<< Previous

Next >>

Finally, as the aches and pains begin to diminish, and my day to day life falls back into a routine, I take great heart in some new dimensions that have been arguably missing the last 3 years.  Behold, my fridge for starters! Most products have been sentenced to a life time ban and nervously replaced by three variations of milk, butter made by a goat, smoked fish, avocados, and oh yes, a lot of eggs. Bowls are strategically placed all over the house brimming with nuts and seeds, bottles of selenium and zinc, and boxes and boxes of variations of porridge . . .I never knew there could be so many varieties of a plain old oat!

The other drastic change is the re-entry of my yoga mat, my Swiss ball, leg weights, skipping rope and, even the fluorescent vest!

The last two days I have had energy I used to dream of and have made some significant 'cooperate' decisions re my business; I have dealt with bills, paid every outstanding car parking fine, and faced up to all my demon phone calls that I have been deliberating over for months!

Last night I went out for dinner to be confronted by a plate of pasta to start with, followed by beef and potatoes, finishing off with a massive chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream, accompanied by a 1988 Lynche Bage.  It was a tough way to start the new regime, but I managed successfully to avoid all the carbs, had one glass of the wine, ate a little of the cake, and waited for the ice cream to melt!  

Ok, so now I want to express my thanks to you all for what really started off not necessarily on the right foot!  (you  remember, the 'See me in my study' routine!)  We were all in a state of shock for Sunday and Monday, a state of agony Tuesday and Wednesday, and I think the turning point must have come on the Wednesday afternoon with the hilarity of the log game!  From then on quite evidently everyone succumbed to Stockholm syndrome.  Suddenly, our captors became 'objets diseree'  with each one of us wanting to impress and show 'the staff' what we were really made of! 

And finally, and this is true, the ultimate moment for me. I got confused at the spa, thinking the plunge pool was the swimming pool.  The Clares were meant to meet me there but didn't show, so I joined an indecently young lad in the large Jacuzzi.  We got chatting and he told me that he was a footballer...OHMIGOD!  Moments later the entire German squad arrived and surrounded me. I could not move; they did not go! I was pruning up dramatically now, when the young boy asked me to join him in the cold pool.  I simply had to get out!  I braced myself, breathed in hard, firmed my buttocks and stepped out of the pool, faking a limp ( for good measure and a sympathy vote), knowing that some of the most prestigious and expensively insured bodies in the world were watching my arse!  But I did it and thought this is ok, I LOVE MY ARSE!  You should have seen the Clares faces when they finally arrived. BACK OF THE NET I SAY!

Thank you to you all of you for what is quite evidently, a really well run week, clockwork efficiency in every aspect, making some really fab new friends, and teaching me that the truth is out there. And that is:  'MIND OVER MATTER'.

Sophie de Roeper

<< Previous

Next >>