William Bakewell

            On Sunday morning I revised my translation of the fifth verse of "J'ai pas d'regret" (I've No Regrets) by Boris Vian. 

            I blog-published "From a Payphone", my translation of "D'un taxiphone" by Serge Gainsbourg. I memorized the first verse of his song, "C’est rien, je m’en vais, c’est tout" (It’s nothing, I’m done, I’m gone) and revised my translation of some of the verses. 

            I weighed 84.2 kilos before breakfast. 

            I checked on David's place upstairs and everything is still fine. He must have drowned his rosemary plant before he left because the soil is still wet. I wonder if he would be interested in putting some of his stuff in a storage unit. He could probably pack quite a bit into a tiny unit for $25 a month. 

            I sat down to spend an hour and a half reading David Copperfield, but I fell asleep. When I woke up I only had half an hour of reading before lunch. I made it to chapter 20, which is almost at page 300. David has finished school but doesn't know what to do and so his aunt gives him money to travel for a month and think about it. He runs into his old school chum Steerforth. 

            I weighed 84.5 kilos before lunch, which is the heaviest I've been at that time in eleven days. 

            It was snowing in the afternoon but I felt the need for exercise and so I ventured out for a bike ride anyway. I made it to Bloor and Ossington before my ass started getting wet and so I headed home.

            I went out to the liquor store to buy a six-pack of Creemore and then I went to the corner store to buy a lemon. The guy behind the counter who I used to buy Christmas trees from asked about my daughter. That's interesting because most people that remember her ask about my "son". Maybe he understood something that I didn't back then. 

            I weighed 84.3 kilos at 16:45 and that's the most I've weighed at that time in almost two weeks.

            I was caught up on my journal at 18:00. 

            I got up to page 346 in David Copperfield. David spends a couple of weeks in Steerforth's home, meeting his mother and their relative Miss Dartle who lives with them. Dartle is an interesting character because she always cuts through to the heart of a matter that everyone beats around and yet she does it in a roundabout way. Such as when she hears Steerforth making snooty fun of David's salt of the earth friends and says, she's glad to hear that such people don't suffer and feel. David and Steerforth travel together and Steerforth meets all of David's friends. He goes sailing with Peggotty and then buys him a boat. He also meets Emily and Ham and they learn that they've just become engaged. Steerforth doesn't think Ham is good enough for Emily because he senses she was meant to be a lady. 

            I fried a salmon fillet in butter and lemon and had it with a warmed up naan and a beer while watching season 4, episode 9 of The Beverly Hillbillies. 

            A new neighbour moves next door to the Clampetts and Granny laments that they are probably snooty like every other Beverly Hills rich person. But when Aggie the housekeeper knocks on the door to ask to use the phone, they think she is the owner of the mansion and are impressed at how down to earth she is. Granny tries to matchmake between Jed and Aggie. When Mr. Drysdale also learns that Mrs. Carrington is moving in and that she is worth $24 million, he also starts to play matchmaker, also mistaking Aggie for Mrs. Carrington. Granny goes to visit Aggie and is impressed to find her mopping the floor. When she complains of an aching back Granny invites her to come and have some of her rheumatis medicine. Aggie proceeds to get drunk and then the Carrington chauffeur announces that Mrs. Carrington has arrived. 

            The chauffeur was played by William Bakewell, whose first film appearance was as an extra in the silent film "Fighting Blood". He played the German soldier Albert Kropp in "All Quiet on the Western Front". He co-starred in the movie "Playing Around". He was one of the original fifty members of the Screen Actors Guild. He co-starred in the Hop Harrigan movie serials. He started his own successful real estate company. 

            I searched for bedbugs and my toothpick killed another one on the lower left side of the old exit door at the head of my bed.