under another sun

A good deal less wan and tired, thankfully. Anton had plotted a short walk starting at Nuthurst, a village that Anton and I had been through before. Lorraine drove us to Anton's where the purple magnolia outside his house was looking wondrous. Then onto Rosie's house and we drove off over the downs into the Weald, me humming  Nuthurst City Limits and saying it was a good job we were in a car as "motorcycle not allowed in it". Nobody laughed. We parked up and then went for a mooch in the woods. Lorraine sporting her new boots. I was feeling brighter than the last few days, and was fine. In fact it was lovely to get outside and be among trees. Especially walking past a wood of silver birch. Not too muddy. To a pub there called The Black Horse hoping for food. Slightly galling to be shown a table, told we'd have to wait an hour for food which, after buying a drink was revised to waiting an hour before you can order your food. We opted not go. Still, nice to be ins...

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...

Another night of atrocious and unnerving dreams. Very strange. Breakfast of tomatoes fried in a little Guernsey butter on toast. Good morning of work, and I went off at lunchtime for another mooch around in St Peter Port. Hung out by the lighthouse, watching people fishing, including one guy catch three bass in ten minutes, and a boy learning how to cast, who almost caught me twice, despite the fact I was standing at least 10 metres from him. Very nostalgic this for me, remembering fishing off the lighthouse and the White Rock opposite. Then met Jane and Richard in Town, in the little French cafe. Quizzing Jane's on details of her  alter ego as the Camilla-lookalike. The work she is doing with Alison Jackson is extraordinary. Lots of what I was told, Jane warned me not to mention here. It would make your hair curl. A taxi back to La Barbarie, a local man I chatted to happily. He told me he used to visit Southampton a lot, and I joked that he should have done it while Matt Le ...

Richard reading from his new book on Jenny Kendall-Tobias's show on BBC Guernsey . Richard's bit starts at 3:08:50. Naturally, well worth a listen and of course there is great chemistry with the Jenny. Meanwhile the other half of Guernsey's most famous couple, they lovely Jane, is 'being' Camilla again. Have a look at  alisonjackson.com . Scandalous. For me, a decidedly non-showbiz grey and rainy Monday. This week I am writing for a financial client, and am based in Farringdon. I'm sitting opposite Barney, an old colleague. Homeward journey delayed because of a fire scare closing Farringdon station. Despite this, home at a reasonable time, for supper with Lorraine, and now to bed. A smidge of travel chaos.

Jane on national news shocker A quiet day, lurking about with Lorraine. Strange night of dreams - me dismembering bodies. Did little, watched TV in the evening. As we were watching the news a text from Richard that Jane was just about to be on it. Watching the final Wonders of the Universe episode. Enjoyable stuff. A very clear description of the big bang theory, which to me, clearly not an expert, seems mindboggling and counter-intuitive. But it does make this tiny flicker of life on Earth seem an event so vanishingly small as to be irrelevant. Below Jane on Channel 4 news today, in her lookalike mode as Camilla. Alison Jackson, who specialises in photographic sessions with lookalikes is satirising the forthcoming wedding. Some images from the report. I texted to Guernsey that Jane was the most famous person I know.