under another sun

Recording with Robin this morning, nice to see her, virtually at least. She is about to lead her own Steps class, starting tomorrow night, and is fully booked. I find this deeply impressive, but she's always had that streak in her. Then, having found an appropriate folder, having just given up looking for it, I sauntered off to the post office to send off my manuscript. One Day Forever is about examining memory and was inevitably focused on the past and time and so on.  I want to turn a page. My next project to be more forward looking and perhaps a bit lighter. Nature abhors a vacuum, and half formed ideas are nudging forwards for attention. It's actually quite exciting. If only it weren't so energy-snappingly hot I'd bloody get on with it.  Popped into the photo shop, and sent pictures from my phone to a printer in the shop to be collected later in the week, via a screen in the shop with QR codes and so on.  Lorraine busy and took Maureen out to a hospital appointment...

A beautiful night's sleep in my own bed, and woke up early and full of cheer. Did some writing, made breakfast and enjoyed this with Lorraine and after going back to my desk for a bit, went off to the gym at lunchtime and did a few bits in there. Didn't over tax myself this afternoon, and apart from chatting to Mum, Toby briefly, and making dinner for Lorraine who'd taken Maureen to a physiotherapist and spent some time with them after, we boofed onto the gold sofa. I began reading  Wonderful Life by Stephen Jay Gould published in 1986, who Peter Hoibak steered me onto when I said I was interested in the Burgess Shale and the Cambrian explosion. One of my Cambrian favourites Anomalocaris, which means unusual shrimp. Mainly because they found its evil curly arm things separately and initially misclassified them as shrimp. Anomalocaris was perhaps the first top predator.   

Up and early at my desk, working on cattle fertility before 8. Anton phoned to shower me with beef-based puns. Working quietly and methodically on concepts, which is my favourite thing. At one point looking at La Vache qui rit for inspiration. My client was happy with what I delivered. All done by midday. Back on my stuff in the afternoon. Also caught up with a TV documentary by Richard Fortey, whose book Trilobite! An eyewitness to history I enjoyed a few years ago. This programme was about the Cambrian fossils in Canada's Burgess Shale high up in the mountains, which I have been reading about for a while now. I has miraculously preserved fossils of soft tissue so that you can see trilobite legs for example. Apparently this may have been due to everything being buried in some kind of landslide into the sea. It featured one of my personal favourites, the predatory  Anomalocaris . Lorraine out being a school governor tonight. I played about with the monologue I am writing abou...

Up to the smoke again. Reading The End of The Party by Andrew Rawnsley again. A very interesting read, Gordon Brown comes out of it very badly. Work fine, snuck out at lunch with First Matie who went off looking at shoes, while I bought stuff and returned to work to find a fascinating website at lunchtime a Virtual Sea Odyssey , showing the Burgess Shale creatures of the Pre-Cambrian ocean. A really interesting experience, and one featuring my favourite extinct animal: Anomalocaris. After work sped off to Edgware to see Mum and Mas, lots of chatting and we had an enjoyable evening catching up with the gossip, looking at candles, and drinking some wine, and as a special treat I got Christmas pudding and custard, which I wasn't expecting. Played mum some Laura Mvula, which she enjoyed. Early night, chatting to Lorraine before bed.

180205/Lines on a lost sea monster Anomalocaris canadensis means unusual Canadian shrimp but you weren't a shrimp were you? You were a six foot sea monster they found you in bits up a Canadian mountain which, granted, is unusual for a shrimp.