under another sun

Breakfast with Lorraine. Claudia and Jonas, went off to see Pat and Maureen, and they spent the afternoon with them, and eating fish and chips for supper.  I however zoomed over to London Road station, and walked up to Osborne Road through Blaker's Park, now green again. I collected Lorraine's mobile phone which had been mistakenly delivered to our old address. Slightly cringing, as the last time we'd those people, I was having dark thoughts about them on the day of moving out. Our old house not much different, I knocked at the door I'd painted, and glanced into the house to see not much had changed since we were there. The new owner, very friendly, and said that they felt like proper five ways people now. I walked the familiar route uphill towards Hollingbury, then cut down Surrenden Road, across Preston Park and into town to get a haircut from Stacy. Felt like I knew every step of everywhere I went. I asked Stacy if he'd had any break from work this year, and it s...

Doing some interesting writing, and dull business admin. Also heard from Tess Jolly, who is looking at some prose for me, and coming back with some brilliant suggestions. A bit tired and sluggish today, which I found frustrating as I have finally time to do stuff. Looks like I will be freelancing next week too. Read more of Bewilderment . Lovely book. A brief stroll around Blaker's Park. Was struck by the beautiful vision of a bank of clouds over the shining sea, looking like an onrushing wall of cloud. This photo doesn't really capture it, but I like the photo anyway, especially how the sun came out strangely.

A misty morning. Only the roofs of houses one row behind us visible, with the rest of the valley below in mist.  Lorraine had a day off today, to regroup from having worked through the last few weekends. She is a bit shattered, but enjoyed catching up on some phone calls and relaxing and according to her fit bit, her body battery was in at 70% mid afternoon. This must be good, and better than normal, although I am not sure what it means.  An article in the Guardian about Death In Paradise. It seems that Lorraine and I are not the only ones to be  liking its undemanding fluff last year.   Really good to see Charlotte on my screen, and record an interview about her poetry this morning. She writes so honestly and illuminatingly about anxiety. Because she is a mate, we both wanted to avoid cliquey backslapping stuff, so I think we did a good job.  Later Lorraine and had a plague-dodging walk around Blaker's Park and through local streets. A grey old day. In the...

Slightly perplexed by an absence of contact from Pat about the work I'd done for him yesterday, eventually we spoke and he'd not received my emails. The agency server again took it into its head not to deliver messages from my business email address. We had a long on-screen chat and I sent the email again and all was well. Pesky tricknology. Turns out I have a smidge more to do tomorrow.  Pat still donating plasma to the hospital, as he still has lots of C19 antibodies. Said howdy to Judith too. Despite seeming cheery, they had a bit of a horrid spring, both with the virus, then they've had a legal problems slowing the building work they are having done down to a snail's pace.  Not much other news. Reading M.R. James's ghost stories, although a tad creaky, the scary bits are imaginative.  Lots of rain off and on.  Blaker's Park is only five mins away, and thus a good place to stroll if I need to get back to my desk in a hurry.  The cat flap on the blink today. W...

Up early working for an hour or so on the job I am doing with Keith and Pat, it only being 8:30 I took a quick turn around Blaker's park, before settling down to work, with an impish Keith in a window on my screen. Managed to nip out for few subsequent strolls around the park during the day, even if it were just ten minutes missing the extremely heavy rain in the afternoon. Really it is easier if anything, working like this. Keith and I discuss the concepts and work through them as if we were face to face, and once Keith starts mocking them up, we see the same screen as he's doing it and I can tweak lines etc. and grow the concept together in real time, just like you would if you were physically sitting next to one another.  It all helps. A virtual meeting with Carolyn, Pat and a pleasant planner in the US this afternoon, where Keith and I presented the work. In other news I received the lovely print of a pencil drawing of Bob Marley from Ellie. I was her guinea pig, to see if ...

Much improved day. Got busy preparing for the interview this morning with Pascale Petit, down in Cornwall. Really enjoyed talking to her and, thank God, the interview actually recorded. Pascale has a new book out called Tiger Girl, and I sped read it first thing this morning, it is very good, and it was a real privilege to have her reading it to me in my study.  The results will be in the podcast. Had a chat with Robin afterwards, with lots of planning, she has been busy too. It is all quite exciting. Lorraine working from home today, but it is hard work accommodating changes for the new year, when the government's guidance is so poor. Outside a howling gale, Storm Francis apparently, and lots of rain. I went for a stroll around Blakers Park and the wind through a pine tree there was reminding me of walking at Icart Point in Guernsey. I really miss Guernsey. Luckily Tess was happy to go again on Thursday. This is great news. Felt much happier with life than I had done last ni...

Another poor night's sleep, with the raging ear keeping me awake. Continued to rage today, despite drops, so I spent much of the day on the gold sofa, feeling wan. I started afresh on Jane's book Barking Mad! and read it cover to cover. A perfect escapist read for a gentleman with a sore ear. More about Barking Mad! here . Also read a couple of stories by Clark Ashton Smith , who I read when I was a teenager. He has a florid style full of purple prose, but he taught me many words when I was a kid, and I am still driven to the dictionary when I read him. His vocabulary is extraordinary. Otherwise rallied a little this afternoon and went for a walk with Lorraine around Blaker's Park. Lorraine understandably preoccupied by the decisions she has to take for her school. I am helping her as best I can, mainly by listening and talking things over. Lorraine cooked a marvellous curry tonight, which was a thing of beauty. Beth lying low today, and sending out for Taco Bell. Lorra...

Vivid dream just before we got out of bed this morning. I was trying to stop a child from falling, held onto his Guernsey jumper, but he slipped out of it and tumbled onto a harbour floor at low tide and was horribly injured. I blame Anton for banging on about Guernsey jumpers the other day. Feel like Frasier Crane this morning. What did the little boy represent? Me? My inner child? Something precious I was unable to hold onto, and if so what? Or did it mean absolutely nothing? A chat with the Tobster this morning, now safely at Mum's place, and having tramped about in Hampstead with Mum yesterday afternoon. I am meeting Mum and Toby up in London on Friday, which I am really looking forward to. I sketched out a new idea for a short story, but far more seductive was the idea of slipping off the surly manacles of work and walking about in the sun, a spot of 'if in doubt tidy' tidying, reading and watching Apollo documentaries. Too much of this sort of thing, however,...

Much improved, and moving like a bipedal human. A gingerish walk around Blaker's park mid morning, where there were a few painters with their easels. This afternoon up to Hollingbury Hillfort, nipping across some of the golf links, glowering clouds to the north, blue sky to the south. In other news, not much really other than progressing through the edits of the children's book. It is a real education reviewing what Charlotte has pointed to, there are a small amount of bad habits that I have, which are invisible to me, but now they have been pointed out, scream from the page. I am learning lots about my own faults and how to correct them. Exceedingly useful, although a bit alarming that these faults have been there for so long undetected in my prose style. Below painters in Blaker's Park, the hump showing the raise of the ring of the hill fort overlooking the golf course and down to the sea. Those old iron age folks certainly had a good view, and two black and white snaps...

A better day. Got up and started work on my Waiting Rooms project, then was given work by my pals in Chiswick, picking up comments on the poos and kidneys work I did before Christmas. Client ver prescriptive about what they wanted, but then when we provided it, they discovered they want something different. I simply did the job and was grateful for it. Facetimed with Mum today, her paranoid next door neighbour has set up an array of state of the art security cameras, for fear of foreigners stealing his concrete dogs. Went for three walks through Blaker's Park today, gradually edging up the amount of exercise I am doing. Felt happy to be outside, and on my last walk saw the sliver of the new moon. Still not what I would call well yet and had a headache all day. Pretty bushed by the evening, but cooked for Lorraine and I for the first time in a while. Went to bed, and I found some supposed lessons from Confucius on the internet. This bit spoke to us about events over the last few...

Monday, and no early start as it was half term. Lorraine celebrated by going off to do work in the empty school and meet her pal Penny, who she had invited in to help her organise her office. I did a bit of this and that, replying to Janet related correspondence, and then walked down through Preston Park and had a haircut in town, and then simply walked back again through the cheerful sunny park armed with a chewy brown loaf. In the afternoon I virtuously prepared my accounts for my accountant.Weird how such a simple thing can present such a mental hurdle. Only took a couple of hours or so. Then I went for a short walk in Blaker's Park and nearby streets to make up my ten thousand paces. Much colder now, with the approaching full moon brooding on the horizon, I loped Mr Hyde-like through the streets in my Guernsey jumper. A cozy night in with Lorraine.

A slower start this morning, although we were Face Timed in bed, by Beth who wanted us to get up. Sam and Jade and Sian staying over at Beth's flat. After breakfast,  I walked up to the local co-op at Fiveways to buy some milk and a newspaper for Pat, drizzly when I left, it cleared up in minutes and on my way home, I paused to saunter for a while in Blaker's Park. The bright low sunshine, and fresh air blowing uphill from the sea gave me one of those fleeting, difficult to describe moments of utter happiness. Home saying that it was a glorious day, and after an hour or so Lorraine, Maureen, Pat and I got into the car and drove off to Hove, where we got out for a walk. This walk less well-starred. The sea was an angry khaki and cold stinging rain began as we got out of the car, just as Lorraine was dropping her iPhone and smashing its screen. At the seafront by the huts we came across a dog with a square head, menacing a boy with his father fending it off. It then ran ove...

A happy Monday. I feel as if I have quietly won the pools, not having to schlepp up to London still. Lots to be done. Reworked the Edinburgh script, so as to tweak it for Matt and an Edinburgh audience. Did layouts of adverts and posters and so on. Also went to the gym, and decided that my wellbeing was important. Consciously shunning stress and doing things to promote happiness. Like strolling through the rose garden on the way back from the gym and giving my nose a treat. Chatted to Mum, as I hadn't spoken to her over the weekend and she's fine apart from Salty having been wounded in some kind of difference of opinion with crows, Mum thinks. Later, Lorraine and I watched the dystopian Handmaid's Tale tonight. Quite pleased that things haven't got that bad yet. And we went for a walk in the balmy summer evening together through Blakers Park and streets nearby. Lorraine smelling flowers wherever she goes.

Mason being released back into the wild again today. Spoke to Mum a couple of times, and he arrived  later in the day. Not the challenges are around making sure he is okay in the house. Social services have been in touch, and there will be people to help him get up and bathed and so on for the first days of his return. In harness writing another tranche of the Centaur opera. Trotted slowly along, using the Robert Graves version of the myths as template, a skirmish between Heracles and the Centaurs. Heracles is beastly to them, first stealing their wine then killing lots of them. Listening to Brian Eno's lovely new ambient piece, Reflection , on Spotify during the day. I find Eno an inspiring person altogether, and his ambient stuff is the best thing to work to I know. Reflection is one of his best. I also took three walks to ensure I'd walked my 10k paces. Listening to a 'Great Lives' podcast about C.S. Lewis.  I learned that Tolkien had modelled the way the Ents...

A quiet day pottering about in Kenny towers after the long drive of yesterday. Lorraine and I went for stroll through Blakers's Park and onto the shops to buy some vegetables. Reading and relaxing in the afternoon. I tried several times to come up with a devastating summation of 2016 for my other blog, but failed. In the evening Anton came around and we sat in the kitchen drinking and eating snacks as Lorraine cooked us a rather excellent chicken and ham pie. Also spoke to Mum at this point too. Anton stiff and in pain from time to time after falling down the hill in Stanmer Park while out with Oskar. However after supper, we settled down to play Small World, a board game Anton gave us for Christmas. I found it rather complex, but it was fun and we drank and played this game, where you took on a Tolkeinesque race, such as in my case dwarves and rat people, and they have a variable special powers. Anton very keen on this game indeed. As usual, when the end came and the dust had se...

Working on the play this morning, then doing some work for my French pals in the afternoon. Taking myself for three walks during the day, trying to step up the amount of exercise I am getting and refresh myself from being manacled onto my desk. In one I bumped into Simon Bottrell, and arranged to meet up next week. In others I walked through woods. In a good frame of mind at the moment. Below a glimpse of sea beyond Blaker's Park.

Working for the agency again, including the obligatory urgent work after you've packed up for the day. But had a little time off this afternoon and was able to speak to Mum, who had thought today was Thursday and gone into central London for her dental appointment only to find she was a day early. Went for an extra-long circular walk just after lunch, listing to various improving podcasts, buying a few vegetables. I would be more worried about my life shrinking into these little circles, but I know I will have the opportunity to stretch out again. Half the joy of owning a dog must be in walking it. I see other people walking in circles, but some of them are attached to lead. I thought of Richard who had until recently had walked Rufus and Holly. Walking as a solitary human must be strange if you're used to being part of a pack. Lorraine looking forward to half-term next week to regroup from the onslaught. I cooked her chicken noodles. Below two interludes of light. One out...

Monday and blearily awake early, the house rattling in the teeth of storm Imogen. I like the fact they have names. A house along the coast had its roof blown off. I went for several walks just around the block. I have a little circular route, through Blakers park and around the streets. A few small branches among the debris, and the rattle and boom of the area's empty wheeled rubbish bins falling over every now and then. I pulled one that had just blown into the centre of the road. Occasional stinging rain. If I'd had more time I would have ventured down to the sea.These circular walks interludes in a day of agency work. Listening to an interview with John Irving, author of A Prayer for Owen Meany which is a wonderful book. I cooked a curry, which we ate when Lorraine got home. Evening spent carrying things again, moving furniture about in the house, and trying and failing to fit bits Tetris-like into Beth's room. Watched the first of a brand new series of The X-Files ,...

Lorraine and I up early to eat healthy porridge, Lorraine off for her final morning of work, and I went to my study to complete the last smidge of freelance work as well as returning my signed tax form to Andrew. The last bit of worky work I am going to do till the new year, God willing. A few muffled yippees in the Peter Kenny The Writer Ltd. nerve centre at this point. Beth and John up later, and Beth cooked me a hobbit's second breakfast of a bacon sandwich. Jade and Sam got up later still. I walked to the post office and, having posted my tax stuff off, stood on top of Blakers Park looking down at the pencil grey sea and feeling a lovely moment of freedom. Fond farewells to Sam and Jade, and to Beth who were all travelling to London. I waited with them outside as they smoked cigarettes waiting for the taxi. The rain starting with gusto as they clambered in. Calliope bolted through the open door in a willful show of independence but then bolted back chastened by the weather....

Up early and working through a list of stuff. Returned to the criminals at HSBC with some identification, which was graciously accepted. My list also included me getting in touch with my old friend Mario Petrucci, with whom I had a conversation. I happened to be in the gym changing room at the time, the only place I could get any reception. Stood about for some half an hour there discussing the virtues of modernism, and other poetry, while being eyed uncertainly by the blokes in the changing room.  I also wrote to Pascale Petite, of whom I am a fanboy. Good to be back in the gym, not that I'm doing too much other than a bit of trundling on the cross trainer. I need it, as I am on the fat end of my usual fat spectrum. Enjoying the longer walk to and from the gym across Preston Park. Sonia here today, assuring me that I won't have to live in this house forever because it has too many stairs, and that I could have got a nice place if we hadn't insisted on Brighton. Sonia...