Excuse me my moment of triumphalism (especially since it is at the expense of three other people), but we sent Elder Daughter to buy a newspaper this morning, and she came back with the Sunday Times.  “YES!”, dance round the room, punching the air and saying “Must tell Tricia!!”. Remember this blog post earlier this week? About how la donna non e mobile?

Here is what India Knight wrote about Turandot:

“Air India has sacked some of its cabin staff for being too fat. The company is brilliantly unapologetic about it, pointing out that the fatties had been told to eat a bit less, or else, and had been given time to mend their ways. They chose not to, so they were fired.

I went to see Turandot at Covent Garden on Monday and was startled to find the three leads must have weighed 100 stone between them. They weren’t just opera fat; they were morbidly obese. Fair enough, you might think. I disagree. I began to find myself intensely annoyed by being asked to believe in the devastating beauty of Turandot, who looked like an egg in a wig. There were some City types behind us. “I wouldn’t risk death for her,” one said, to wild guffaws from his friends.

Calaf, meanwhile, was the fattest opera singer I’ve ever seen, a sort of anatomical curiosity. The exquisite slave girl, Liu, must have been a size 26. I’ve been a size 24 myself, so I have some sympathy, but not much.

Opera is among the most visual of mediums – the whole point is the combination of music and spectacle. People can suspend disbelief only so far. As it happens, the amazingly fat man had an amazingly beautiful voice, as did the amazingly fat slave girl . But it wasn’t enough, especially at £180 a ticket (birthday present). The Royal Opera House should take a leaf out of Air India’s book; I don’t think it would have many complaints.”

5th January.  Too bad.  If only she’d have been a day later…

Also completely agree with her about low energy lightbulbs (see the whole article, linked above).  I’m sure the incidence of depression exactly mirrors the introduction of these energy sapping devices.  Our house is a constant battleground, and their existence is the single most important reason for me taking it upon myself to change the lightbulbs.  If I change the bulb, I get to choose the bulb, and it ain’t gonna be no low energy garbage.  I hate them especially on the landing, and in the loo.  By the time the light has actually come on sufficiently to see what you are doing, those of us with lives to live have been and gone.  We have a compromise in the bedroom: one of each.  If you don’t count the bedside lamps, which radiate beautiful high energy light .Until the IE reads this and realises that he needs to redress the balance of power pronto.  Might even be enough provocation to get him off his sick bed.  Flu has kept him in its grippe (Oh, what a pun) for eleven days. 

Yesterday I cheered him up by showing him the fruits of my research on the internet.  To whit.  Thin, very fit people like him are much more prone to getting flu.  The relationship between fitness and a compromised immune system is a “J” curve.  Initially an increase in fitness boosts the immune system, but athletes suppress theirs with their level of fitness.  The same goes for losing weight.

All is not lost.  Consuming pro-biotic capsules has been scientifically shown to reduce the incidence of flu in athletes, as the healthy bacteria helps boost the weakened immune system.

“So”, said the IE , “I should basically be like you,” 

As in so many things … Moderately fit and nicely padded.   And consuming pro-biotic capsules. Especially in winter.  But stopping short of Weebledom.  I can still get up.

A low-energy bulb which would not be able to get up if it fell over