Decisions Made for You and other stories

 Decisions made for you save you the trouble. There was, in the end, no decision to make, and it's even better if it's the decision you'd have most likely made anyway.

Two new books were due today, Julia Copus on Charlotte Mew and John Sutherland on Monica Jones (and Larkin). I suppose I knew I was going to read Sutherland first but it was put beyond my jurisdiction when an e-mail arrived to say that the Copus/Mew was delayed. So, 100 pages in, there are few things I'd rather do than read Larkin-related matter, as the antidote to the Gunn letters, but I'd better not review it just yet. 

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Meanwhile, over the virtual chessboard I rose effortlessly, almost, back to the dizzy heights of 1900 at Blitz so I'll leave it there. I meant to return to Classical where the rating needed some repairing from 1820 but carelessly clicked on Rapid and put at risk the highly-prized and over-protected rating I have there but won a one-off game there, too, which leaves me at an all-time high of 1947 which I'm delighted with and makes me feel as if I've written An Arundel Tomb rather than just The Cathedrals of Liverpool. So, back into Classical and into a losing run, playing as if it's still 5-minutes on the clock and not 30, I can mooch about in the 1700's suffering the longeurs of some Belarussian's considerations until the situation inevitably corrects itself by drawing me against lower-rated players and I acclimatise to the more thought-out game and don't hope to win on time.

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With all kinds of success having come out of the Grand National for any number of turf-wise mates and some friends with beginner's luck, it wasn't a bad April Cheltenham meeting to miss with an outbreak of seconditis for me so it's better to lose a few quid from the comfort of home rather than going to Gloucestershire, and God's Own Racetrack, to do so. One can't be a Wiseguy all the time and knowing as much is what makes one. So we will hope to wind down a bit - even if that never quite seems to happen - but keep an eye out for High Definition in the Dante at York and then perhaps on towards the Derby. 

I expect they'll book Rachael to ride it just to make sure.