New York recuperation

One of the most blissful things about living in Manhattan is the extreme cheapness of beauty treatments here. It's pretty difficult to find a pedicure for less than £20/$40 in Zones 1 & 2 in London, & I didn't start getting pedis in London until I was given a 50% off card by the (oh the irony) New York Nail Company. Now I can get a mani & pedi for £11/$22 a throw plus tip. Mind you they don't last for ever, but given the amount of travelling, typing & cooking I do, even the poshest job in the world isn't going to last long.

But, most blissful of all, (apart from the $10/£5 minute back rubs they give you whilst your nails dry) are the Chinese Tui Na manipulative massages on offer in little stores on every block for about $25/£13 for half an hour. There's one next door to my brownstone, and I've just been to try to get rid of the crick in my neck from flying. The large room is split into cubicles in the manner of an English A&E (ER Room), using just cotton sheets. Each cubicle has a massage bed, a towel and a price list. If you want a pampering experience I'd give these places a miss, but all I really care about is how hard someone can stick their fingers into the knots in my neck.

It's pointless arriving in anything more than a braless sundress and a pair of knickers and, frankly, I don't know why I ever bother with picking out a presentable pair of lace ones, as the moment I lie down, she grabs the waistband and yanks them down to below my buttocks. Today she then proceeded to attack my stressed out neck & back, at one stage jamming her elbows into one particularly hard knot, and then climbing onto the table, kneeling between my legs and doing what felt like ironing my spine with her hands. My gluteus maximus haven't seen so much attention since I last got laid.

I feel fabulous, if a little dozy (I've been awake & up since 5.30am because of the Ny-Lon time difference, hence all the blog postings). God only knows how I will get through dinner tonight. I'll be face down in my supper by 9pm, I suspect.