Mary, now going out again after grieving for her dear old man, was invited to a birthday party at Knittingham Cricket Club.The name reminded her of many happy hours on a marsh by the sea in Suffolk where it was quiet enough to hear crickets and smell the fresh sea air and fall down into the mud now and then
She was told by her best friend Annie to dress smart casual but when she arrived in the venue everyone else was dressed up in their best clothes.She shrank into her khaki trousers and over sized Windsmoor top which hung from her like a cheap and flimsy nylon sheet on the washing line in the backstreet where she had grown up.
All the other women were wearing lovely flowered dresses , necklaces and jewelled rings.Annie had betrayed her as she wore a sweet long dress from Monsoon and some amber jewellery with a huge matching ring on her hand
Well, at least I got here, Mary consoled herself kindly.And nobody will envy me.
She sat talking to a very friendly lady who told her a what was clearly a very exciting story.Unfortunately Mary could not hear a single word.She just varied her expression to match Jean’s.The noise was immense as if ten rock bands were playing music from the Rolling Stones at once ..
Luckily there was plenty of food and drink.
Oh,Jean cried,here is my grandson,Adam.He likes mathematics.Can you speak to him please
I am very sorry,Adam I have forgotten everything except transcendental numbers and uncountable infinity.
But those are the hardest things,Adam’s father cried.
They stay in mind because I feel that starting from counting animals mankind developed the ideas of many new types of number, pi being one which was used to build Solomon’s temple.They used 3 as an approximation as the Egyptians did
Adam said he was going to do complex numbers next year.But you can’t use them in cash machines his brother informed him
Well,hope you enjoy that,Adam she said brightly,wondering how she had forgotten so much so rapidly.Well it was deliberate.She had grown tired of it all and preferred gazing at trees all day since Stan had gone on to his new abode in heaven or perhaps in hell with naughty ladies to love him
So smart casual,what does it really mean?And should Mary care?Would Emile her cat care? Did she want to attract another man?She has cut off her hair with the pinking shears to save time but men prefer long hair and also they don’t like to spend a party time talking about surreal numbers nor post modernism.They can discuss those things with men
Smart casual means looking good but without effort.An impossible paradox
And so pray all of us.For she’s a jolly good yeller.
And let’s pray with no fuss.
How my heart sings 