I had a GP’s appointment in South End Green for my eczema which, annoyingly, has cleared up completely since I made the appointment and apparently the NHS doesn’t prescribe emolients any more anyway, so it was rather frustrating. South End Green is nearer Belsize Park than Hampstead, and I strolled there a good hour early to walk past Keat’s House and find a spot on the heath to listen to the Kermode and Mayo film review. I’m very behind on it. It was very hot and sunny, quite the opposite of the film version of this scene, in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy when this scene is blanketed in snow. There wre ducks and magpies. After the film review I moved on to a bit of Talking Politics and wondered how the world would have been different had the IMF, aid agencies etc insisted that developing countries went through a period of protectionism to build up their own industries before entering into global free trade. But free trade is such a strong ideology.
I also stopped at the post office and was surprised to receive a first class stamp with a hokey Iron Throne on it. Hmm, hmm.
