I was thinking about something Adam Curtis had said on The Rest is Entertainment. ‘The fog of experience.’ Was it off the cuff, or had he squirrelled that phrase away? There was no way of knowing.
While I thought about this, Magwitch moved in her carrier.
I wondered if Richard Osman and Marina Hyde were sleeping together behind the scenes.
‘You okay, darling?’ Jade craned her neck towards Magwitch.
‘Do you think she knows?’ Jade said no. ‘If you could tell her, would you?’
‘She still wouldn’t understand.’
Before long, the vet appeared. It was only when we were shut inside together that I recognised her. It was Emma. Jade let Magwitch out of her carrier.
‘Hello, chicken. I love the name, by the way.’
Emma spent a few minutes walking Jade through the operation.
‘You know about starvation time?’
‘Yes, no problem.’
‘Awesome.’ That was something she had said all the time.
‘You say it a lot.’ We were in the common room during a free period, alone.
‘Who cares?’ Emma was wearing her Deaf Havana t-shirt.
‘Don’t be like that,’ I said.
‘You sound like my fucking dad.’
‘The more you swear, the less impact it has. You should just be aware of that.’
Emma summarised. We booked Magwitch in for her operation and left.
In the car, I asked Jade about starvation time.
‘It just means she can’t eat for twelve hours beforehand.’
If Emma was my optician, she would probably try to blind me.
Image: Louis Wain
