under another sun

Shocked to have tea brought to me in bed by Lorraine, who is using the two hour time difference to Greece to her advantage. She had found the purse she had hidden before we had gone away on holiday. It had taken two days of intermittent searching.  I made off to life drawing. We were drawing an older man. I found myself a bit more relaxed about drawing. I realise I've been through a patch of expecting myself to be better, and feeling a bit disappointed. I found I forgot about that, and just got on with it more today, and so I enjoyed it much more. Mellisa says I need to be more fearless in my drawing. She is right. Feeling extremely tired this afternoon. But made off to Brighton, using my free bus pass, to get a haircut. Still outbreaks of flags in Newhaven, and central Seaford. Denton Roundabout which was a nest of flags, now free of them thankfully. They go up, they get taken down.   Stacy in Gandalf mode today, long hair and beard. But did his usual perfectionists job on mi...

A cheery day, though I can't seem to settle to much in the way of writing at the moment. However, my passport was delivered today in record time. Obviously one of the so dark blue it's black UK ones, instead of the EU burgundy. Still mustn't grumble. Lorraine off to Carline for personal training, and then went off to try a spot of Acupuncture. The woman who gave it to her had a lot to say about spleens, and how the spleen doesn't like cold food. Listening to  How To Make Your Brain Your Best Friend , by the neuroscientist Rachel Barr as I walk. It is excellent, clear and and practical.  In Seaford Cemetery I was taking a snap of a path, when a woman driving through, stopped and asked if I was local. I guess she thought I was there to look at the commonwealth graves. I said I was and we had a friendly chat, and told me her family had lived here for years, and there were lots of her family here. Otherwise a lovely walk, a very warm autumn day. I am loving the idea I can ...

A tetchy text from our next door neighbour, who has to wash his cars because of dust from our building work. The same neighbour whose house for the first two years of our stay was a building site, and we politely put up with months of dust, plastic waste, tools, etc coming over the fence, not to mention the constant noise and inconvenience. It made us both very angry.  I consciously had to calm down for the good of my health. He texted a bit later more politely and we replied to that one, deciding like Michelle Obama to go high when they go low.  I wanted to have some morning calm to write in, but I felt to irritable, so after speaking to Mum, I went off for an early walk. Seven miles in total today. I am now on a streak of fifteen days, and in the last seven days have walked over 40 miles. It feels good to be getting back to my old habits, and I am listening to audiobooks as I go, and my knee which had a moment a few months ago is holding up. Still on the biography of Muriel ...

Up and running about tidying as Lorraine baked some courgette bread. Last night she announced that her nursing pals were coming around this morning: Chris, Anne, Chris and her partner Gary. We sat in the garden and I gave them drinks and so on. They made off to Beachy Head to sightsee. Lorraine and I went into  town, a huge swarm of scooters driven by aging mods heading in the same direction, probably inspired by the Quadrophenia film. There was a huge gathering of them in Brighton for the weekend, also marking nostalgia for the days of the Battle of Brighton . Lorraine off to see Pat and Maureen. Maureen had been upset this morning, so Lorraine wanted to spend some time with them. I popped in to see the Seaford Art Club's exhibition. Eileen and Palo on duty, so it was nice to see them both. I then went off on a longish walk. Late afternoon Lorraine and I bussed into Brighton. Along the route an outbreak little St George's Crosses attached to lampposts. Much about this in local...