In London with Old Father Thames some of this week. First time had left the River in a while. When I return, more snowdrops out on the bank. Still incessant rain and mud of incalculable volume. As we alighted on the platform in big City first thing OFT said was. “Notice anything different?” I was about to say (as all folk arriving from the West Country think and purely from observational point of view might say), “Wow! Yes people of all every possible shade and hue everywhere London truly is a Nation State!” But OFT said, “No mud. Look actually NO mud” On the way back from Big City I sat at one of the table seats in Coach F. All alone. OFT prefers airline style seat and sat behind and no one came to sit in my 4 seat enclave. What bliss. Across the corridor from me, also at table seat, was a woman with 2 children- sulky, verge of teenager types, with a deep, gravelly voice- probably their grandmother I decided without looking at her, on account of voice deepness. Switched on Russian course on IPad and noise cancelling headphones but could still hear mature, gravelly, vaguely familiar voice. Was it…. Marianne Faithful? No. Too young. Anita Pallenberg? No. She’s just died. Someone else. It came to me after snooze, ticket check and listening to whole of Clapton’s “Pilgrim”. So a good hour in, I realised It was Mariella Frostrup. The normal thing would have been to cast a furtive glance. So I deliberately did not . In fact studiously avoided looking her way and OFT and I observed afterwards (he had not recognised her) how she talked an awful lot. Really using that trademark voice to reverberate around the railway carriage. To the two girls: “You should get some more joy in your life” To another child on phone,”Hi darling how was your Match?” And “Ask Daddy if he needs anything? We’ll be home soon”. To a friend (loudly) “Hi it’s Mariella” Almost, I decided later, as if she wanted if not was determined to be recognised. Must be quite disconcerting to be famous or have been so – particularly for possessing a distinctive voice- and find the gen. public completely unresponsive….
The River Files 