under another sun

Up just in in time for breakfast, after sending off a fast note or two about the pitch next week. The full Guernsey Breakfast exemplary this morning, and set us up nicely for the journey into town where we bought two trident tickets to Herm, and mooched about shopping for sunglasses for me and shorts for Lorraine for the day had turned hot and glorious. Over in the trident sitting up top. Found ourselves near Jenny Kendall Tobias who was talking authoritatively to a woman and her daughter from Brighton about the islands. Chatted to Jenny for a while, who was on holiday with her son camping in Herm for a few days. An enormous cruise liner like a futuristic floating slab on the water mid way. Lorraine had never been to Herm, and I think last time I was there, I went with Dave my Grandfather so it must have been in the 90s. Thankfully it was almost unchanged. Although we were reliably informed by a woman in a shop in St Peter Port that the Mermaid has gone posh, and that there were st...

A day of grinding out the work. Little to report from the day. Cooked healthy food in the evening. More interestingly I listened to Richard on Jenny's show on BBC Guernsey. Richard's on from 02:41.45.  Reading some excellent poems, he is going through a highly productive phase -- long may it last -- and referring in passing to my Napoleon complex. Jenny being lovely as usual. After I listened to it, I called the gem of the sea to chat to Richard and Jane for some time about life, poetry, the splendours of Italy and so on. As soon as I put the phone down, Toby face timed me from Chicago, and showed me around the apartment there, and I looked out of the windows at the Chicago views, and the sun falling through the windows, (talking sotto voce being shown through the bedroom as Romy was asleep) and given some detail about the restaurants and cafes within a stone's throw. FaceTime is a wonder of the new-fangled world.

Richard reading from his new book on Jenny Kendall-Tobias's show on BBC Guernsey . Richard's bit starts at 3:08:50. Naturally, well worth a listen and of course there is great chemistry with the Jenny. Meanwhile the other half of Guernsey's most famous couple, they lovely Jane, is 'being' Camilla again. Have a look at  alisonjackson.com . Scandalous. For me, a decidedly non-showbiz grey and rainy Monday. This week I am writing for a financial client, and am based in Farringdon. I'm sitting opposite Barney, an old colleague. Homeward journey delayed because of a fire scare closing Farringdon station. Despite this, home at a reasonable time, for supper with Lorraine, and now to bed. A smidge of travel chaos.

Heart on a page Working from home today, finishing off a dullish campaign implementation guide. Ordered a new hard drive, contacted the LaCie the manufacturers of my dead hard drive but they propose asking 899 euros for the pleasure of retrieving my data from a hard drive that simply shouldn't have broken in the first place. Salauds . Popped into the Marlborough Theatre to leave some flyers and posters for Betty the Spacegirl. Also looked at rather nice shelves made from recycled scaffolding planks with Lorraine. In other news listened to Richard and JKT do a splendid late show for Radio Devon. Excellent new poetry from Richard, and JKT on top form as always. Richard coming across wonderfully. Here is he is talking about fascination of writing poetry: "...I think the fact that it does require you to sit down with a plain page and put your heart there." Still listenable for a day or so here. Lorraine and I popped into the Basketmakers to meet Cath where the agency called m...

On air with one engine Hung-over this morning. Up and an early breakfast, and gradually got my act together, after a harassing text from Jenny wrote a fast poem to be performed on her show at noon. Having done these and then packed, off to Icârt for a breath of air, chatting to Richard on my mobile in the little windswept lanes. A stunningly beautiful breezy morning, and Icârt looking heavenly. But little time for stopping and staring. Caught a bus into town and slunk into Le Petit Cafe, for another dose of good coffee. Then a cab to the BBC where I sat in reception with the lovely Joan Ozanne. We were soon joined by Richard and Lyndon Queripel. Shuffled into the studio at noon, which was full of sausage rolls and doughnuts brought by the previous guest. A bit of rather crap banter from me, then reading the slightly ghastly poem I'd misguidedly penned this morning, and then I read another person's poem and cleared off. You can hear us here from 2:36 . Then slunk out to be taken...

A perfect day for Vogon poetry Woke to a perfect day. This is my favourite time of year, and today, a sunny October day in Guernsey was a perfect temperature for walking for four hours. (My knee hurty and slightly swollen, but holding up). First I took myself to the graveyard to put some flowers on my Grandparent's grave. After buying some yellow carnations I discovered that the bowl in the gravestone, made out of some sort of metal, had rusted so that the bottom dropped of as I picked it up. Spent some time in the graveyard. I like graveyards, not in a ghoulish way, but they are so peaceful. I shared out some of the flowers to others I knew who are buried there. I walked down to Moulin Huet and took the cliff path. It is difficult to describe just how beautiful this was. The cliffs are reddish in patches where the bracken is turning, and the sea its usual turquoise and Prussian blue, with cloud shadows passing over, a warm sun and a cooling breeze. And as I walked my fingers becam...

Agony The pain in my knee, which had been terrible, turned into a bout of full-blown gout. My foot and knee felt like they were having red hot knitting needles pushed into them without anaesthetic all night. I was almost sobbing with pain at some points. Gout apparently is a genetic predisposition which I was disturbed to find that I have. I occasionally have had an ankle which has mysteriously seized up, which I always referred to as orc foot. I have only ineffectual medication as the condition hasn't done me any harm -- till now. It is treatable, and during the night the certainty of my visiting the doctor to get it sorted was very clear and distinct in my mind. Able to snatch a few hours sleep towards the morning, after the worst of the pain abated. Left hardly able to walk, and feeling depressed and that I had ruined the holiday for myself and Lorraine. I stayed at home all day, resting my leg drinking port wine and eating venison while smoking an opium pipe. However a very nic...

Richard and me with JKT on the BBC After saying a fond farewell to Jane, Richard and I had a slow morning drinking coffee in the Victor Hugo cafe, and reading papers. We had been asked to bring any stories that were interesting to JKT's show in the afternoon. When we arrived we found that there were just us two on the show for two hours, and it turns out we never mentioned the news stories once. Amazing publicity, and really good fun. Turns out Jenny's grandparents were Mr and Mrs Samson who ran the corner shop on the Saints Road where my Grandmother had a part time job, and I was sent to for bits of last minute shopping, and packets of my Grandmother's Du Maurier fags. Really liked Jenny and Richard and I found it easy to chat to her. She asked me to let her know when I was back on the island, and was talking to Richard about being one of her main poetry contacts on the island. Listen to JKT, Richard and me here. Really professional person, who was also great fun. Obvious...

A Guernsey Double launch day Up feeling wretched about the contents page, but there was little time for brooding. Before long Richard and I were climbing into his van and driving off to BBC Guernsey. Jenny Kendall-Tobias was standing in for Jim Cathcart the usual presenter (whose show R and I had been on a while before) and we had a great interview with her. Really liked her. To my surprise she read three poems out from the book herself, and was decidedly moved by them. Of mine she read Clameur , which is a simple exile's poem from the perspective of a Londoner about Guernsey which almost brought her to tears. She was also tearing up reading Richard's poem about Rufus, who is a poorly dog at the moment. Off for a rather-pleased-with-ourselves cup of coffee afterwards, especially as Jenny asked us back to the studio for Tuesday afternoon. Spoke to Mum who had been listening on live stream, who told us we did well. Mums are good things to have. Home, to rearrange my return flight...