Savila

For the first since her accident V has this week reported an improvement in the condition of her leg. This she puts down to the regular rubbings with the extract of savila (aloe vera) that she has dedicated herself to.

We're fortunate that there is a densely packed plantation of these little miracle workers close to our house in La Antigua. We even have a couple in our garden...and in London there's one sitting in a pot next to my laptop right now.

The results of the X-ray she had this week confirmed a horizontal crack in the bone. The doc says she must continue to rest for four more weeks, so she would have missed her flight on November nine. Fortunately she called up the airline and re-booked for December. They didn't seem to mind that her ticket was technically no longer valid. Phew.

Timon Altwegg's concert on Sunday was great, V tells me. However, if the tendency of classical musicians to keep going off an coming back on at the end when the audience is applauding is bad enough at big venues like the Barbican, it is especially "wanky" at more intimately-located recitals such as this, she reported.

Altwegg has been married various times to women from Latin America and made a point of inviting a small group of xx chromosome admirers back to his suite at the lovely Posada de los Leones after his performance...so it seems the whole recital thing may after all be a bit of a pick-up routine.