under another sun

To work, feeling less tired than of late. Poems on the train, then quite a busy morning. Out to a local restaurant with seven others for a curry lunch. Unbelievably slow service. You could feel the space time continuum buckled as we waited and the waiters crept about reluctantly as if we had ruined their day by visiting their restaurant. Outside a gale blowing through London again, and it was blowing the sign outside the shop down, and straining the trees and pedestrians leant into it like cartoon people. I sat opposite Matt and next to Pat, and had good fun. In the evening, after work was done, I had a couple of the agency’s free Thursday drinks, meeting Matt Hindley again, before setting off with Pat and Clare to The Dog and Duck in Soho. This is a corner pub, much beloved of advertising types. We met  Mark Dawson and Barney there and stood outside in the cold for a while. Clare left after a bit, and it was a night of four writers. Heard the incredible story of Mike Ferg,...

Up to the smoke Crammed in a bit of work for my lovely French client, and received some handy advice from Ash with some top tips today on sourcing a digital printer. Caught a train up to the smoke, and then to Hammersmith. On entering my old agency's doors I bumped into the French Bloke who was also meeting Max and Matty boy, and three of the FB and Max's lovely children, all rather greatly grown up since I last clapped eyes on them. That bouncy Max is looking fab. I went for lunch with Keith in the Distillers, and had a good agency gossip. Bumped into Mike Ferg. I told him he was looking well. He told me I was looking jowly. D'oh. Then off to meet Pat and the French Bloke in their agency for a long chat and a coffee. Was a little early, so lurked about looking at the street Carl used to live in. And took the opportunity to talk to Richard by phone about A Guernsey Double . So nice to talk to Richard as I walked among each chartered street. He'd been going through one o...

Secret champagne Phoned by Pat in the morning to work on a pitch with him and the French bloke starting tomorrow. It seems the Gods of Copy are still taking care of me as this is great timing. Then up to London, phoned on the train to say that my payment timesheets had finally been processed thanks to Al. I suppose I shouldn't complain. I've only been trying to sort it out for five weeks. Into Hammersmith to discover Mike Ferg hiding behind a telephone box on Fulham Palace Road. Turns out he was going to meet Mike (a.k.a the Gnome) this afternoon. I popped into my accountants and found the reason for no contact from them: my accountant is on holiday. Went into my old agency and had a chat with Al and met Christina in reception. There I bumped into Mike Ferg again with Nick, my old boss who have me a hug and told me to come for a drink with them. He is now based in LA and having a fantastic time, having fallen in love with the can-do US mentality. We had a restrained single bee...

The slightly different offices of the future Tales of commuting woe are tedious, especially other people's. Suffice to say that I left home at 7:30 and arrived at the office in Hammersmith at 11:30 rather fancying a cup of tea. In that time I could have made it two thirds of the way to Toronto. Nice to see the white landscape though, and gangs of stumpy snowmen in London parks. The side streets still like ice rinks and at times I was grateful for some railings to cling onto, remembering how Mex broke her leg in just such circumstances. Working with Betsy again. This time it is Multiple Sclerosis, which I don't know much about. Being with Betsy means working in an office right next to my old agency. Betsy's agency want me to work more regularly with them, which of course is good news in these recessionary times. Despite the fact I am itching to get on with Skelton Yawngrave stuff, only a churl or a buffoon would spurn money at a time like this. It does feel weird, and not pa...

Pitching again Was asked to do, at short notice, yet another pitch next week. Tortured poetic soul that I am, I seem to be quite good at pitching for business. Feel like I am making up some lost ground after flaking about being ill in the last few months. Lots of work to do before Wednesday, and I have had to get up to speed with things like carbon footprints, and energy-saving technology. Fortunately the Gnome was on excellent form, while I was somewhat braindead . Saw Sarah after work today in Kew for a long-overdue visit, and a lively conversation and a spicy pizza. Her career is moving in some fascinating new ways, which annoyingly I can't write about. Then, a tiresome schlep to Brighton, and home at last. Best thing this week was that Mike Ferg , an art director at work, who has been having chemotherapy for cancer, had another alarm a couple of weeks ago due to mysterious abscesses in his mouth. Loads of tests and scans followed. We had a game of pool this week and he tol...