It all started with my new red hair colouring stuff. I bought it online as I couldn’t find what I wanted in Pisticci . It’s in a little tub with a screw on lid and looks a bit like bright red jelly. I was quite excited about using it. New life…new hair …new phone etc….

It went more or less okay. I had to find the instructions online as they were written in such tiny print on the label that I couldn’t read them. So first I washed my hair. It’s true that the online instructions did seem to be missing a few steps and were more like a sort of advertising jolly old bullet points bit of script.( including to be sure and take a photo to put on instagram when I was finished.)

And as usual I didn’t have all the neccessary bits and pieces. However how complicated could it be. So feeling very smug and organised I put on plastic gloves and applied some of the red jelly to my hair. It was very very red. I thought maybe I should not use too much. ( how much to use was one of the missing instructions.) Then I combed it through my hair. After that I cleaned most of it off my face and applied vaseline round my hairline. ( should have done that before I think.)

Now it was time to wait. It said online that you should leave it on between 15 -30 minutes. ( But if you had done the strand test you would know how long to leave it. …I hadn’t done it.) As it reached 15 minutes and it stayed bright red my courage deserted me and I thought maybe just for this time that would be long enough.

So sticking my head under the tap in the shower room sink I rinsed the colour out as well as I could bearing in mind that the water doesn’t drain away very quickly and the sink kept filling up with bright red water. Eventually I got fed up and decided it must be all out by now.

I was a little horrified now to see that the sink was bright red. And I remembered in the instructions it had said don’t rinse in the shower as streaky red coloured skin is not a good look. A make up removing wipe fixed my streaky face and bleach spray cleaner sorted the sink.

When I had dried my hair it looked lovely. Shiny with red hints . I was very pleased. Until that is I noticed my bright pink fingers which I had been running through my hair. Aaagh!!

Back to the sink and several more basins of red water later I hoped this time it would be okay. It was better…..but I have had a scarf wrapped around my head all day to make sure any residual red didn’t come off on my cushions or anything else.

Not sure if I will repeat that experience…..though there is 90% of the red jelly left…………

Orange, is what Basilicata is today and Yellow, is what it will be tomorrow. .So from tomorrow coffees don’t have to be takeaway and restaurants are open during the day. And if I had anywhere to go in Basilicata I could go without needing a document saying why I was travelling.

It changes for Christmas and new year and my understanding is that you are not allowed to go anywhere outside your own town. Not that I was going anywhere.

After my colourful morning I finished tidying my work room and luckily I didn’t find any more things that I didn’t know I had and had just bought again.

Then I printed out the diary I have been writing this year so that I could see it and organise it a bit better. The sheets of paper were all sitting beside one of my brightly coloured digital paintings of my chair and it looked a little bit like an illustration for a book. I wonder… .

I went out for a quick walk before it got dark for exercise and to see if there were any humans about. The little cat followed me home. I could hear humans in the distance.

I wonder what I might be doing if I am still here next December. Who would have known last December what was to come.

Wine time .🍷🍷