under another sun

Off to London today, finishing Jeremy Page's book of short stories,  London Calling on the way there. I loved it, and as Jeremy is about my age, (and had gone to Warwick too) I completely identified with some of his work. I sent him an email saying how much I'd enjoyed it. Also enjoying Louise Tondeur's collection,  Unusual Places which I dip into from time to time. I arrived at Victoria time to to pop into Tate Britain, where I at last got to use my membership card again. I glanced around at the Edward Burne-Jones exhibition, but I found I wasn't much in the mood for pre-Raphaelite malarkey. I went into the Turner Prize 2018, each of the artist doing a video installation, so utterly the wrong thing to pop into for a cheeky twenty minutes. I did get a proper laugh at some work by Charlotte Prodger, film of a stern of a ship at sea which made you feel woozy, looking at the sliding horizon. Suddenly there was voiceover, but so risibly pretentious that it made me burst...

The heatwave returning. Sam and Jade sleeping peacefully when I left for London today to meet Toby and Mum, where we met in the Dillon's cafe at Waterstones, near UCL, and the bookshop I sometimes pop to when working in Tavistock Square. Nice to get together with Mum and Toby, as these days we usually only get to all be together once a year, when Toby comes over. Having met up in the cafe, we made our way around the corner to The Petrie Museum of Ancient Egyptian Archeology , which I had never even heard about, despite working in that area on and off for years. Amazing stuff. Both Mum and Toby had been there before, but perhaps it was having two coffees before hand, I was mind-boggled by the antiquity of some of the objects, such as the  black topped pots , which were getting on for  seven thousand years old. We spent a surprisingly long time lost among the artefacts of Ancient Egypt, pointing out bits of interesting things to one another. Some of the jewellery, and fragmen...

Dry toast this morning, and feeling queasy and tired.  Lorraine drove me down to the station.  The train broke down half in and half out of Blackfriars station, something wrong with the doors or brakes or something. Amazing how long it takes for a train to empty out when only one set of doors is open. More than twenty minutes. Almost half an hour late to work, walking there in the rain. A strange day, with the most excruciatingly badly organised teleconference with people in New York that I have ever been a party to. Managed to leave early, however after missing the early train. The sound of a helicopters outside. As this afternoon a lone madman had driven into people crossing Westminster Bridge, and killed a policeman just inside the houses of Parliament. He was shot dead.  Now I'm writing this at the end of the day, it seems that five people are dead and 40 were injured. Dreadful stuff. The next train was cancelled. I took another train but this was delayed blah, bl...

Up at the, for me, disconcertingly early time of 6:50am. Off to the station in the cool morning. And up to Victoria, doing some thinking about poetry on my laptop. Working on my poems on the train. Another lovely bright cool morning, and I quite enjoyed strolling through the centre of London first thing. Work was fine, on day two people deciding to talk to me and be friendly. The work I've done so far seeming to go down very well too, which makes things more relaxing. Another quick stroll through central London, passing the doors of The Salisbury without being drawn in. Home easily and early, and Lorraine had just been shopping. We ate trout and salad and new potatoes and all was well with the world. Starting a new freelance job on a three day week rather big and clever. I have however more work to do over the weekend, not only on my projects but on a pig diseases brief I have picked up. Since I have bought my new lucky green wallet I am on a baleen whale mission for a bit, to ...

Calliope waking me from about 5:30 this morning, something I did not miss in La Barbarie. Despite having not to be up in London till 11 I got up at a sedate seven under The Cloud of Things That Must Be Done but my desktop decided not to work after an update, so this flying start was wasted. Off to the Smoke doing some work on the train, and found the new agency. All okay, and an interesting project, the commercially sensitive details of which I cannot go into here. Off at lunchtime and found myself walking along Long Acre near Covent Garden thinking that this time yesterday I was walking on the Icart Road with Lorraine and Mum. I closed my eyes and could still picture it. A beautiful day though. I spoke briefly to Mum and Mas as I mooched along eating a salmon and cucumber sandwich. A slightly lonely day, being the newbie and knowing nobody. Some stir in the office when people spotted a couple making love in a room in the building opposite. Home again, walking though London and dow...

Up before the sparrows and off to Victoria, a bus from there to an agency I haven't worked with before near Goodge Street tube. Feeling a bit run down having had a stomach upset for the last couple of days. However London looking rather lovely from a bus top. A couple of old faces I knew from former agencies, and was greeted nicely. A long-seeming day battling with tiredness. Snuck off at lunch to buy a book of plays by Ionesco by way of being in a quiet atmosphere. Caught a bus to Victoria, which went down Oxford Street. The chief decoration this year seems to be hundreds of silver globes in the air. Some of the window displays remarkable.  Listening to the very short audiobook A grief observed, by C.S.Lewis. Some fine writing in it, although I don't share his orientations. Home after eight, and Lorraine training governors on school data tonight. Spoke to mum, the heated up a  bowl of bean jar and felt pretty good about it. Lorraine home and fed the same. Both tired and r...

Weirdly woozy start to the day. Awake early, snuffly with a slight cold, and a weird ear thing that made things spin a bit if I turned my head too fast. The train ride particularly beautiful this morning, with the low bright Autumn sun picking out things I'd never noticed before: the fat white gable end of a new house, like a Paul Klee arrow in the jumble of South London, pointing up to a big blue sky; a building with trees on the roof; the patterns of crisscrossing cranes. Building work in central London seems to have kept going apace during the recession. At St Pancras I noticed four or five bunches of flowers and a framed photo outside a construction site which marked the death of a young construction worker. Work better, sat with Pat this morning working on concepts for a premature ejaculation pitch going on in Australia. Had fun coming up with some puntastic concepts and ideas. And the afternoon devoted to updating four similar documents with lots of small changes. After wor...

Up several times in the night to drink water, felt rather sweaty,wan and hungover this morning. Had arranged to spend the day with Anton, as a pre-wedding treat. Got out of bed and made L and I Quorn sausage sandwiches, only to learn that Anton was waiting for me at the station. He had texted me the details a couple of days ago, but they simply had not shown up on my phone, and in replying to a later text he thought I had got the previous one. Up hastily then and rushed off to the station, where Anton and I caught a train to London Bridge. Tubed up to Baker Street and walked to The Marylebone , where Anton ordered us two Bloody Marys - a famed hangover cure. It contained chilli flavoured vodka, tomato juice, drips of Tabasco, and a fair amount of horseradish, topped off with a dusting of black pepper and a cocktail stick with a cherry tomato on it, and a small ball of Mozzarella cheese. Absolutely delicious and made me feel somewhat Bertie Woosterish having this bracing pick me up. ...

A splash of colour Lorraine and I took a holiday today, a day trip up to the smoke, and actually the first time we've ever been to central London together. I decided we should go to the Courtauld Gallery , which for some reason I had never visited. Simply a brilliant collection, in what was for me a perfectly-sized gallery, where you can have a really good look at most of its contents in a few hours. Nourished by a bowl of soup and a coffee in the cafe. It has a wide range of work from Renaissance to contemporary, but its fabulous impressionism collection is the jewel in its crown. There was Monet, Renoir, Seurat and Gauguin, van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, Manet’s great last painting A Bar at the Folies-Bergère plus several works by Cézanne. Found myself unexpectedly falling in love with Two Dancers on a Stage by Degas. Very interesting building too and found myself taking a few snaps of its interior. After we wandered through Covent Garden and nearby streets (me feel...

A touch of toe curling London again, this time to Tavistock Square to take a brief on a big copy job. Took the scenic route there, mooching up from Embankment station through central London near Covent Garden, past the British Museum and the Bloomsbury Square. Though cold, I love seeing London scurrying about at the start of another day. And now I don't live in there, I greatly enjoy my visits to central London. The same can't be said of my excursions to Hammersmith, which I have seen enough of to last me through several reincarnations. Said howdy to various chums, including Pat and First Matie. Briefed on the big website job by Ann, a lovely French Sri Lankan girl. I last saw Ann in November, and she had just got married. I bounced in asking how married life was treating her. There was an almost audible curling of toes under nearby desks, as it transpires she is divorcing and moving to Paris. In the evening sloped tiredly to Lorraine's house, fantasising about a curry and...

Through the snowy squares A bad night's sleep, and the alarm going off far too early. Rows of cancellations and delays on the Station's information board. Eventually a train to Victoria arrived and I was able to travel in without being incredibly late. Every person in the train coughing and sneezing, but nice looking out at the white world from the train, and then later walking through the chiaroscuro of snowy London squares. However I was too late and cold to take any photos. A victim of my own speed, I managed to crack the concept I'd been brought in to work on (with a nice Swede called Sven) almost instantly. I am happy to trade a day's pay for not having to commute to London through the snow just before Christmas. After work walked down to Covent Garden, to meet the French clients for a glass of champagne in their small office, as Katharina who I have been dealing with over the last few months is returning to Germany. Alexandra good value as ever, discussing busine...

Blood out of a stone In blinkers on the train and tube, just getting through the day. Up to the smoke again to create concepts for a treatment for conditions such as adult spasticity, with a talkative guy called Ken. Moments of reprieve walking through the graveyard looking at squirrels and orange poppies. Feeling hot and bothered in the office, but fortunately found myself in a small air conditioned room for most of the day, and worked alone in the afternoon. Ideas like blood out of a stone. After work a drink with people from the agency as Andy, a pleasant planner, was leaving. Talked to Keith a bit, and a few others before quickly zooming home, listening as I did to the absolutely bloody final few hours of the Girl who kicked the hornet's nest. Aching ankle and general malaise tonight. Ate fish and chips as I arrived home late, and Lorraine came by to cheer me up, and Mum called to cheer me up too. All well, just suddenly very run down and needing a holiday. The good news is t...

A release of tension Train delays. Into work feeling irritable after what had already proved an almost two and a half our journey. However my working day was fine. Went out at lunchtime and it was sweltering. I did all the work and was left sitting on my hands in the middle of the afternoon and so, and rather amazingly, Keith released me back into the wild at 4:30pm. With all my French work done I was free and zoomed yarping like a seagull back to Brighton. Stepped out of the train, and the sea air a welcome blessing. Decided tonight was a night for A DRINK. After feeding Calliope and attending to one or two bits was soon in The Basketmakers Arms enjoying a refreshing pint of cold lager with Matt and John. From there to meet Lorraine in another pub where she was meeting her pals Jess and Andrew. I like Jess a lot. She teaches children who are severely mentally and physically handicapped, and I am thinking of going in to visit her one time to learn more about what she does. Lorraine and...

Flags in the sun Back up to London today. Still feeling a ropey. However I enjoyed the train ride through the frosty fields. At Victoria I decided to treat myself to a cab to Tavistock Square. A bright morning and the cab took me past Buckingham Palace down the Mall, decked down its length by huge Union and South African Flags for President Jacob Zuma's state visit. The cab twisted round Trafalgar Square, then later by the side of The British Museum. In the winter sun London looks very grand. Once in the office back to the premature ejaculation coalface, rewriting a website about the condition kept me occupied for the day. Ade, a visualiser I've worked with may times was at the agency. Walked back through London in the evening. I'd had to turn some work down this afternoon too, as I am back at this agency next week. All of which is contributing to feeling more optimistic about the wolf/door interface issue. Home and a quick unwinding drink with Lorraine in the Batty, before...

Scampering through the rat race Up to London in the rain, not liking this new spell in the rat race, elbowing my way through the surges of the tube. However after walking through the memento mori of Magravine graveyard towards the monolithic Charing Cross hospital, work itself was fine, and I happily sat about concepting all day with Jerry and David. Spent several hours in an office thinking about gut hormones and looking through the glass wall onto wet rooftops and towards the Hammersmith Ark, one of my favourite buildings. Sloped out to buy humus for lunch and bumped into Matty boy for two seconds, enough time to promise a cheeky lunch with him tomorrow. Left work at a civilised time, listening to The Nightwatch again. So far a downbeat portrait of London in 1947, with a lesbian element. I like it. Had no French work tonight, instead caught part of a Chelsea game on TV. They lost. Then tweaked the splendid Richard's CV for our Guernsey Arts Commission submission. Looking good. ...

All work Up to the smoke this morning again, like some milt bloated salmon seeking the high shallows. Locked in the little capsule of me-space on the train listening to my iPod. Raining most of the day in London. Met a former colleague Jerry and worked with him and another nice art director called David, coming up with lines and concepts. The day ended with a teleconference with Americans in the agency's New York office. Back to the drawing board. However it keeps me in work for another day at least, so mustn't grumble guv'nor. Home on a delayed train at 8:30 listening to my audiobook, The Nightwatch by Sarah Waters. Once home began work on stuff for my French client, done in under an hour. Spoke to Lorraine this evening. Her move seems to be on for next week. I will help her where possible. Calliope bored and tetchy when I got home. Soon to bed after watching some TV I think.

Howdy ho London To London today. The train draggingly slow through the snow-dusted fields to Victoria. I caught up on various podcasts, and yawned a good deal as I had accidentally gone to bed late, and an intruding black cat caused alarms in the night. Calliope, with me following, chased the larger intruder out, the same one she was biffing in the yard recently. I means I will have to put the magnet on Calliope's collar and use the magnetic catflap to exclude intruders. Working today in Hammersmith with Betsy for a specialist healthcare agency. Betsy is an American art director, with a good visual imagination - and we make each other laugh despite working on concepts for a healthcare product that helps to prevent surgical site infections, or SSIs as they are known in the trade. In the afternoon we were joined by Hannah a medical expert writer, who thoughtfully showed us photographs of inflamed surgical site wounds. Betsy was jetlagged, and I was a bit braindead, so it was hard wor...