Thursday 9 August 2007

Shut up, Gladys.


Bad news, I think. Those of you who've had the honour to meet Gladys in person, will know that she talks in a high-pitched Cockney accent. And I've just found out that doing that for 2 or 3 hours at a stretch is not really the greatest thing for my vocal chords.

So here I sit in silence. It started with a little lump in my throat that didn't hurt but wouldn't go away. Finally got the courage to go see a doctor about it. The good news is that I don't have throat cancer. The bad news is that I must have total voice rest for at least a week.

That means no talking. (And those of you who've had the honour to meet ME in person, will know just how hard that is!) It's very strange. Very funny. And very frustrating. It's less than 24 hours since I succumbed to silence, and it is So Damn Difficult.

Plus everyone has started to talk really loud (I'm not deaf, just mute) and also speaking in one-word sentences and waving their arms around with lots of gestures and what appears to be their idea of sign language. I now must carry a note around to remind people that just because I can't talk, doesn't mean they can't use full sentences.

What will happen to Gladys? I don't know. After the swelling's gone down, I'll have to do some speech therapy exercises or something. And then we'll just have to see. Oh, I'd miss Gladys. I don't think she'd like being a mime quite as much.

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