under another sun

Busy day. More cat concepts for the French agency, chats with David about winding up my Ltd company.  I like David and he speaks human, a noble trait in an accountant. Also uploaded the latest episode of Planet Poetry, which required last minute stuff with Robin, but we both felt a sense of accomplishment. Wrote to Rishi to let him know. Zoomed off across the park to pick up a prescription at lunchtime. Only half the pills as I have to have a blood test now, and a phone in consultation in the next couple of weeks. Walking back I saw a young black man wearing what seemed to me to be traditional African clothes and a man-high stick performing some sort of ritual with a woman in the rose garden. Brighton, eh? I was curious but had to hurry home for work again.  Lorraine out this evening at a work related thing, so I did dinner early, and then went back to doing a bit of French stuff, and had an early evening walk to get to more than 10k. Also confirmed that I will be working with...

So back from the emotional Narnia that was the wedding and honeymoon. For Lorraine that meant getting up shortly after 6:30 and driving off into the county for meetings. For me it meant the prospect of spending the next couple of days doing my accounts, and doing what I can to progress the house sale. Broke off to go to the gym, and then pressed on with getting my accounts ready, looking at invoices and so on. A small part of me -- a very small part -- quite likes the necessity of having to do this once a year. It is a kind of spring clean and makes you feel rather virtuous after a while, and the feeling that you can account for yourself is quite satisfying. Although that is not to say I wasn't yearning to slip back into the wardrobe with Lorraine and dance with Mr Tumnus and the talking beavers again. Lorraine home briefly this evening before going off to sing in the choir. I walked with her along London Road, and as I returned a back a fox scooted across the road and down a s...

Feeling cheery. Sudden clarity on the business book I have been writing after feeling wood for treesish on it.  I also emailed my glamorous accountant about a missing tax repayment, and she sorted it within an hour, which will soon be a boon for the Kenny coffers. I also ventured to the gym, and managed to do twelve minutes on a cross trainer. A few months ago I was doing 40 minutes at much higher load on it before starting on the rowing machine, and weights. But you have to start again somewhere. Scary what months of antiboitics have reduced me to. However even doing ten minutes made me feel good afterwards. The fightback starts here. Friday will see me back again going for a massive 15 minutes. Looking at the essay Julia wrote about D.G. Rossetti. Julia, it seems, is a card-carrying Rossetti boffin.

A turning point. Heard from my glamourous accountant, with news of a tax rebate, and a reassuringly payable tax bill in January. At last, and for the first time this year, I feel I have properly returned to solvency. Greatly cheered by the lifting of this financial cloud. Otherwise, less coldly. My day spent on dog and cat health. Enjoyable 'Fright Night' halloween drink in the office, to the accompaniment of scary music, and people slurping down green and blood red vodka jellies. Good chat with Hamish about street art. His interesting site, Urban Escapades here. I stuck to a bottle or two of beer. Train delayed homeward as it was outward.  Listening to Midnight's Children again. Lorraine coldy and tired. Glad to be home.

Spent hours doing my books today, and finally sent them off to my glamorous accountant this evening, after Lorraine had dug out the final pieces of the puzzle. Had a small glass of ouzo to celebrate afterwards. Now I hope my accountant can perform her wily Scottish wizardry on it. And it looks like more work next week in London too, to cover for First Matie, which is good news. Also booked tickets to Guernsey for a few days in November; a couple of writing days for me, then being joined by Lorraine for sheer fun. I went for a walk for a couple of hours, drifting about in the walled garden and park and peering into ponds at fish and what I thought were dragonflies but turn out to be ruddy darters, and looking at spiders and cyclamen, and walking among squirreled trees and other things that make me feel happy. I have a simple nature. Went back to Sing Li my old fish and chip shop this evening, as I had an enthusiasm-for-cooking fail tonight. The owner smiley at my ...

Glowing mono To the doctor again. At least it is a chance to read the paper in the waiting room. Apparently my deaf ear should sort itself out in time. Meanwhile we discovered that my other ear is blocked by wax, which needs to be sluiced out. So in a few days I will be able to hear better in glowing mono. Managed to find my accounts for the last couple of years. Also started doing my accounts for last tax year, and was in touch with my lovely accountant. Generally feeling much more in control about all this stuff now. I love the onset of Autumn. These next few months are my favourite time of year, and I keep sneaking off to the local park to hear the wind in the trees. Tody I spoiled myself with a flapjack and a coffee after a stroll around the park. Find I really enjoy cooking for Lorraine when she comes home, tired after a long day. Sam arrived to collect the last of his things. He had been out celebrating like fury the night before. He looked extremely dapper today in a new jacket...

By the book To the quack this morning, who is going to organise an MRI scan for my knee. Burst in trying to take off my trousers to show him my knee, but he wanted some background before that questionable delight. Sainsbury's next, feeling flashes of happiness. The afternoon catching up with my books to get everything ready for my accountant. There is something curiously satisfying about filling in all the columns and knowing exactly what's what. Below St Bartholomew's Church just down the hill from where I live, picked out in the morning sun. Arrested by the green of the glass with the blue of the sky.

Woke up this mornin'... ...And finished my books. Having counted every bean and travel card, and tidied and organised every file and folder I have, I sent the spreadsheets into cyberspace and Seana my glamourous accountant. I think of this process as accessing my inner Romy, although the actual Romy resists this notion. The figures tell me I need to bend the Kenny will towards spilling more doubloons into my coffers over the next few months, but that also I may have put aside more money for tax than I needed to, which could be nice. When Lorraine came around in the evening we simply went to a couple of pubs and had a drink. Ending up in one around the corner from me, where a blues band called Smokestack were playing rather well. Beer and the blues and Lorraine were a fine antidote to the week of spreadsheets.

Snails and spreadsheets Drenched this morning, caught in a downpour with an umbrella the size of a dinner plate. Bah. However a very good day getting on top of my business stuff. Found all the figures for rates, utilities and other payments which can be claimed back and emailed them to my glamorous accountant - finding them put years on me. Also making spreadsheets. There is something sexy about spreadsheets. The fact that you can put stuff in rows and columns and so on. Organised, that's what it is. Also did a cheeky bit of writing work for my French client and the prospect of more on the horizon. So all in all a good and productive day which makes me feel on top of things. I also mistakenly made a layer pie, which I ate the majority of. Once it had stopped raining, and I had done all my work, I poked about in the snail sanctuary that is my back yard, and tidied and put clippings into bin liners. Picked up one particularly large snail and threw it into the Twitten in disgust. Noti...

A garden interlude Up to London, to take some stuff into my glamorous accountant Seana. Fortunately just about to go through the barriers at the station when I realised that I'd left the folder at home. A lovely day, and quite nice to be out and about, even if it was to just around the corner from my old agency. Dropped the stuff off, and had a good chat with Seana, some of it about accountancy and tax but not enough to give me stabbing head pains. Then caught the tube up to see Mum and Mas. Mum looking very well indeed much to my relief, and we sat in the back garden admiring the flowers and the dead and brown painted tree next door. The contrast between seeing Mum here to being in hospital was immense. Had an enjoyable night sitting about talking to Mum and Mas, about many and various subjects, and sipping wine. Her hospital stay seems like a bad dream. My head is buzzing with plans and schemes again, and the sun is out, and Mum seems a hundred times better. All is well.

Mum goes to Hospital Up this morning and had breakfast with Mum and Mase, and classic fm. One of their neighbours Mohena popped in to wish mum well, and Oktai came by with some books to read. Then I had then to push off to Hammersmith to see my glamorous accountant. Had a hour's conversation about if I should become a limited company or not. She gave me her advice in ear wilting detail. Then back home. Mum fortunately got the call from the hospital, and the three of us travelled off down to the Royal Free and checked in. The ward she is in looked clean and the nurses seemed cheerful and pleasant. She's on the ninth floor so there was a view over rainsoaked north London. Turns out that her operation is not until Thursday. Her room of the ward has three other people in it, including mum. Another woman who'd been admitted today, a younger and quite talkative woman, and a prisoner. When I walked in I wondered why one of the women had two prison guards visiting her, but it turns...

Passage graves, accountants, and crab deaths Leisurely morning. Dealt with some of my "networking" correspondence and now have at least one interesting meeting lined up for next week - plus some with headhunters. Breakfast with Mum and Mase, and then with Mum looking at the excellent book: The Archeology and Early History of the Channel Islands by Heather Sebire, which I bought in Guernsey last month. This is a most excellent book and I am learning enormous amounts from it. Such as the fact there are ancient earthworks protecting Jerberg Point. I can't believe I have only just learned about this. And I am fascinated with this detail about bodies taken from the passage grave in Le Déhus (see this blog August 1st 2006 for pics) which were placed upright in a kneeling position and packed in with limpet shells and earth. This happened no more recently that 2000 bc, and could be as distant as 3500 bc. The detail about the limpet shells is playing on my mind. Why limpets? As f...