under another sun

Last full day in Edinburgh. I went with Amy to see the show she was also tech for, a comedian called Cally in a show called Super Cally Fragile Lipstick. The room wasn't great, and the lighting failed a couple of minutes before the show. So the performance had to be done in just the room lights. This killed the atmosphere, and I didn't love her material, either. Amy and I made our way back home, and I sat in the café and had carrot cake and coffee, and went to meet Lorraine from the bus, who had just had her nails done. Off to the wee Sainsburys where a man was being thrown out for attempted shoplifting, he been in there before trying to steal steaks apparently. The origin of calling Edinburgh Auld Reekie, due to the smell from various local breweries, was explained to us by a man at the till. Rather friendly and knowledgeable for a bloke on a till. So last performance of A Glass of Nothing tonight at the Surgeons’ Hall. A bit of a disappointing audience, but Jane Postle...

A leisurely breakfast in the Hideaway cafe with Lorraine and Betty, although I had to send back our breakfasts because they were different to what we had ordered. I was given a free coffee as an apology.  Off then into town. To do a spot of shopping with Lorraine, and meet the others to see   Jenny Collier , one of the Nasty Women we had seen the other day. A natural comedic talent I thought. She has a section where she talks about farts, and used the phrase 'a barking spider' to describe one, which made me chuckle because its so mad. Although the strange melting away of six people at the same time to go to the toilet seemed to throw her a bit. Lorraine and I walked past Greyfriars Bobby at one point, its nose gleaming where people touch it for good luck. Lorraine and I had fish and chips in very busy cafe opposite the Surgeons' Hall. Excellent it was, with absolutely delicious fish. Then across the road, to the Surgeons' Hall to fret and flyer till show time. Anot...

Up to a full house. With Sam and Jade in the front room. A large and military style breakfast this morning, cooked by Lorraine and aided by her chief kitchen porter. Beth and I off to the grand meet the press session at one o clock. It was advertised as a chance to pitch your piece to the press. Naively I had seen this as a few minutes to a room full of journos etc. The reality was very different. An enormous queue snaking out of a university building down the street. Once you got inside, having queued for an hour, then each publication had a desk and there were long queues for this. Hours of standing about, but we managed to get to speak to three different publications. After this Beth and I had a much needed reviving coffee, and a diabetes inducing piece of millionaire shortcake. While we had been doing this, Kitty and Matt had been flyering, giving hundreds of flyers away. Home, and we all regrouped, somewhat tired and frazzled. Lorraine, who had been with Sam and Jade, cooked a...

Lorraine very tired this morning, so we had breakfast in bed. Then I had to slink off to The Boots for a four and a half hour rehearsal. Beth's good pal Emily gave us some of her time. She has been training to be a voice specialist at Central, and provided us with some good notes on voice, and some other feedback too. I like her a lot. Everyone working hard. To slim A Glass of Nothin g down to fifty minutes, we've had to make a few cuts which, if anything, are improving the play. Another cut happened this afternoon, Beth and I thinking the same thing without even discussing it. Matt the intensive focus of what we are doing, and he is bearing up with great fortitude, and good humour. I felt a slight cringe buying some drinks downstairs, asking for a diet coke, a glass of soda water, and a cup of tea, which the owner gave us for free. He lets us use the room for free, and I like to buy drinks there to payback a little. I walked home to find Lorraine reading The Second Kind ...

So up with the sparrows this morning, the sky still threatening rain. I mooched off the doctors to discuss blood pressure, gout, a persistent ear infection and a weird lump in my chest. Came away reassured, and with a few routine tests lined up. I like my doctor very much, and we tend to have a bit of a laugh. I told him its not you it's me, on my white coat syndrome. Off next to get my haircut as it was suddenly unruly and sprouting sideways like a clown. This dealt with, off to the ideologically unsound Starbucks where I celebrated with large cup of coffee, and fiddled with some poems. Then to Specsavers for an eye test. I need a slightly stronger prescription, but my eye health is good. Together we compared the red photos of inside my eyes to last time and it all looked healthy. Then the difficult business of choosing specs with a woman called Raquel, whose head I did in by rebuffing her suggestions. We had quite a laugh about it. Then a bus home, and I sorted out the last o...

Another slow start to the day. Up late and after brunch sauntered off in the sweltering heat with Beth down to The Boots, to rehearse A Glass of Nothing with Matt all afternoon. Beth working flat out at the moment, in a production of a new musical called Vagabond Skies.  Pleased with how our rehearsals went. Matt did a great job, and made lots of progress under Beth's direction. He has a lovely natural warmth, and made us laugh a few times too. A cold beer in their strange little beer garden afterwards. I felt pleased in that I could really see Matt in the role for the first time. Lorraine picked us up, and drove Betty to Hove where she was staying with John. Lorraine said what should we do, and I madly suggested that we go to Patcham where there is the Elizabethan Cottage Indian restaurant. We went there and had a pretty good meal in a very old building. Great to do something randomly like that. Felt like we were going on a date, which is always nice, although weird to go out fo...

Less nervy today, although naturally nerves started at around 5pm. A taxi with James and Lorraine to The Marlborough, which was packed and had people conducting some kind of a Christmas Gift auction downstairs. More people tonight, and the room felt very full.  Catherine and Tanya and Steve Cartwright, Rosie and Innis were all there. A big day for Beth as Gary was there with Sophie, having been unable to see her during the Festival.  Emily and Eliza, two of her university besties came too. John came tonight too. The show went excellently. Less nervy than yesterday, and always fascinating to see how different audiences react to the same play. They really tuned into the dark side for the final section of A Glass of Nothing . Beth really on point tonight. Spectacular. Very proud of her and Dylan, Kitty and James. I couldn't have asked more of them, and they consistently did better than I imagined they could. Sad that we were done after just two nights. I have to get my thinki...

A bit of a limbo during the day. I slept this afternoon for an hour, and otherwise pottered about not doing too much of anything, other than wasting time humble bragging on Facebook, in an attempt to get more people through the door tonight. Lovely Lorraine arrived home early and she, James and I cabbed down to The Marly for six. Dylan, Beth and Kitty already there. Lurked in the green room a bit, and then as soon as we could get into the theatre, boshed in and set up rapidly. Bloody great white flats left in the room, and we had to dissemble them with the help of Marly folks before the seats could be done. A bit of nervous hanging around beforehand. Went to sit in the bar, nursing a half-pint. I met Ptolemy who Beth has taught, and had brought a posse of his drama A level class with him, having seen A Glass of Nothing earlier in the year. He congratulated me on the writing, and Beth says he can recite bits of the play. A very promising 16 year old I think, who clearly has marvellou...

A cup of tea from my lovely Lorraine, and once up I was hard at work today on sorting out a few play bits first thing, then working on the French brief all day which was quite interesting and enjoyable. Bit of honest concept work guv'nor. Butterflies an' that. After this malarkey, slouched down the hill with Betty to The Duke of Wellington where we met up with Dylan, Kitty and James, and slunk up into the room upstairs. Read through the start of We Three Kings . Felt a bit exposed as I like to have things complete before I show people usually. But it was a useful exercise in pinning down what's working and what's not. Then they biffed through A Glass of Nothing , and they surprised themselves at how well they had remembered it. All quite buzzy afterwards which was good to see. A cheeky beer outside in the beer garden afterwards with James, Dylan and Betty. It was Kitty's boyf's birthday, so she had to go. I enjoyed talking to James lots. An interesting man. ...

Another quiet day of working on things I wanted to work on. So a very happy day for me. Up as Lorraine was leaving. Spent to day working on various projects, including tweaking another poem as well as cutting bits out of A Glass of Nothing and looking at We Three Kings. Ate the last of my bean jar today. It really was the most successful bean jar I'd made in ages, with beef too. Again wandered down to the Plenty cafe, for a pot of tea, and to get another perspective. Something about dislocating yourself that lets you see things afresh. In the evening Beth and I cooked a pasta bake. Then Lorraine came home,  and Kitty, James and Dylan came around to do a read through on the cuts I'd been making, plus doing some more tweaks. Nice to be with them, and I like James too. I took this snap of them around the dinner table. Dylan, Beth, Kitty and James.

The Tobster's birthday today. Messaged him before he went off to school. Looking forward to having a meatspace beer or two with him in the Summer. Spoke to Mum, who was going to have her first day of not visiting Mason, and doing something different. She needs a break. I spent the day being mildly thwarted, but feeling quite cheerful. Went into town to try to get my watch strap replaced. Replacing the strap involves sending it back to Skagen the manufacturers, and will take a month. I raged at this and went to another jewellers, and found it to be the same story there. I randomly spotted a beautiful leaf green pair of shoes, which looked great, were cheap, but felt abominable on. I then went into the EE shop to see if a new phone was due, but I have a month to wait on that. I ended up in Starbucks, hoping to do some of my own work, but I was contacted about the rabid dogs several times. I had to rewrite some copy which was found to be too hard hitting, and another place where t...

Up disappointingly early, commencing the day with sleep deprivation and a hangover. Creeping about the house, and trying to write but nothing happening. A mass breakfast cooked by Beth, after I'd crept out. My shopping list: bread, quavers and Robinson's orange squash. Lurked about with Beth, Olivia, Sam and Jade eating. Then Sonia came, and everyone melted away. With much hilarity Sonia told me a long  story she'd seen on Facebook posted by one of her Bulgarian mates about Greeks and their general laziness. The character on the story had a job studying wildlife on the moon. After getting up at ten and wondering why he had woken up so early, he drove to work with his window open so he could advise other drivers on how to drive, then at the end of a day of slacking he and his wife go to a restaurant because they couldn't be bothered to cook. His wife says, look at the moon tonight it is lovely, and the husband snaps back 'don't talk to me about work'. So ...

Final night tonight. Woke up early, wondering if I had to go to the radio station with Dylan, which I didn't because they just wanted a chat with him. The interviewer, talking about his hair and beard and how he looked older than 18 and so on. Dylan mentioned the play and us by name, so this all good. He did a good job. The day with less going on, so I could go about the important business of keeping calm, taking a much needed doze in the afternoon. I chatted to Mum and Janet too.  Then Beth came home with Olivia who is staying for a while.  Olivia telling us about a gecko (dubbed Gordon) she had brought back home with her after living in Spain for months. It had been in her suitcase and she found it in her bathroom. Then off to do the last show. Everyone in an upbeat mood pre-show. I was a little nervous because we changed the opening, as I made a little speech dedicating this last show to the memory of Ronnie Corbett, seeing as Dylan's grandmother Anne was there, along w...

Rather hungover this morning. That last pint in the Hobgoblin was surplus to requirements. Lorraine brought me a cup of tea and porridge in bed. I then had a hobbit's second breakfast a couple of hours later with Pat, Maureen and Betty. Later Mum and Mas, Tanya and Robert arrived, having driven down in Robert's amazing electric car. Went to the Preston Park Tavern for a late lunch. I sensibly drank soda, and had a chicken burger. Front-loaded the day with food, as I didn't eat before the show. Then home again, and all the visitors chatted, while I slunk away to find a bit of solitude and focus. I tried a brief power nap, but the second I closed my eyes I was phoned up by the Brighton Argus, who are sending a reviewer on Thursday. Tonight they sent a photographer, who took shots with a long telephoto lens on a silent camera. Beth and I taxied down to the venue, and outside we bumped into David Morgan also known as 'Swifty' when we were at University and Amanda ...

Nice to be at home, and to wake up with Lorraine in our own bed. Pleased too that the plumbers had been while we were away, and our shower now works again. One gets so accustomed to one's en suite. A day of small food. Small porridge for breakfast. I put on an astonishing amount in Guernsey, eating and drinking far too much. I am really fat at the moment, and I don't like it. No booze today either, which comes as a blessed relief. I love a beer when you've not had one for a while. If you've had some every day for half a week, you lose the joy of it. Got the proof through of my response to Willie the Sheik's Sonnet 19, called Locked in the lines , which luckily gave me the opportunity to fix the misspelling in the draft I sent them, and will stop me looking too much of a chump. In the afternoon back to Bolney to buy some more stumps to expand our stumpery, and some more ferns. Lorraine also showed Pat and Maureen around the school, which they liked a lot, and ...

A blast of work first thing, and managed to finish the first draft of the play. A Glass of Nothing. Rather cheery about this and finishing with a day to spare was a good thing. There used to be something in manufacturing called just in time delivery, so that warehouses wouldn't be clogged up with stuff for weeks. Everything finished enough to show to the actors tomorrow for the read through. Sent it to Betty this evening who was babysitting. Mooched to the gym, and after sat in the cafe with the idea of sitting down to write some poetry, but when I was there it was too crowded and my seat was all wrong.  Did have a conversation with an older man who sits near the window and talks to most people that go in. He was wondering aloud what Rudyard Kipling had written, and I was able to enlighten him. He was writing a miniature version of If by hand. Home and a chat with Sonia about life, and then waited for Lorraine to reach home end of tetherish and needing alcohol. Luckily this la...

I was able to spend most of the day thinking about and writing the play, which is a real luxury, not to mention a necessity as the thing is being staged in 12 weeks. Beth and I made off to Neighbourhood this evening and did a couple of auditions, and we now have chosen our two actors. We saw Kitty for the second time -- both Beth and I liked her when we saw her the other week, and she comes across as a live wire, with natural comedy talent. Finding the right male actor was difficult, but we have selected a lovely young actor called Dylan, who Beth already knew but auditioned really well. Who has a warmth and natural likability. Beth and I had a conversation about it alone, before letting Dylan know. Kitty had already gone, but Beth called her. Both of them really happy to be involved, which is excellent. Dylan had a quick beer with us, and Beth and I stayed there to consume had a cheap Tuesday night burger and another beer to celebrate. Although Beth slightly 'bum-clenchy' (h...

Up and another tasty breakfast. Sun streaming through the windows first off. Enjoying the antler coat racks here and there in the pub's restaurant area. Then after packing, Lorraine having a strategic snooze, and dealign with a bit of work stuff we drove up to Harting Down where we had some magnificent views down to South Harting, and also of rainclouds drifting along to the north of us. A gorgeous moving vista of sunlight and cloud shadows that no photo can do justice to, especially when I forgot my camera and used my iPhone instead. For some reason my walking boots, which were top of the range exemplary boots I have used for about eight years, decided to fall apart after getting wet yesterday. The soles were by now flip-flopping along, and I was getting a bit twitchy as is my wont on the side of big bald hills, we had a lovely walk. Skylarks particularly at song and we saw a pair of them either competing in song or about some kind of mating business. Gorgeous liquid trilling an...

Lorraine and I off to Sheffield Park today for a stroll about. First we stopped by Trading Boundaries and almost bought a single curtain, but when we found it cost £160 we declined. Off then to  Sheffield Park and a nice interlude in the fresh air and a chance to walk and talk. A few early daffs, and snowdrops out, and one or two camillas. But mostly as the rain started, a reassuring English grey. In the afternoon home again, and Beth and I had a first script read-through the first early draft of A Glass of Nothing , and extracted a section for use in the auditions we are starting this week. Good feeling to get going on it -- and Beth pleased at where we're heading. A chat with Mum this evening, then I cooked a chicken and roast veggies, while Lorraine did Headteacher stuff on our new table. A reassuringly expensive free range blighter bought round the corner. Tasted good though. Remembered eating chicken out in Oum Hadjer, where the chicken, which we heard being slaughtered ea...

A rather blissful Friday, with a couple of smidges of agency work to be done -- and postponed some other stuff till monday so I could do some urgent stuff to get A Glass of Nothing rolling. Had an exceptionally productive few hours sat in Starbucks. I just wanted to escape the house and it worked a treat. I find the anonymity of Starbucks strangely helps. All the not being able to work on in meant that once I did that a huge amount of it seemed to slot into place right away. Suddenly I saw how I could underpin the three sections of the play with an overarching dark theme and got writing. I have had the set up for a long time, but I can only compare it to being some kind of detective. You keep looking at the opening scene hard enough, and the clues begin to reveal themselves. Wonderful to be writing freely again at something that cheers the soul. A glimpse of light. Home and once Lorraine returned from a hard day at work we jumped on a bus and biffed into Trafalgar Street. Had a Diavo...