under another sun

Still feeling a bit sluggish, but up fairly early and fiddling about with some of my writing with a view to sending off some poems before the end of the month. Chatting with Mum too. Lorraine on the epic job of repotting the bazillion indoor plants in the kitchen. A stormy day, with high winds and rain.  In the afternoon, I caught the train to Brighton. The sea, seen over The Salts, full of big white waves, which crashed on the shore. The lighthouse at Newhaven as ever, dramatic with big waves breaking on it. To Brighton then, and I met Anton in The Evening Star. Seems ages since I saw him last, had a few beers,  lots of chat, and a few games of bones. His work has been draining to say the least. I told him about the funeral and so on. It's good to have a beer about such things. Despite its reputation as a 'sausage bar' (a bar that blokes go to and not women) we had to leave as there was a noisy hen party on the table next door. Then to the Batty, which has a new owner. The...

Podcast upload day. Listened to the episode first thing this morning, and made a couple of last minute tweaks before Robin uploaded it and I wrote the blurb. Also, happily, I secured my next guest. Sarah called around to see Lorraine and have a spot of lunch. She brought a pot of sweet peas with her. Lorraine loving showing her around the garden. Sarah, whose koi have bred, suggested there was too much weed in our fish pond, so I will remove even more. Lorraine's Bolney friends are proving to be trusty mates even now Lorraine is no longer the village head teacher. Lorraine spent some of the evening cooking in preparation for going to Ashford. I however, slipped off to Brighton, where I met Anton at the station, he having just returned from a work trip to Leamington Spa. Turns out that at lunch he had gone to a pub that I am fairly certain was once The Commonwealth Club -- where I did my first ever poetry reading just shy of 41 years ago.  Good to catch up. Anton had been on work re...

Lorraine and I doing a bit of planting in the front garden, two rose bushes, pyrocantha (orange glow) and a chaenomeles aka the Japanese quince. This done, along with a spot of business admin, I kissed Mrs Kenny goodbye and trained off to Brighton to meet Anton, walk over the hill down to the sea at Hove and play boules in the stiff chilly wind, which was great fun. Anton still frenzied at work, and had to break off a couple of times to send emails. We played three games of boules. Anton won the first two easily, but I managed to last to save face.  Then in search of warmth and a pub. Several of them, even on a Friday afternoon, not open till four. We had a bite to eat in The Hampton, and then walked back to Anton's to drop off the boules. Ambled past a few closed pubs, until we popped into the Batty, which was open and very full with dutch people. The Batty was serving Brains SA on tap, a beer from Cardiff that my old mate Simon used to go on about when we were at university. I dr...