under another sun

Mrs Kenny and I filled with a degree of steely resolve this morning, and we decided to take quite a few things to the recycling dump, and to a charity shop and generally sort out a corner of the house. First the triage of frowning at bits and wondering under what combination of circumstances, a meteorite strike, invasion of giant rats etc. would something remain useful. Useless things are dragged to the car. I always feel guilty going to the dump. The very name dump gives it a Freudian association with defecation, as if your house were having a poo. You void your junk from the boot of the car, hoping people aren't looking to closely at what you are dropping off, and then speed away feeling curiously liberated. Explaining this to Lorraine, she suggested this isn't an entirely helpful way of thinking about it. Home and companionably listening with Lorraine to the end of the  36 Views of Mount Fuji by Cathy N. Davidson audiobook. In the evening, collected Anton and then mad...

Able to think again. Worked at fairly productively till Sonia arrived. An amusing chat with her, lamenting Christmas in Romania under communism, because at least you got two weeks off to spend with your family. Capitalism she maintains has ruined her country having brought in corruption and inequalities and undermined basics such as healthcare, and now having moved to the UK she finds work never stops.We laughed about the past always being golden, and she told me darkly that the best part of our lives was now gone. At this point I made my excuses and hurried to Starbucks, laptop in my bag. I like Sonia a good deal, and she is full of character. She comes to clean for us for a couple of hours every week, which is a boon and of course we pay her, but this always makes me feel slightly awkward and I'm not sure why.   Jane's been at it again, this time for Kleenex here , and featured on the Daily Express website, which also has an interview with Alison Jackson (plus an articula...

Awake for several hours before dawn. Brian, having brought us two rats since we got home, arrived in our bedroom meeping triumphantly and carrying something in his mouth. It was only when we were fully awake was it clear that it was one of his cat toys. The remainder of the night spent staring out of the Velux windows at low clouds skidding across the sky and wishing I could sleep. Calliope sitting on my chest and purring into my face. Life was quite nice without cats. Up before seven feeling woolly headed. If in doubt tidy up. Having not worked at my desk at home since November I discovered thick dust and scatterings of bits of paper and the remnants of work half done. Struggling to impose order and pick up the threads again. Phoned Mum and got a call from Betty about the script she is working on. Feeling a good deal luckier than Lorraine and Toby and Romy. At least I didn't have to plunge back into a working environment - or return to the 'Polar Vortex' currently af...