Strange Days

Well, today has been a very interesting day indeed. Since my last post, I’ve been lying low trying to manage my jet lag with working US and London hours. On Tuesday, I had dinner at Daphne’s with Tiggy and had a great time – no Pierce Brosnan sitings this time, unfortunately, but they gave us the best table in the restaurant and it was the perfect night. The weather here has been great, so much better than last year.

This morning, my front buzzer rang and it was a policeman. After I made him show is badge on the video monitor, I let him in. Surprisingly, he rang my doorbell. Of course having done nothing wrong, I immediately felt guilty – as if watching Weeds last night automatically made me a drug dealer or something So, I answered and he asked for a someone else. I explained that I was a new renter and that he should contact the lettings office.. Being curious, and a bit scared, I asked him what the reason why was. Apparently, there had been a crime in the building and they had collected DNA/fingerprints from all the tenants at the time. The person in my flat before me didn’t leave a clear fingerprint and they needed a different one. He added I had nothing to worry about and apologized for disturbing me.

Before I left, I had to take out the trash. Normally, you leave your garbage on the street. In this building, you have to bring your items down to the basement. When I went down to the basement, I was instantly creeped out and the trash bin area reminded me of the final scene in The Blair Witch Project. No way I was going down there again.

I then called my building to inquire about what had happened and was told that there had been a “serious crime” committed in the basement and that the police were still investigating the situation. The person in question had fled to Yemen so they were still working on the case and “don’t worry”.

At lunch today, I mentioned it to my friend, A, and he mentioned a recent case in my area involving a Danish socialite getting murder and the suspect was from Yemen. After a quick Google search, I learned that indeed that a Norwegian woman had been murdered and found in the basement of my building under a pile of rocks. The main suspect was a man living here from Yemen, he fled the UK the day after the murder and, because his father is a very wealthy man and the UK has no extradition arrangement with Yemen, they can’t interview him, file official charges etc.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article3570999.ece


Later this evening, I was with a friend for drinks and I received a call from my dad. As many of you know, I am not very close to my dad nor do I see him very often – but he is still my dad and I love him. My father was calling to tell me that he had been going through chemo for the past two months for esophageal cancer… but that it was all gone now. Why he didn’t call to tell me is a mystery, but he referenced what I had gone through with my mom and didn’t want to bother me. Frankly, I am still in shock and don’t know what to think…but he’s such a strange man, I can’t say that it totally surprises me that he wouldn’t mention it. At least it is gone and his health is good.