Happy-go-lucky

I snuck off to the cinema during the day last week to see the new Mike Leigh film, Happy-Go-Lucky. Absolutely loved it from start to finish, although it was rather depressing that no one else seemed to be laughing apart from me in the cinema (ok there were only about 5 other people in there, but all the same... actually generally speaking I find daytime audiences are waaay too serious, but I digress...)

Poppy has stayed with me, and today I had the dawning realisation that she was possibly inside my head more than I'd realised. I've been thinking about what I've been up to this week and have so far:

- Bought some really bright and cheery clothes in a bid to liven up my wardrobe and escape the grey/black combos that seem to have defined my life for the last year or so

- Gone to Regents Park for a lovely sunny walk with J, and admired the boating lake whilst enjoying my first ice cream of 2008

- And finally, just to top it all off, today I bought a bike

Still, I'd rather that Poppy has inhabited my head than the scary driving instructor, I guess. And oh man I found the *best* ever shop to get my bike from. It's called ReCycling (geddit?) and can be found under the arches at the less-than-pleasant Elephant and Castle shopping centre. What a find. There I met Susan, the hungover 40 year old boss who was sweeping the floor and not happy about it, and Sarah, the 6.5 foot tall bike mechanic who was a craftswoman in the way Prof Sennett means it. Amazing. And in exchange for some crumpled notes rather than the usual chip-and-pin rigmarole, they let me have my beautiful little recycled bike for a mere £70. New brakes, cables and a basket chucked in too. Leaving them left me with a warm glow - not just from the slightly terrifying experience of cycling on London roads again after a two-year break...

Now let's just hope the little buggers in my block don't nick this one. And that I find a dress like the one Poppy wore to visit her dull sister by the seaside. C'mon Top Shop, you know you can do it.