Ludivine has just called saying “Do I want to join her over at Les Halles to eat out?” As I had planned to write tonight—she being out with a girl friend—I had to say ‘no’. Well, I didn’t have to and I did have to hesitate a lot, but I want to advance, and I have been thinking and planning stuff in my head and particularly I can see a twist at the end of Juliet that I would rather like to try out… So I will put aside the apples and cheese and stuff that I bought to do some cooking. (This being an activity unlike work but like washing-up that is condusive to thinking.) I will sandwich instead.

Apart from that, I have decided that my mind has liquified (all is the fault of the mindnumbing stuff at work). And now it seems that I have been working on revising Juliet for what feels like months. This story is supposed to be finished. I want to get on with Died and the Pirates. Small argh.