under another sun

 Mum received another call this morning, but simply put the phone down. Bastards.  A day at home, for Lorraine and me. I had a brief saunter to the shops and then along by the sea. Quite nippy. Off to Needlewriters in the evening. Met Robin at Lewes Station. Clare Best and Jeremy reading tonight, along with another poet called Pratiba Castle, whose work was fine but not for me as I am learning to say these days. Clare on good form, reading her excellent poetry in an excellent fashion. Jeremy reading some prose from his London Calling book, which I liked quite a bit when it was published a few years ago. Of my poet friends, there were Stephen, Charlotte, Janet, Catherine Smith and others. Also Callum was there sitting next to me. He had just been to see Will and I arranged to go with him next time. Will is now in Lewes. A cheery interlude, but I made off home quite quickly, partly to be at home with Lorraine and watch The Traitors again.  Callum gave me and Robin a lift t...

Lorraine going to her personal trainer, then off to see Pat and Maureen. I was late leaving home, my disorganisation, and the general upsidedownness of the house during decoration not helping. On the train faffing about taking calls about a freelance job, while having to move away from two Bulgarians who were sat opposite each other were talk so loudly that when I moved, I could still hear them from the far end of the coach. A pleasant journey. Really warm pleasant day, though around Elstree there were autumnal leaves, and I pocketed a conker. Arrived late to meet Mum and Mas at The Waggon and Horses, already in its halloween array, and Mum was sat in front of fake spiderweb with quite realistic spiders. The window too had a transfer on it, that made it seem that bloody hands were pressed against it. Nice to see them. Mas, however, listing to starboard due to a back problem. Followed Mason's recommendation and had an excellent Caesar salad there. Fond farewells, and I walked back t...

Recommenced my statins last night, and despite feeling sluggish this morning, felt okay as the day progressed. Lorraine was up early and brought me a lovely cup of tea in bed, at 7:30 which was marvellous.  Slogged all day with Keith, except for a meeting with Gabriel. My weird lethargy seems to be abating a bit, and I felt a bit more functional today. Meditated with Lorraine at lunchtime. After I was done with work late in the afternoon, I mooched out into the garden and did yard work for a couple of hours, things like cleaning the barbecue, and sweeping the patio, and stripping off bits of lavender to create cuttings, and pulling off bindweed, feeding the fish and so on.  Clare Best asked me to be MC at her London book launch reading, which was very flattering. Lovely healthy salad again tonight, including Kenny farm cucumbers. I went for a walk after dinner and made a disastrous choice of walking alongside a field, a walk I had done two or three times earlier in the year. N...

A poor night's sleep. I have been waking up really early recently, and when the cats spot I'm awake they make sure they keep me that way. Made tea and woke Lorraine up -- and eventually we sprang out of bed at nine. As we were preparing breakfast a delivery woman arrived with a box of live bees. However it seems there is a Salisbury Road in Eastbourne too and she had to reluctantly -- as she seemed rather nervous of them -- take them away again. I had a virtual coffee with Keith at ten. Freelance offers are few this month. He is a bit twitchy about it what  with inflation and the country going to the dogs and so on. Then I wrote the blurb for the podcast and a few last minute tweaks. Lorraine downstairs working on the sewing machine to help Beth with a job. After this for the next two or three hours I wheelbarrowed most of the second tonne of earth from the drive round the side of the house to the second raised bed. A windy and overcast day, but I finished listening to The New ...

Recording with Robin all the bits and bobs of the Clare Best episode this morning, and then editing for much of the day and feeling slightly under the cosh getting it all ready. Lorraine off to her personal trainer this lunchtime, and I mooched off to the gym for an interlude of fitness. Lovely day, and I went at it all a bit too enthusiastically. The stomach at the moment is very disappointing. Still it was good to be doing stuff. Home and more editing until I was able to send the first draft of the episode off to Robin -- who emailed to say she could see a few bits that needed tweaking.  You always get to that point where you can't hear the leaves from the air. A quick chat with Beth, who popped in today to see Lorraine and do a spot of shopping. Also received a beautifully bound hardback book today of Richard's selected poems. 

Up just me and the cats as Lorraine was in Ashford with Maureen and Pat. The main business of the morning was recording an interview with Clare Best... However Clare and I could see one another, but as soon as I clicked record,  Clare's sound died, making it impossible to record. Tried to find workarounds for 40 mins until we gave up. We will have another attempt tomorrow and she will use another computer. I emailed Squadcast to ask for advice and keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow. Only connect... As E.M. Forster said. At lunchtime I took a brief from my old pals in Paris and did this in the afternoon. Lorraine home this evening around eight. All well.  

Lorraine up and off to work before the sparrows. An anxious start to the day, with Lorraine being messaged extremely early about staff needing covid tests. Left me finding it hard to concentrate on brainwork. I used the morning to hoover and mop the kitchen floor, do some laundry and so on. If in doubt, tidy up. I also made a covid contingency plan with Robin about the podcast, should one of us get the lurgy. Nice comments from Mario and Clare Best and Charlotte about this week's podcast. Listening to the Cooper Clarke book, while on my stomp, an interlude of him monkey-sitting for a cafe owning acquaintance in Amsterdam made me laugh aloud.   Anton on a post work exercise walk, dropped off half of one of his cheesecakes and we had a chat, with him standing out in the street and me at my door. I was set up an interview with Charlotte for next week. and chatted to mum while I was chopping root vegetables for a turkey stew.  Lorraine home at last, late and having had do deal wit...

Lorraine woke up sniffing and coughing, and I snuck down and made breakfast of bacon and egg sandwiches with a side dish of tea and paracetamols. Up ridiculously late, and Lorraine simply transferred onto the gold sofa. I took the opportunity to have a gold sofa day too, and finished Clare Best's The Missing List , which is a fine, if harrowing, memoir of having survived sexual abuse as a child from her father, and then having to be with him in his last, unrepentant, days. Lorraine rallied briefly and magnificently to cook shepherd's pie, and apple pie before returning to the  gold sofa, and then bed. I watched Match of the Day alone, with Chelsea's team of inspiring youngsters back on a winning streak. Then I slipped off to bed. Below, a picture of Brian for no good reason.

Rather pleased with myself today, as I woke up feeling brighter than I had done all week, and simply used that positivity, after a conversation with Beth about prevarication, to sort out the stuff I need to send to my accountant. In fact I finished this early in the afternoon, and after chatting to Sonia on a range of philosophical subjects, went for a walk in the fleeting bits of sunshine we have been having. Still rather bushed and weary, however, so did not stray too far. Went into a cafe, and had a piece of carrot cake and coffee to reward myself for my efforts and began to read The Missing List by Clare Best, a memoir about child abuse. I found I was sitting next to Philippa from next door, so we chatted briefly, but she had snuck away to do some work, so I did not interrupt her too much. Lorraine home, frazzled after the week. We met Beth in the Open House for a bite to eat, and all in a fairly cheerful mood played cards there and had a few drinks. Home, and to bed exhausted,...

Up early, with Lorraine, who scuttled off early. Beth off for another day of flat clearing. I worked quietly in the morning, and then went to the gym. Did my usual round of lightish weights and then started on the cross trainer. After about four minutes stabbing chest pains began, which I put down to indigestion. After a few minutes of this I made myself rather alarmed, to the extent I climbed off the cross trainer and mooched towards my doctor's surgery which, now it has moved happens to be across the road. However by the time I got near its door I was fine, and then burped, curing everything. I went straight back to the gym feeling sheepish, and picked up where I left off.  Lorraine home a bit early today, and we had a nice chat before I travelled to Lewes on a windy night to the needle makers reading. There were four readers among them Clare Best, and Robert Hamberger, both of whom were excellent. Another chap read prose, and there was a woman reading the sort of poems I find...

Felt  cheerful this morning still. Up and doing stuff of one kind or another. Even getting a cut and paste book rejection (from the large agent I sent the children's book to yesterday) didn't phase me. I think they were just bouncing that kind of book at the moment. Resilience. Put a chicken in the oven, and waited till Lorraine had got home, (Dawn was staying the night) before boofing off to Lewes to the John Harvey Tavern to a Needlewriters event to hear three poets: Jeremy Page, Mark Urbanowicz and Robert Seatter. Enjoyed the readings. Robert's was from The Book of Snow , a beautifully produced book mostly about snow and paper. He read very well too, so I bought the book. Jeremy read a short story which was quite funny, and about life on campus. I noticed a woman in the audience who I thought looked just like Caroline Lucas who, when she left, turned out to have been Caroline Lucas. Also enjoyed hanging out with my poet pals in general, and Robin, Sarah, Stephen ...

Colder today, and my cold back with renewed vigour, a hacking cough and streaming. However things improved as the day wore on.  Again the Kenny brain veering off in many directions, except, of course, the one I wanted it to. However I sent off the long (95) lines poem I've been working on for ages to Long Poem Magazine. I've been flip flopping between titles for it, but finally settled on The Slow Tsunami . This is all part of my policy of getting everything out there. Beth got let go from her telemarketing job, as the part of the biz she was working on was no longer profitable. Apparently they did it nicely. Luckily Beth doesn't have all her eggs in one basket, and I was positive with her about getting something new. It was dead convenient though, just being on the other side of the park, part time and flexible so she was a bit down. I had a cheery evening however. Went to Charlotte's book launch at a room in the John Harvey Tavern, just across the river from the H...

Another day of bits and pieces. Up early and working. Then at lunchtime off to meet Simon at the PPT to find out what he's been doing since we worked together some years ago with the Cat With The Hat. One of the things he is doing is making really interesting designs from recycled wood and other materials, and old prints. Nice to catch up with him. Then home to sprawl on the sofa for a fast doze before heading off to Lewes. Beth and the others kicking off on rehearsing We Three Kings tonight too, which was good to know. Luckily an easy journey to the Lewes Arms, given it was a strike day on Southern Fail again. I arrived early and had a drink with Siegfried and his dad Adrian, who were already there. Jess and Robin turned up soon after, and then the place filled up nicely. Most importantly for me was that Lorraine came too, and having her there was top. A really excellent night. I did some of the introductions, shared with Sarah Barnsley, and I made people laugh introducing my...

Lorraine brought up tea and porridge for us first thing this morning. Then having got up I made Giannis more eggs and B. Not sure if he wanted them, but I forced them on him anyway. Much of the day devoted to driving myself quietly mad and going around in circles in the work I am doing. Went for a bit of a walk at lunchtime, which I thought might help. Returned to go around in circles in the afternoon to the point where I felt like pulling my hair out. Decided at the end of the day I was going to take a break from it, as the woods/trees conundrum was proving far too difficult. Walked down to the Red Roaster in the evening and watched some poets reading. Clare Best launching a small 'almost' pamphlet with a few illustrations by Michaela Ridgeway was the highlight for me. Still, nice to see some of the Lewes poetic posse of Robin, Charlotte, Clare, Stephen Bone and Catherine Smith and other poetic folks in attendance, and I had a nice chat with Marion Tracy, who I'd not p...

Spent some of the day getting my poetical ducks aligned before the Telltale poets and friends reading in Lewes tonight, which was a success despite a derailment at Brighton station during the day which made travel really hard along the south coast. Robin and I swapping emails and I phoned Robin to tell her about the travel chaos.  One of the readers dropped out at the last minute, but luckily Siegfried was coming, so we got him to do a reading. Lorraine drove over. Beth came too having been working in Eastbourne. Beth enjoyed herself mingling with poets, and I was really touched that she came. She also took photos which was excellent. Found Robin already there and Lorraine Robin and I shuffled the room around for a bit, and I drank a pint of Harveys and ate some chips in preparation. For me it was an opportunity to meet more poets such as Martin Malone editor of Interpreter's House, really likeable man and a really good reader. Helen Fletcher had come all the way from Carlisle,...