couple of times recently. She was the one who said ‘have this one on me’ when I told her my scans were clear. Well, I learned her name today. It’s Christabel.

I remember reading AS Byatt’s novel Possession a few years ago and being mildly captivated by the character of Christabel LaMotte. It was the name that first drew me in, and I remember thinking what a lovely name Christabel is. It hints at gentle strength, feminine sensibilities, and maybe a little fairy heritage somewhere along the line. I was also struck by the fact that I’d never – to my knowledge at least – met a Christabel. Well, now I have. Isn’t that nice?

In other news, I’m currently encountering issues of the most absurd nature with my ISP, my energy supplier, and my mobile phone network. Try as I might, I’m not getting anywhere and the whole experience is beginning to feel like one of those nightmares out of which you simply cannot wake.

I'm a bit obsessed with nightmares at the moment. Mostly they happen when I'm asleep, but today I had one walking through the town while a cold wind blew and the reluctant sun reclined wearily on the rooftops. I was locked in a room with no means of escape and there was a Daniel O'Donnell album playing day and night on a loop. I got rescued by a fresh cream doughnut.