TRYING NOT TO BE ANTISOCIAL

My head hurts. Actually it's kind of spinning, as though I've just climbed off the dodgems and realised that things like dodgems were designed for people younger than me.

I haven't been on the dodgems. I've been hanging out with Emmie and my friend, Anita, who's visiting for the day. I'll be honest, I've eaten a lot of cheesecake, and the sugar rush has probably overwhelmed my brain and simulated some wacky fairground ride. These guys seem alright though - we're currently sitting in The Cunning Man, playing Scrabble and trying not to fall asleep.

I've got my headphones on. They're really good these headphones, comfy and tight - the rest of the world is a sort of muffled blur of conversations and the occasional chinking of cutlery. The table next to us are enjoying some beautiful looking food - onion rings and battered fish, white wine in pristine glasses and little ramekins of delicious smelling sauces. I really hope they don't order the cheesecake.

I'm wondering whether this is a bit antisocial. Emmie and Anita are having a really deep conversation I think - it certainly looks like the kind of conversation I don't want to interrupt by taking these headphones off. I think they're OK with me sitting here, laptop on my knees, pretending to work. I might wait for something that looks like a space and then slip the headphones around my neck like a part-time DJ.

Why does sugar do this? My head feels like a pressure cooker, or as though it's being squeezed either side in a gigantic vice that's getting tighter and tighter...

Actually it might be these headphones.