under another sun

Lorraine back into her usual routine of getting up at 6:30. My betrothed brings me a cup of tea, though, which makes it marvellous. A good day's writing, a quick go at reworking the lost poem that I deleted on the train at St Pancras last month, then writing about the notion of Adland, and on marketing charities. Feeling that progress is being made and that left to my own devices I might actually finish this thing. Broke off to go to LA Fitness, my gym for an hour or so, chatting to Mum and Mas as I walked there. At the gym, they have unbelievably still not fixed the air conditioning problem. I am having a problem too. I am losing weight everywhere, but my stomach is lagging behind or should that be lagging in front, of the rest. I have to be more fanatical, and shun beers and smiling and do more sit-ups. A spot of shopping noticing the sea mist thick down by the sea, before returning home to sunlight and to reapply the desk manacles. Lorraine came home this afternoon and we we...

Whizzing about today. Lorraine having a girly shopping day with Dawn. I kicked off with a bit of writing, then to the gym where it was incredibly hot and airless. I felt for the poor guy recovering from a stroke, his wife helping him to clamber onto various machines in the humid heat. I sweated more than I have sweated in my entire life. I spoke to the people in LA fitness about it, but they said the a/c is not working. Home, a much needed shower, then off to see Janet and Ken, and drink tea and snaffle biscuits. Ken has lost some weight and is looking quite trim. Janet fine too, and still managing to press on with her artistic pursuits in fabrics, and collaborations with Huss. Then to the printers to pick up our wedding invites, then home to have a meeting with the estate agent who is selling The Old Church Hall. Weasel. This done, a quick supper before going to the Battle of Trafalgar to meet the charming young couple who are buying the place in the Twitten.  All fine there. ...

A cold shower and a happy day Up with the sparrows to work on my Pooran Desai piece. Though the sparrows contributed little. Then, after a long chat with Lorraine, got a grip on about fifty things whirling around my brain and produced three mindmaps. These instantly decluttered my head, leaving me feeling calm, in control, and clear. Lorraine has taught me in the last few weeks that when you create a to do list, put everything in the past tense. So it would be something like "established a target figure for income" or "finished laundry". Somehow it really works. After all this worthy stuff, a very chilled day indeed. A phone call or two re cats. But no luck. Perhaps I should be new age about this. I have asked the universe for a cat, and simply believe that one will manifest itself. Went walkabout in a sunny Brighton, pausing to pick up a book for Anton by famous cartoonist Gilbert Shelton (of Furry Freak Brothers fame) who was doing a personal signing session in Da...

Interrupted by pie and thunder Thunder woke me, so up early and began straight away working on my poems in the light of yesterday's conversation - and seeing some instant improvements. What is slightly maddening is that several of them are reverting to how they were a while ago. There is a lesson in this, and I hope I am learning it. But thanks to Brendan a short collection of about 22 poems has suddenly revealed itself. At 10 I went off to LA Fitness and had a swim in the empty pool. I was reminded of the Westworld movie - with the gym being populated by a few unspeaking automata - but maybe that's just Sunday Morning. Something cold about this, but I prefer it to the thrashing about and child dodging of the public pool. Then a mooch in the damp flea market by the station but, apart from two sweetcorn cobs, nothing took my fancy. So I returned home for a very sensible lunch of brown rice, fish, veggies and a glass of sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon, and was just se...

The looming of cats Woke at five with a hangover, which was entirely Anton's fault. Got up groggily and blundered on with my Skelton Yawngrave business for several hours and then spoke to Mum. In the afternoon went to the local gym called LA Fitness, and have booked an induction meeting tomorrow. Home, and I spent much time cleaning my bathroom, as if by cleaning external things I could purify myself. Grey sunless day. What an appalling country this is. Looked at cats on websites. I am edging closer to getting one, although it seems these days you have to go through all kinds of hoops before you can have a cat. Some cat adoption places come around to your house to make sure you don't have cat fur cushions, or that you've not secretly got three or four pitbull terriers with cat issues. I am thinking I should get a kitten so that it won't always be looking at me accusingly and comparing me to its previous owner. A quiet evening in reading, and virtuously sipping green tea...