under another sun

In a strange state of mind, very tired and I look haggard, but poems are pouring out of me at the moment. Only time will tell if they are any good. Just had my head down all day.  Preoccupied with Mason at the moment too. Spoke to Mum in the morning and later. Was phoned by the hospital to say Mas was being moved from intensive care. In the evening, a delight, seeing The Shakespeare Heptet playing to a good sized audience, listening in rapt attention at St Mary's Church in Kemptown. Lots of chums in the audience, including Glenn over from Greece, we chatted to him and Steve Cartwright, and Maria-Grazia Richard's wife and Claudius. Lorraine also spreading out on the tables flyers for the Christmas play.  It was very atmospheric, and the band though a bit nervous at first played beautifully. They've also taken to projecting the sonnets onto the wall so you get to really dwell on the poems as you listen to the music.  Then Lorraine and I walked with Steve and Mari...

Tetchily working on various bits of freelance today. Felt like eating bread. Ate bread. Did lots of stuff about Chad. Lorraine home late due to pilates, so I sauntered down to The World's End to watch The Shakespeare Heptet . Sat with Steve Cartwright and Maria Grazia and enjoyed seeing the Shakies do their normal pearls before swine business in the pub. Lots of lovely new music. I had a vision of Richard's material being used as a musical stage play woven around some of the threads that go through the Sonnets. Talked to him about this a bit. Had a nice time catching up with them, chatting to Dipak too. Steve told me how he was responsible for the death of legendary singer songwriter Nick Drake. Apparently Steve was watching him play in Leicester, Drake was the support act and there were few people to see him. Drake mumbled something about one more song and then he's going, and Steve who loved Nick Drake applauded enthusiastically. This was misinterpreted by the fragile D...

Racing the deadline for getting the poems ready for The Nightwork, which meant I spent all morning muttering through them while Lorraine was working at the next desk. Finally, after some big (in terms of the manuscript) decisions, sent them off to Robin. Felt good to have got it done and sent off. I hope Robin likes it.  Both exciting and nerve wracking by turns. Confirmation of more freelancing in London next week, which is good. The Kenny coffers in increasingly good shape. This is directly to do with me buying a new green wallet of course. Otherwise, focused today. Apart from going to the gym, which was a great mind-cleanser and enabled me to be decisive and non stressed when I got home again. A five o'clock snooze that set me up admirably for the weekend. Lorraine and I zipped off in taxi to The Blue Man this evening to see the Shakespeare Heptet. We had been given the wrong time,  early of course, so we popped next door to the noisy rock venue the Hope where we met An...

A pleasant day of diverse activities. Did not spring from bed this morning. Eventually got up and walked to the nearby Japanese shop to buy fixin's for the easy Japanese meal we had selected to cook from Everyday Harumi , by Harumi Kurihara. We bought essentials like Japanese soy, Mirin sauce, konubu seaweed, katsuobushi (flaked of bonito fish)  and some cooking sake from our new friend in the Japanese store. Home and making our basic Ichiban dashi stock, from the konubu  seaweed and the flaked fish filled the room with an unmistakable Japanese aroma, we cooked Japanese rice in this stock (with added soy and Mirin) and followed the recipe and cooked a simple pork and carrot dish to go with it. Lorraine hammering the pork with a rolling pin to tenderise it. Good wholesome grub it was too. Quite enjoyed the seaweed part of the process, which made the seaweed grow mysteriously in the pot. When not doing this Lorraine and I were tidying up and interrogating furniture, in our ...

Up fairly early for breakfast. I sloped off into happily to buy bread and eggs, and Lorraine starting breakfast when I got back. Everyday things like this make me feel very happy for some reason. I must be more of a creature of habit than I think. Betty off to work, slightly under a gloom cloud, and then back to London. Lorraine and I had a unruffled day. Walked into Brighton, bumping into Dipak in the street, and then popped in to see Matt and Irish Tom for a cup of tea and a chat. Bought some sausage rolls from the store below which we ate with Matt who seemed in good spirits having walked for hours this morning in the country, which peaked the Pollard toes Lorraine had treated a few weeks ago. Lorraine and I mooching happily in various shops for a few hours. We had been given quite a few vouchers for our wedding and one or two for Christmas. Could find nothing that demanded buying, other than a book of Japanese cookery that Romy had recommended to Lorraine. Home on the bus. I wa...

Slightly unfocused this morning, and spent some time working on the wrong file. However, eventually made some progress on the book during the day. Lorraine working at home this morning too before heading off to a meeting. I made off to the gym, then to Starbucks where I worked for another couple of hours, despite the attentions of an infernal hell-child banging the back of my chair. Also wrote to Helen in Germany. She and her daughter Katy have translated my Heidegger poem, to be exhibited at the Heidegger Archive to help celebrate the 125th anniversary of the great man's birth. Amazingly kind. Another gorgeous day however. Home for a light salad supper, before Lorraine and I went off to The Eddy, which has now reverting to an earlier name of The Edinburgh (it will always be the Eddy to me), to watch the latest incarnation of The Shakespeare Trio: The Shakespeare Heptet. This evening's configuration included Richard of course, plus Steve Cartwright plucking a banjo, Claudiu...

Into town this morning with Toby and Romy, a last cup of coffee, Romy telling me about some of the weird situations she's faced working for a Canadian bank last year. She deserves her holiday. Then a walk through some Twittens towards home, a quick pack, for Toby and Romy travel light. Fond farewells at Brighton station. Sorry to see them go, but happy in the knowledge I will see them again soon. After cooked a salad based repast for this evening for Lorraine, then off to  The London Unity where I met Steve, Dipak and Richard. It was busy as it was Pemma's last night.  The Shakespeare Trio on first, unusually, and there were loads of acts some rather good. I also did a poem, which I read abysmally. It happens in this venue all the time and feels like a jinx. Good to catch up with the boys though, and the Shakeys played well -- and, Dipak told me, are about to take over the running of these Wednesday night open mic sessions.

Evening in the study Monday and back to the unglamourous business of sorting my business out. I am redefining what it is I actually do and offer the agencies I work with. It seems prudent to focus on what will continue to put bread on the table. Working late tonight and I - finally - noticed the blindingly obvious, which was a relief. In the afternoon I met Dipak in the Marwood for a coffee. I also made time to watch a documentary about Lucien Freud. I have been well aware of his work for decades, I knew little about the back story other than he was the grandson of Sigmund Freud. He was from a Jewish family who were able to leave Germany early in the Nazi period. I think I see the influence of Neue Sachlichkeit art in his work, which wasn't mentioned. Lorraine home late having watched a play Beth was in up in Kingston. Apparently Beth was rather splendid in it, and complimented by one of her sternest tutors afterwards. And so to bed. Looked at facebook to see that Max has (at last...

Poet and Piano Off this morning to Glen's house where Fingers and I got down to business right away rehearsing the new pieces which we are going to play on Saturday. These are Ophelia and Kafka, the second and third parts of "Three Portraits for Poet and Piano". Both short pieces utterly excellent, and Glen and I found our way through them quickly. Met Dipak for coffee this afternoon in the Marwood. Chatting among the eclectic and haphazard decorations and paintings. Often a young clientele so there is a fair degree of sitting about in a cool way which I enjoy observing. Then bits of admin, laying out the programme and all the other stuff that needs to be done. I can't help worrying about snow. I cooked using a Madhur Jaffrey recipe tonight and it turned out rather nice. Very simple. Lorraine and I scoffed it, then played cards and listened to an album by Lamb rather than stare blankly at the goggle box. Went to bed reading R.S. Thomas. What an amazing poet he was. I...

Adminhead Admin will be the thing that pushes me into madness. I'm not a form filler by inclination, but have a conflicting impulse to do things properly. So this morning spent in search of wild geese and ISRC codes. These are codes embedded into tracks of your CD so that in the event of people playing it on radio their usage can be tracked and eventually paid for. To get these codes you have to join the PPL (Phonographic Performance Ltd), joining the PPL was hard, rubbish site, and had to call them. This may be the final piece of the jigsaw. I seem to have spent the last six months doing admin for the house, my business, the CD and it is working my nerve as Americans would say. Meanwhile Matt is busy organising things for the launch concert in February, cat herding musicians and so on. Off to the gym today, making amends for a heavy weekend. Then later I met Dipak for a coffee in the Marwood Cafe and thence to buy a toy truck for Oskar and a make your own perfume game for Klaudia....

Chip Suey My former stepfather Gerald, who has not proactively contacted me in 30 years, sent me a Linked-in request today to join his business network. Didn't see that one coming. A hard to describe off-kilterness to the day. Cold moving onto the chest now. Bah. Working on the mystery prose for a few hours. Then called Janet to find out how she was and have a brief chat about politics and so on. Then into the city abuzz with people who have just been on a protest march through town. Vanloads of policemen to ensure that the lawfully protesting public sector workers: those selfish nurses, teachers, local council workers and so on who are having their pensions reneged on, didn't turn violent. After I met Dipak for a breeze-shooting session at Marwood's cafe. Discussing musician stuff (I'm an impostor) and hearing a rough recording of the Shakespeare's latest sonnet. This followed by a rendezvous with Lorraine at the Twitten to stuff a final box into the boot of the ca...

A walk on the mild side Writhing and itching through the night, due to MSG. However once up began to get things done. Wrote to Simon Scardanelli after agreeing with Matt that the latest mix of the album was the one. Wasted half an hour waiting to talk to someone from the EDF power company. Out at lunchtime to go to the bank and I dropped in to Brighton Museum and Art Gallery to see an exhibition of Ragamalas , Indian miniatures inspired by music. Simply exquisite. Met Dipak this afternoon at Marwood's cafe, where they do - excuse me - a damn fine cup of coffee. We were discussing our CDs and hooking up with the Shakespeare Trio for a performance in February. We ended up going on a long walk, around the pier and then along the coast to the Marina where we stopped for another coffee and a beer and talked for some time in the Weatherspoons pub there, which has big windows overlooking the marina. As Dipak and I talked a murmuration of starlings gathered swooping in the air, as dusk arr...

A monologue Cut myself a little slack. Found things to do that were fun. Got keys cut for the cleaner, caught up with emailing, and in the evening went off to the London Unity where The Shakespeare Trio were playing. I was given a free copy of their excellent CD. Dipak and Richard on fine form, and really touching to see how cheery Dipak got having to sign copies of the CD and knowing that at least one person had come from as far away as Kent to see them. They played wonderfully. Fingers at The London Unity too and arrived with Claudius and a Danish friend called Bo, or certainly a name like Bo which I attempted several times but not to Bo nor Glen's satisfaction. Also chatting to nice speech therapist Pemma who runs the event. I tried out a monologue, but this not very successful as I hadn't completely memorised the words, and the pub was exceedingly noisy by this stage. But it was useful as I think there is the germ of an idea in that monologue that could be the start of some...

Rebalancing No trip to London this morning, but up early. Living with the lovely Lorraine often means a cup of tea first thing which is unutterably fantastic. Finished off a little agency stuff in the morning, and even found half an hour to play with the pastels I'd bought a while ago. I can't seem to write anything of my own though, but it may not be a bad thing to let the field lie fallow for a while, while I continue to blunder through The Cloud of Things That Must Be Done. Seized the opportunity to doze happily dodging the cough which seems to be returning. Also had a chat with Mum who was talking about flat wooden cats which she has been making, but is growing bored with. Cooked a large vegetarian chilli and basmati rice. Lorraine has a slightly OCD way of cooking basmati which I am trying to learn, though until now I always considered I have cooked rice perfectly well. Lorraine explained that I had left the lid on the rice as it was being brought to the boil, which is t...

Sonneteers Another very broken night's sleep full of crazily violent and horrific dreams, leaving me feeling wan and tired. What is my subconscious trying to tell me? Otherwise a quiet day working steadily on the new Skelton story. Off in the evening to the Marlborough to see Richard and Dipak playing thier Shakespearean sonnets set to music. Absolutely wonderful stuff, with today's selections hard to describe, a sort of timelessly beautiful music with hints of English folk, blues and bluegrass in it. Over a beer with Richard afterwards went into a technical description about playing with firsts and fourths and so on, which I didn't really understand. They really impressed me tonight though. Steve was there too. Increasingly liking him, and he liked the lyrics I sent him, as I had wondered afterwards if he would have considered me a bit mad, sending him lyrics before seven the morning after a casual pub chat. Below Richard and Dipak sitting in at the Marlborough Theatre o...

Shakespeare by stealth Very happy to hear Mum's recent tests are all clear again. Chatted to her and Mason. Pleased to say that I am getting over my man cold, and got on with stuff, including phoning David at the Marlborough Theatre to discuss Wrong. In the evening, by coincidence, off to the bard downstairs at the Marlborough to see Richard Gibson and his pal Dipak play four of the Shakespeare's sonnets he has put to music. Richard has a policy of not mentioning that his lyricist is the Bard for reasons best known to himself. But they were well played and rather good. However in the pub environment they were essentially just background music, which was a shame. As soon as he was done Richard wanted to leave, so we abandoned Dipak and popped into the Evening Star after walking across town for a chat about it all. Interesting. Below Richard (left) and Dipak at their stealthy business.