under another sun

Reading poetry by Ruth Padel for the podcast, and doing a bit of my own work. Lorraine off to do Rhyme time and then hang out with her pal Kate for a couple of hours. Then we went to Pat and Maureen's and I sat with Pat while Lorraine took Maureen off to the surgery for an appointment. Pat and I sat chatting looking at the sea, and watching the sunset. I was asking Pat about his love of athletics and how he was a sprinter when young. He said he sometimes thinks about starting running again -- just a mile or so to begin with. You have to admire his ambition at 91. Off this evening out to see Ben. Met him in the Open House and talked in depth for the first time in years -- although we had seen each other at Rick around the corner's party. Really good to catch up with him, he is such a gentle and deep character, interested in things like divine geometry, trans-humanism, ghosts and lots of other stuff that I find really interesting too. We had pizza in the Open House, but I made th...

Lorraine and I up early this morning, and drove off to Stanmer Park for a pottery workshop. I was slightly hungover but it was quite therapeutic pressing bits of plants into white earthenware clay so that they left an impression. Our efforts will be fired and will be collectible in a few weeks. There were about 16 of us on the course, and I was the only bloke. At one point I melted away to the gents where I fell into conversation with the man cheerily cleaning it, who told me he loved his job. He also told me about his passion for being a DJ playing Turkish Psychedelia aka Anatolian Rock. Back to the class lead by a smily woman called Sarah. After we finished, it was only a two and a half hour thing, which passed in a flash, we mooched about in a maker's market and Lorraine got talking to a woman about fabric and buttons. This woman said to me that buttons have history, and it was all I could do not to write a poem called A History of Buttons on the spot. Home for a mid afternoon p...

One of those days that makes you question what the hell you are doing with your life. Keith and I had a reasonable amount to do today to finish the job we were working on. Instead Keith went into one of his black self sabotaging moods, raging about computer glitches, suddenly logging off and disappearing an interlude he filled by smashing one of his favourite mugs, which got all over his clothes and he had to wash them and the floor and so on, and generally finding ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. All highly annoying and stressful as the time ebbed away. Needless to say we managed to pull the rabbit out of the hat in the end.  As this was happening I also received a poetry rejection on some work I was quite hopeful for. But more happily had a momentary chat with Mum to confirm I would come on Thursday. Once work was done for the day, and this particular job over, I brooded philosophically for a bit. But later,  I walked around the corner to Rick around the corne...

A day, unbelievably, of two pubs.  Quite a bit of work and fiddling around with infernal things this morning. And possible new bit of freelance, but there are many rivers to be crossed first. I walked off to the Royal Sovereign on Preston Street where I went INTO a pub, and had a quick drink with glassmates, Adele, Ben, Rick around the corner, Kate and Fran. It turns out that it had been Adele's birthday recently, which had passed without me remembering. I felt a bit bad about this, as Adele is one of the kindest people I know.  The group ordered Thai food, but I just ordered some nachos with bits on them. Everyone's meal came except mine and eventually as we were all going I ended up having to cancel it and get a refund. However, I did enjoy two pints of  a local brewery's Casual Pale ale.  Then returned home and sent a few more emails, cooked for Sam and Lorraine, and went down to the Open House for  5.00 where we had a table booked. Nick already there, and St...

Bank Holiday Monday ...  I made breakfast and cups of tea which Lorraine and I scarfed in bed. As it neared 12 noon, however, it was clearly time for yet another beer. So I strolled down to The Park View where Rick around the corner was waiting. We surged in to the table and spent the next ten minutes downloading the app to order the beers and food. You scan a QR code, which takes you onto the app, where you have to find the right pub, and complete your details and then order, summoning a barmaid bearing a wholesome Guinness for me and a coke for Rick. So much easier than asking someone for a beer and being given one.  We waited for Ben to arrive, as the drink had been his idea. However wires had been crossed, and it was only after a text and a call did he arrived much later on his bicycle having been wrenched from his bed, having spent the previous day labouring for a friend. A good laugh was had, albeit in a pretty fresh wind. And although I had taken the precaution of wrapp...

A happy holiday made up of talking to flesh and blood people. Made off to Preston Park to stand about with my former glassmate crew. Lovely to see them, despite an unforgivingly cold breeze. Sally's birthday and I gave her a card, and a nosegay of hellebores.  Rick feeling sad as two of his mates are very unwell. Otherwise I was given a slice of lemon drizzle, and chatted happily in distanced circles with Fran, Sally, Adele, the two Kates, Jane and her husband Ian. Ben there too and we walked back across the park talking about sacred geometry among many other bits and pieces -- it was so good to see him. Then the big excitement of the day... Lorraine and I went off to see Anton in his garden, which looked fabulous after he has put lots of effort into planting, and redoing all the brickwork. It felt like being on holiday sitting in the back garden playing a few hands of Euchre. Despite being blinking cold was quite bright and sunny and Anton treated us to delicious olives with hot ...

Just as we were going to sleep last night we remembered that our kaput clothes drying machine was being collected. Up very early today, then, and Lorraine and I had to drag the blinking thing out of the dungeon onto the street. My plan was to meet Innis for a stroll on the beach, but had to biff this, having to wait to pay the collection people who turned up after 11: two young lads on a lorry, one of whom tripped over on the path and swore volubly as if it were my fault.  This done I set off for a walk, but ten minutes in had to turn back for home again, as a delivery had been left outside. I popped the box in and turned back, but walked through the woods to ascend to the hill by a different route. Meanwhile I was listening to a series of lectures in the Great Lectures audiobook series, on CBT, and found this rather interesting. By the time I had reached the Hillfort, and stood in the sun, looking at the sun sparkling on the wrinkles of the distant sea, and the high downs either s...

 Edited the interview with Elizabeth this morning, and chatted a little with Sonia. She told me about seeing a young homeless guy in a doorway crying when the rain started, and how she felt helpless to help. She has altered her time to come, to avoid the children on the bus. Made off to see my glass buddies at 12. There had been a conspiracy led of course by the huge hearted Adele to surprise Ben with a thank you present from all of us, partly because there can be no class this autumn. There was a card, and a tee-shirt with an eleven pointed star symbolising the eleven people involved in the glass group. I had to get there early to inscribe a, ahem, poeticalish thank you in the card.  Best of all three of them, Adele, had created windows with the letters B E & N on them. Ben was a bit overwhelmed I think. We had gathered in our usual place in the park, and there was a very cold wind and so on, but it was a lovely thing to have a small part in. Afterwards I came back home, ...

Lorraine attracted to the idea of doing nothing this morning, and so I sauntered down to the park and met up with some of my glass homies, Adele, Sally, Kate, Ben, Chris and Rick. Cheerily sat in a ring on the grass, while the sky looked as if it were about to open at any point. It did not. Feeling sad looking at my lightning app on my iPhone which keeps pinging with nearby storms, but they never come here. Boo!

Walked off this morning to Hove, rather a long walk, but I was listening to my Ancient Egyptian lectures as I paced. There I met a circle of my glass amigos who were having a socially distanced circular doughnuts, outside Chris William's hut. Very sunny when I got there. Found Adele, Sally, Rick, Chris, Kate, Kate and Jane there, Ben arrived a little later. Lorraine joined us towards the end, but was blinking freezing. She and I mooched along the seafront back to the car. Amazing how this little group of folks has stuck together through the thick and thin of things over the last few months. A nice bunch of people. Ben offered me help restarting my window making, which I am keen to get on with. Just the best of Brighton. Lorraine and I drove home and had hot coffee afterwards, which was rather nice. Below Chris, with his beach hut, in a moment of sunshine, Chris wrapped against the cold and Ben, Lorraine and Adele.

Up early and made the last few changes to The Grieving, which is the name of the strange story I have been working on, it is only 4.5k but it took quite a bit of getting right. I'm going to set it aside for a bit now, before I think of unleashing it on the world. Then to Preston Park just down the road, where I met some of my glass friends. We all sat in a big circle near the Rotunda. Adele, Sally, Ben, Rick and Frances, two Kates, Dena, and Jane.  It was all very sociable, but still odd sitting far away from people. I was sitting nearest to Adele, Ben and Frances, and enjoyed chatting to them particularly. Ben has lost lots of weight, being on a steady diet for some time. There was a cool sea mist today in Brighton, so it was not hot at all. I decided to go for a walk, and ended up mooching off to the Hillfort Again. Tired however. When Lorraine got home, she had her post school shower and we sat on the bed chatting for a bit, and I fell sound asleep for three-quarters of an h...

Vindictive and relentless rain. Dragged a heavy case of books down the hill to Preston Park. Utterly soaked to the skin by the time I got there. Then to Balcombe via Hateful Heath. Hauled case up stairs and along the path up to the village. Forded along the running muddy stream that was the tarmac path. Arrived in the school, and was greeted in a friendly way, and given a cup of tea. Children somewhat fractious as they had to play indoors at lunchtime. Did a big afternoon session with the two lots of year groups in one class. The teachers left me to get on with it. Spoke about the things I had been speaking about at Downs, but this class a bit less engaged, however I still had fun with them. I signed a boxful of books, which made the case much lighter. Trundled back down to Balcombe station through the biblical flood for a half an hour wait in the cold for the train. Soaked again, despite wearing my Berghaus, but a mother and two kids were on the platform, and one of them whipped out...

Blue Monday was fine for me. Parts of the short story I have been working on fell nicely into place, when I joined two unsatisfactory things I had written before to make one satisfying whole. Busied myself with this and a few other bits of admin and emails, then to the gym this afternoon where I had a decent workout. Lorraine home in good time and I had a chat with her before going out for a cheeky curry with Ben and Rick. Rick drove us to the Elizabethan Curry House and we had a nice meal there, then back to Rick's place (just around the corner from me) for a cup of tea. Ben had just been on a weekend course on divine geometry, looking at Persian patterns. It required drawing millions of circles and not going mad. He said it was quite stressful but he learned a lot. Rick I learned works voluntarily for Crimestoppers committee, and before his retirement was responsible for security for the region's Post Offices and Royal Mail. Talking about climate change and so on.  The...

Up early and sent off two manuscripts, finished some work for my pals in Hampton, which then boomeranged back twice during the day. Ran to the post office, did laundry, including Beth's jeans. She and Lorraine had caught a cab back from Brighton last night after meeting Sam, and Beth had sat in some wee in the cab without realising it.  Into Brighton, bought a few xmas bits, collected a prescription and paid nowt for it, which still surprises me. Rain dodged generally, received vast Sainsbury's delivery, Amazon packages arriving, and found time to slump on the sofa to watch an episode of my guilty Netflix pleasure: Colony. Then cooked for Lorraine, and went around the corner to Rick's house to collect him and Ben and went to the Park View for a festive beer for a couple of hours. Nice time. In between various gossiping,  Ben saying he was about to start a course on Sacred Geometry and would use this to inform his own work. He said the flower of life, below was an example...

Working all day on the French work, and Pat still hadn't got the email I sent him, so resent for the third time. Tricknology. Slogged quietly at my desk all day. Betty home and ill and keeping herself to herself. In the evening I made off around the corner to meet Ben at Rick's house. Rick who I had met during my stained glass course, lives literally just around the corner from me, and Ben was helping him with one of his stained glass window. I went there and Rick drove us down to park down along from the Shahi, weirdly though we went to the Eastern Eye, another Indian restaurant. When we got near the parking spot Rick removed his hands and the car started to park itself, which was an eye opener. It wasn't successful but the thought was there. Rick is a nice guy, who lost his wife a year or so ago, he amazed me by saying he had turned 75 recently. Had a bit of quite nice snap there, and then made our way to The Rose Hill for the 1930s Jazz night we go to 'On the s...

A truly excellent birthday today. Tea and breakfast in bed, and a slow start. Many birthday messages coming to me from lots of folks, including Tobs and Mum. At no point did I feel like screaming sixty! at myself repeatedly in a mirror. It is, like all these so called big birthdays, much better to be it than be on the cusp of it. Maureen sent me a huge and slightly tormenting badge with 60 on it and phoned to wish me a happy birthday. It was however raining steadily all day, so Lorraine had planned a short walk in the country but we biffed that, and went onto phase two, which was afternoon tea at the elegant (if David Lynch sounding)  South Lodge , which was like a tasting menu of lovely but bad things, gorgeous little sandwiches and patisserie and scones and all the tea you could drink. It was lovely stuff and a hold onto your hat sugar rush. A short regroup at home, and then Dawn came to collect Beth, Lorraine and I off to the Bottom's Rest for thali dishes and several beers...

Horrid nightmares last night. Up early and had a shower. Lorraine off early to go to the gym. I opened the front door into a deluge at 7:05 this morning. Ducked back in for my golfing umbrella and then walked down to Preston Park in diabolical horizontal rain, and a crack of thunder overhead as I was threading past tall trees holding my metal rod aloft. The gutters rushing like brisk mountain streams. I bought a cup of tea from The Daily Grind by the station, and the woman next to me said, 'this is like the end of days', which made me laugh. Everything in my rucksack soaked, luckily my laptop still worked. Even after reached Hampton, (slightly late due to train delays obvs.) my jeans weren't dry till about two o'clock in the afternoon. A pleasant enough day, although the client had moved all the goalposts, thus reducing the amount of work to be done.  Nice chat with Keith, and with Bouncy Max,  who was financial controlling for the day. She is in good form as ever. My...

Weighed myself to discover I had lost a noticeable amount of lard. Spent the morning thinking about cover designs and editing. Broke off for a long lunch watching the final episode of The Planets, about Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, and then going to the gym. Not enough detail about the planets, and lots of time wasted on Brian Cox explaining simple things very slowly in exotic locations. Bumped into Philippa next door, who had an electric scooter and had been going around the cycle track in the park with it. She said she didn't get on with wheels. Home after the gym I worked till seven on edits. Kept my food lowish today, and went to the gym, so was able to go out and have a couple of pints with Ben tonight, after feeding Lorraine who arrived home hangrily.  Really good to see Ben in the Park View and to talk about life, glass and generally have a laugh. He was talking at one stage about Transhumanism , about which I know next to nowt. He also showed me some interesting glass...

Hurrah, time to do a bit of my own work this morning, or at least start to make lists again. A bit of writing this morning, and then Ben called around at lunchtime as he asked me to help him install a window in a tricky site in a street close to mine for half an hour. Quite fascinating to see how this installation was done. The window was rather beautiful had many broken bits of glass, which Ben had not only replaced but cast himself, making dimpled glass by  baking the glass onto clay tiles he had made, adding dimples by rolling a marble on the clay, and then setting the melting glass on it, thus producing dimpled glass to match the probably victorian window. Slightly nerve-racking as for various reasons the window had to be installed from outside the house, and I had to lift it up to Ben on the ladder. A window of that size is quite heavy and there is a lot of give in it too. The window a bit big, requiring folding of the lead to make it fit. Mission accomplished, then inside...