New Moon

The doorbell at five to nine. Our neighbour David, who owns a building company, had sent over two men with a ladder to take out the miniature succulent jungle living off roof run off and guano in our gutters -- as a kind of thank you for putting up with the building shenanigans in the last two years. After breakfast Lorraine went into the garden. Joy was unwell this morning, and Jim told Lorraine he found her on the floor. She experiences from vergito some times -- all well though. 

I started picking up the pieces of my long poem, but the moment I slipped into a flow state, the gods or disruption in the shape of Maureen arrived. Maureen's sister in law had had a stroke, and both her brothers would not be attending tomorrow's funeral of Lorraine's aunty Betty. Lorraine called her back. 

We then drove off to see Dawn and Paul, also had sombre news, about people close to them. I had a strange reaction to this. I am feeling full to the brim of difficult news. Lovely to see Dawn of course, and she cooked a slap up meal, with a sticky toffee pudding of which I was forcibly given a second helping despite declining three times in a row. 

I am fat. Suddenly fatter than I have been in a couple of years or more. And I am desperate to return to my normal diet but this doesn't seem possible for the next few days. 

Lorraine drove us back to Seaford. A few minutes after we started, I saw the thin slither of the new moon through glass, a poor omen for superstitious buffoons like me. Lorraine dropped me off at the buckle car park where I walked along the seafront to get some air. It was after sunset and so clear the shadowy part of the new moon was clearly visible.  Venus also gleamed nearby, and if you followed the line that made, fainter Saturn nearby too. It was cold and still, just above freezing, and as I didn't have warm clothes on I hurried straight home. 

Lorraine back not long after and we drove off to Beth and James's house, for a chat, and we had some light food, and some chocolate and cappuccino panettoni. (See previous comment about diet). Great to see them though -- and talk wildly about baby names. Mine would be Hercules (they don't know the sex yet) but I think this is an outsider.

Then home to boof on the sofa for a bit. 

Below the new moon and Venus; the last light in the west towards Newhaven.