under another sun

A delicious breakfast and a sorting out of the door lock problem had us feeling much happier with our bed and breakfast today. We had planned a rigorous day of fierce gym work, but in the end I felt rather wussy first thing and instead we hired two deckchairs and sat in the sun reading books. I finished Brighton Rock at last. An unpleasant novel in many ways, but very well done. Lorraine reading Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell on Anton's persuasion. I also did some ham fisted sketching. Lunch on the beach before watching the Punch and Judy show in the afternoon. I don't now why I love Punch and Judy so much, but I do.  I like everything about it, the little kids calling up at the puppets, the crocodile and the policeman and the sausages and the mistreated baby and more. All good fun. Home and realised just how much we had been burned by the intermittent English Sun.  Slept for a little before a light supper in Tawny's and a trip to the White Swan, a fairly rubbish pub...

Continuing a little wan after a poor night's sleep. Moused around getting breakfast quietly as Betty was sleeping on the gold sofa having been gripped by tonsillitis. Into the rain and onto the train, where I caught up with some more correspondence. Toby left this morning too, but after me. Work fine despite a patience-draining teleconference. I really have to work at the client is always right thing these days, which used to come naturally. Slipped back out into the rain to score a salad, and then a fairly quiet afternoon, before I came back home, listening again to Brighton Rock. Enjoying this as a novel, if only for its description of 1930s Brighton. Grateful to be home, and needing an early night. The house full of women. As well as my Lorraine, there was Betty still looking pale on the sofa, and Lorraine's niece Claudia on holiday from Finland. I am fond of Claudia. Looking up from researching unfeasibly high heels on L's iPad, she asked us what there was to do in ...

Somewhat tired and wan this morning. Wrote to Richard on the train, and had a full day of writing about things that were complex but uninteresting. Got tetchy with a suit this morning in the office. Had a fairly successful teleconference, bought small amounts of food and longed for home. Talking to a fellow freelancer this morning, who had just burned himself really badly on the steam coming out of the kettle. Turned out that he had broken his back in three places five years ago by coming off a bicycle. There are parts of his body he cannot feel, such as his wrist and feet. He showed me the blister. Nasty. Home listening to Greene's Brighton Rock . Really beginning to enjoy it, and one of the houses Pinky the young villain visits is almost under the shadow of the viaduct. Lorraine had cooked a coconut and fish dish for us this evening, which was delicious. But she got a call from Betty who was sick, and drove off in a mercy dash to collect her from London. Meanwhile Toby an...