Ruby City

Spent night at Travel Lodge. Got up just after six. Got home just after eight thirty.

There's a lot to be said for crossing London in the very early morning, when the traffic is negligible.

London at night- especially the central parts- shows in the distance as a mass of of brilliant, skyborne, red lights - planes for the discouragement of, I suppose, but fantastical in effect- like the capital of Oz if it were a ruby city not an emerald one.

Tasteful, Idyllic, Horny

There's so much choice...

Our undertaker has emailed us a brochure. He can offer us...

Solid coffins in various woods- oak, mahogany el al,

Coffins that look like they're made of solid wood but are actually verneered,

Coffins with pictures printed on their surfaces- anything you fancy, from family photos to a football surmounted by the cross of St George,

Cardboard coffins,

Wicker-work coffins,

Woolen coffins,

American coffins made of metal that seal hermetically.

It's a lovely, tasteful brochure. Coffins are only part of it.

There are also pictures of idyllic English landscapes to get you in the mood,

And closeups of the horny hands of carpenters wielding planes, with woodshavings in the foreground.