under another sun

Woke up convinced Lorraine preferred TV adventurer  Bear Grylls to me after a vivid dream. The fact that L and I know little about him only added to the strangeness of this.  Got to work accompanied by the screeching of bricks being cut in half under the infernal viaduct. Spent the day working on revamping my personal website. My cyberpresence has been a long-running sore, unfocused and confusing. I realised this is because I am eclectic in what I do and this should be seen as the defining thing. I love Brian Eno's description of himself as 'a drifting clarifier'. In the afternoon off to Marwood cafe to meet Anna for a long chat over coffee and a slice of cake each. Then home via Sainsbury's to cook a vegetarian chilli for Lorraine. Also prescribed chocolate for Lorraine. Below: the rain continues unabashed. Quite like the murkiness this brings. Brighton is hilly, so the tops of streets disappear, and individual roofs penetrate into...

Soulfood with Lakshmi Another dire night's sleep. Consequently walking about like a brain donor again. Morning spent working on various manuscripts, until lunchtime when Lakshmi visited me, and met Calliope who bit her handbag. Had a pleasant afternoon mooching about Brighton. Nosing in a second hand bookshop, with Lakkers on her endless search for PG Wodehouse books, and myself thumbing through ancient poetry collections. Then we made off for Momma Cherri's Soul Food Shack, made famous after it featured in a Gordon Ramsay TV show. It was a raging success for a while, but on a rainy Tuesday lunchtime the place was virtually empty. The food was fine, although did not make my eyes pop out with amazement, and the staff very pleasant. Lakshmi tried a little of both jambalaya and gumbo, whereas I stuck to meatballs in a roll, with their own coleslaw and corn bread. All rather nice and freshly made, and worth visiting again. Then a bracing walk on the pier, followed by a pause in the...