This morning's mood was much affected by a telephone call telling me that the contract signing meeting only yesterday confirmed could not take place, because the other party - the contractor - had gone upcountry to become a monk for ten days. I could not make this up, even if I tried very hard. I should add at this point that is is normal for (Buddhist) Thai men to join the monkhood for some periods during their lives. But it was of course the timing, that hoary old chestnut that plagues this country. After putting the phone down the air was blue, verging on deep purple. I had just been recounting to my beloved that I had a dream last night that the contract was not signed, and when the phone rang, he said "that'll be to say the signing has been cancelled".
Nevertheless, a meeting was called this afternoon, and the other party's representative was asked to explain what had happened. It appears there was a misunderstanding between them and the project manager. This would be an understatement, and I still don't know the exact reason, nor indeed am I inclined to believe any version of the story. However, after listening to explanations and obtaining various undertakings the signatory and lawyer from our side agreed to sign, with the counter party signing as a proxy, (to be endorsed when the travelling monk returns). So what was not exactly tears have turned out to have a happy ending.
Now there's the small matter of a bottle of vintage champagne to consider, and I'm bathed and gladded and ready to party. It's time to laugh.
This "faces" netsuke is part of a small collection of objets d'art that I display in a perspex stand I designed. Funnily enough one of these objets is a lead monk in his saffron robes, (in the centre), but he's from Rangoon in Burma, (Yangon in Myanmar), whereas my wandering contractor has gone to Chiang Rai, in the north of Thailand; well, actually it's the Golden Triangle, of the three countries of Burma, Laos and Thailand.
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