under another sun

I spelt fairly well again last night, sleeping most of the night for the first time in a couple of weeks. It is Friday... Keith and I finished one job with Pat and the French Bloke, and Perky today, and will be doing another next week. Everything went well however, and people pleased with what had been done. Lovely to be working with such old pals. Very drained by the end of the day.  After work Lorraine -- who had been heroically sorting stuff out in the house all day, and I hurried off to Trawlers to meet Yvonne and Brian where we had a meal of very nice fish and chips again, but this time with a bottle of beer. Really enjoyed seeing them, and after we paid (some confusion here as I paid for everything and Yvonne assumed I had just paid for Lorraine and I and gave the man some cash who gladly accepted it as a humongous tip.  We walked back to our place, with a woman opening a door of the pub to kiss Brian through it. Brian (and I) were quite tempted to go in, as it look...

Woke up early, and alone, apart from cats. Up and off to Preston Park. A nightmarish journey to Hampton followed. My train was cancelled, then the next one delayed, and standing room only. At Clapham Junction the train to Hampton was cancelled, waited half an hour and so was the next one. A railway employee explained that the trains often simply skip Clapham Junction. Caught a train to Kingston, and then caught a bus. Sitting on the bottom deck I misjudged where I was and leapt out, already half an hour late, and found I had a mile to walk. Seething and wretchedly late by the time I arrived at the agency. It had taken three hours door to door. Once in the agency, all was perfectly pleasant. Nice to see the French Bloke, and Keith, Perky and others. The FB telling me that he had bought himself a plasma cutter recently. Made me laugh that he and I live in such utterly different worlds. A saunter to the bakery with Keith at lunch, and worked happily till it was time to slip off. His ...

Up at six thirty, and off to Hampton. Lorraine had prepared a lovely lunch for me, which I discovered later I had left in the kitchen at home. The office at Preston Park closed, forcing me to buy a day return instead of a weekly pass. There was a ticket inspector on the train, and he told me to get it swapped at Clapham. At Clapham, they couldn't swap it, and to try Victoria. Obviously completely out of my way. Bought a coffee and went to my platform. All trains delayed, then mine cancelled completely. The train only comes once every half an hour. The next one greatly delayed, so that I spent 75 minutes on the platform stressed, and becoming hideously late. Cancellations, we were told, due to 'congestion'. In my ignorance, I had thought the idea of trains was that it eliminated congestion. On the back of waiting for 27 hours for a plane over the weekend, this was really frustrating. Work fine, once I got there. Walked off to Waitrose with Pat, and the French Bloke and P...

A dead to the world six hours of sleep, then set off for London. Felt quite springy and cheery walking down to Preston Park. Up to Clapham Junction, then across the platform for a half hour's ride to Hampton. Good to see old work buddies again, The old French Bloke, happily all stabilised after a heart op, Pat and Perky. Spent all morning discussing the pitch they will make on Friday, and absorbing lots of information about the product related to the microbiome in your gut. At one point I learned about probiotic yoghurts and so on. Apparently very little, if any, of the supposedly good bacteria gets beyond your stomach and survives where it is supposed to do you good. Feeling tired and braindead from time to time. I have barely been home. A quick chat with Mum at lunch, standing by the river. Went to the Jolly Coopers with Pat and Michel at lunch. The FB lately a thoroughly reformed character, drinking soda and lime, which I joined him in. Pat came in a few minutes later and ha...

A poor night's sleep, although it did have a couple strikes of lightning nearby around midnight. Up to Hampton this morning, managed to tweak my back evilly just before I left home, and so spent the day loping unable to straighten my back, which made having to stand in a crowded train all the way to Clapham Junction somewhat tiresome. From Clapham to Hampton, able to sit and listening to The Exorcist. Where I loped along the streets to Pat, the French Bloke and Perky's lovely riverside office. The place full of friends, Keith was there too who came over and gave me a hug, and great to see Max, who was sitting on Michel's desk. Pat and Michel then briefed myself and a designer called Shadric in their new downstairs place, with the river virtually lapping up against it. Shadric is from Brighton, and we spent rest of the day getting to grips with it. We were released back into the wild at around 4:30 and will be working from home on it, and I Shadric and I will work together...

Off to Hampton this morning. A bit of train kerfuffle, trains cancelled and went on autopilot Victoria instead of Clapham, but all was well in the end. Basically spent the day with several of my old muckers. Went to the French Bloke, Perky and Pat's agency in Hampton by the river. Keith was there too, and I shared a desk with him. Briefed on the job by the FB sitting on a bench in the cold looking at the river. Michel interrupting himself by saying Oh look, a grebe!   Walked off to buy a pie with Pat and Keith at lunchtime from a shop in Hampton village. A saunter back. In the afternoon the FB strapped his headphones on and began squeaking his motorbike leather clad leg as he began to listen to some unknown tune. I mentioned to the others that it sounded like a teenager's bedroom, and a few of us snickered somewhat as the FB manfully squeaked on. Everyone left he agency quite early, and Keith gave me a lift to Kew in a nice little MG sports car, we  were laughing like dr...

Typically, the day of the week I had to work in London, was the day Lorraine's chesty cold got the better of her, and she worked from bed all day, getting up to make a delicious chicken and mushroom pie for my return. Also a rather beautiful and warm day. I set off at seven to travel to Hampton, on the Thames, to work for a day with The French Bloke, at the FB and Pat's agency. Pat is on hols in France at the moment, which is why I was needed. Keith was doing a spot of freelance there too, and it was good to see him. The FB and Pat working with John Perkins, another old pal of mine. Their new colleagues Joe and Carolyn too, both really nice. Carolyn grew up in Orkney. Their office is part of an old boat house, and so backs onto the river. A gorgeous view. Underneath them is a loquacious Kiwi artist , and at one point Joe, the FB and I walked down to the steep stairs to the little jetty. This is patrolled by all kinds of water fowl, swans, geese, ducks, cormorants and more. Th...

Listening to Knausgaard, which certainly passes the time. Really enjoying the truthfulness in his writing. It is one of those times when you read something at the right moment for you. I obviously couldn't do any or my work as my MacBook Air is upside down at home drying out, its fate in the balance like the hanged man in the Tarot pack. Clearly I am over-attached to that laptop, but its potential demise simply makes everything difficult. As the fates would have it Keith had been given one at work the previous day, so he had his own and the work one which he doesn't like. I was able to use the work one. We spent the day doing uninspiring things like seeking images on Getty. Lunchtime we went to The Marquis Cornwallis  where we bumped into Slug, and Karam and a couple of others creative chums. Had a single pint with them, then back to the office to brief an illustrator this afternoon. After work, having left Keith to brief the illustrator again, I went back to the same p...