Adrian

“We’ll always have Paris. We didn’t have it, we’d lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.” says Rick (H Bogart) to Ilsa (I Bergman) in the final moments of “Casablanca”.

Adrian’s last proper day today. I say proper because, looking back, he actually left a while ago. On the train back from Hatfield way back in the summer in actual fact. When we arrived at Kings Cross I was told that it was nothing personal.

The presentation was a moving, if not fleeting, few moments. Biggest turnout for such a thing that I have ever seen. Leaves me wondering whether I would, in my own time, enjoy such an emotional sending off. It felt like the last day at Junior school. It was 1979 - and I cried. Is that unusual?

End of an era. At least that’s how he made it feel. In some ways I will miss him. In others I will not. The fact that it will be the elevated section of the A4 in Hammersmith that sets us apart professionally is another reason why he won’t have really left. I’m sure Bar38 will be graced by our converged presence at some point. Will it be coincidence or fate?

Nothing changes I suppose.

Last night’s number-crunching denied me attendance at the Genie (we’re all sick of “txt”-ing book-club). Pete walked around to my desk to say that he missed me - and handed me a paperback of the current agenda-item: “Oranges are not the Only Fruit” by Jeanette Winterson. Now - I haven’t read any reviews of this book before - but when I opened the book at a random page - somewhere about half-way through, I was taken by two things:
1. The font: a type-face that I haven’t seen in a book before. Quite readable.
2. The title of the chapter was “Exodus” - which flashes uninspiring thoughts about this being somewhat biblical.

There is an acknowledgement on the back by Gore Vidal: “The most interesting young writer I have read”. I am hopeful.

Posted by jag at January 31, 2002 07:03 PM