The trouble is, I wear hearing aids which I have to remove to shower, and therefore never heard the alarm - and also never expected a bit of steam to attract the San Franciscan cavalry. I put my hearing aids in only in time to hear the distinctive wail of the trucks and the firemen banging on the door, but not in time to render myself at all presentable. What an opportunity missed! The tall, dark handsome man leading the group said immediately 'nice hot shower?', and the mystery was solved. Fortunately, they all found it very amusing, and having ascertained that the alarm was properly reset, packed up their hoses and drove away, no doubt to entertain their fellows with the story of the odd English girl... Still, my gay neighbour and I much enjoyed the sight, and I guess it is reassuring that the fire brigade in this city of wooden houses is so efficient. One thing's for sure - I will definitely be having cold showers from now on.
My new nails!
Being someone who has never been particularly interested in spending hours on my appearance, not to mention taking every opportunity to visit a stables, I have never had a manicure or pedicure. In San Francisco, where nail salons seem to outnumber every other kind of shop, such a revelation has always been greeted with incredulity and horror, not least from my neighbour. He immediately promised to rectify this situation, and swept me off to Zaza Nails (www.zazanailspa.com) in SoMA to be pampered and groomed to Californian standards. After a full 'mani pedi', complete with paraffin (plastic bags of purple gloop fastened over one's hands and feet), exfoliation and green tea foot bath, I am now the proud possessor of well-shaped, bright pink nails. It remains to be seen how long they last, but a regular manicure may just become part of my life.
The most groomed my hands have ever been
We often take for granted how lucky we are in the UK to have the NHS, but now that I am in America, I admire more than ever Danny Boyle's homage to the institution at the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games last year. Here, the cost of an operation can reduce people to bankruptcy and the number of people on the streets, especially in San Francisco, who are in desperate need of mental-health care is truly shocking. If you are lucky enough to have a job, health insurance is usually provided, but there are all kinds of caveats even then and most employees have to make some kind of monthly contribution to the costs. Private health insurance can be astronomical, and if you fall seriously ill without any, the costs can mount up with frightening speed. President Obama is doing his best to reform the system, but the big business health insurers and pharmaceuticals are fighting him every step of the way, fearful of seeing their enormous profits vanish.
However, if you can afford it, the standard of healthcare is extremely good. I had been worried about something for a few weeks, but the prohibitive cost of seeing a doctor had put me off going. The figure of $270 just to visit a surgery was quoted, and I decided to wait and see, in consultation with a very competent doctor friend at home. However, I couldn't shake off a slight concern, and in the end, on the advice of a local friend, I bit the bullet and went to 909 Hyde. And I am so glad I did. Dr Sytova was immediately reassuring, kind, efficient and thorough, and she gave me an clean bill of health. It was one of the best encounters with a doctor I have ever had, better than sessions with harrassed, often foreign NHS doctors in London. It seems a terrible thing to say in this day and age, but as someone who is deaf and struggles to understand even English accents occasionally, the extra effort it has sometimes taken me to make sense of the no-doubt sensible things being said in a thick Indian or Polish accent has left me feeling exhausted. Here, I exited the surgery feeling on cloud nine. And all for just $75. If I had to have any medicine or procedures, it would have rocketed, but as it was, it was the best $75 I have ever spent.
A great friend of mine, also from England, has Type 1 diabetes, and tells me that she has had the best service of her life in the US. The equipment is top-notch and help is available 24/7. Many of the nurses she has encountered also have diabetes, and therefore can offer immediate and informed assistance. If only such service could be available to everyone in the US, no matter their circumstances, this first-world country would have first-world healthcare. I hope against hope that Obama wins this fight.
The Memorial Church at Stanford University
Lady Bracknell would have no sympathy for all this, as she believes that 'Illness of any kind is hardly a thing to be encouraged in others. Health is the primary duty of life'. I was reminded of her caustic comments when my neighbour Chad Jones, husband of my spa companion, took me to see The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde at Stanford University. A theatre critic and author of the excellent Theater Dogs blog (www.theaterdogs.net), he is knowledgeable and discerning, and it was a pleasure to discuss this wonderful play with him. I know and love Earnest better than most, having directed a production in the gardens of the Art History building when I was at St Andrews University, and always jump at the chance to revel in the wonderful dialogue. The exquisite tea party between the two young ladies is one of my favourite scenes of all time: Cecily: 'When I see a spade, I call it a spade.' Gwendolen: 'I am glad to say I have never seen a spade'.
The campus is so vast that we took a while to find the Pigott Theatre, which is close to Stanford's magnificent Palm Drive and Main Quad, but had a lovely stroll in the evening sunshine. The production, by Stanford Summer Theatre (http://sst.stanford.edu), was deliciously uncut and in period. The cast were generally very good, and improved as the evening went on after a slightly nervous beginning. The American actors made a good stab at the accent, with Algernon and Ernest being the best, fortunately, but there was the odd, regrettable, lapse - there are distinct social possibilities in Cecily's profile, not her profeel. Still, as Algernon says of his skills as a pianist, 'I don't play accurately, anyone can play accurately, but I play with wonderful expression'. The actors gave it their all, and as there are several weeks left to run, I have no doubt that the Bay Area audience will find it as delightful as Gwendolen and Cecily find the name Ernest.
'Prism! Prism! Where is that baby?!'
The Hoover Tower at Stanford University
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