Majorca Flats -- 129

Keith's flat was large—the whole top floor of a weathered Victorian house just a couple of hundred yards from The Lord Grey. Jason wondered why he'd never come here before, and then realised that Keith was trying as hard as he to make their relationship work, and he hadn't wanted to push it when Jason had turned down sex with him. The flat was furnished with just a king-sized bed, a coffee table and in a very 70s touch, bean bags. Except for books. Everywhere Jason looked there were piles of books or bookcases made from planks, held up by bricks, stuffed with books. Ouch! he thought to himself, judging people by appearances again! Keith was obviously a lot deeper than his barman persona at work — and his past as a rent-boy — made him seem.

“Some more brandy?” asked Keith. “Maybe some tea, too?”

Luigi and Jason both nodded, and while Keith was busy in the kitchen slumped into two of the bean bags. Keith returned with steaming mugs, brandy snifters and a bottle of brandy.

“It's green tea. Watch out — it's hot. Don't burn yourselves!”

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Up, up and away

Downtown -- or to be more precise, inner urban Melbourne -- worked its magic. We visited the Café Università, where parts of both Footy and I Get no Kick from Champagne happen, we went to an excellent second-hand bookshop and bought some cheap books (ah, the sharp and satisfying joy of second-hand bookshops!), we had a cheap lunch at a pavement café, and we watched The Girl who Played with Fire, the second film in the Millennium trilogy. The crits had been neutral or scathing but I enjoyed it. Perhaps because the clichés were Swedish rather than Hollywood, they appeared fresh to me. A good book or film will take you out of yourself, will make you feel what it's like to be one of the people in the world depicted, and that helped lift my mood. I've decided I simply have to visit Sweden. Prolly not going to happen (I have too little dosh) but what I can do is learn Swedish. It was tantalising understandable all the way through this film and its predecessor, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (A fantastic film by the way.) I love the way non-Hollywood films use unglamorous and plain leads. So refreshing.

Most of all, though, I did what I've found helpful, and that is to count my blessings. Yes, my life is far from perfect, but hey, it could be much worse. There is a blind teen I've seen around town. How I try and scold myself into happiness is this: I imagine what he would feel like to suddenly have his sight restored. Then I tell myself that I have my sight. So I should be as happy as he might be were he able to see again. Sometimes it works. :-)

Anyway, will end with this shmaltzy song. When this was a hit they were in the middle of an appalling war. But somehow we have to keep going. They did, and I can too.