under another sun

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. ...

Back to school Up and off to Stanford school this morning. Slightly apprehensive, but once I started to talking to Mark Rodericks beforehand, I felt instantly relaxed. Mark is plainly an outstanding teacher, and he introduced me to the year, putting the whole thing in context. The session lasted an hour in the school gym, and the 90 ten year old kids were excellently behaved. Very much winging it, not knowing what to say particularly, but I outlined life as a writer, and then told them how I got the idea for the story and so on. Some interesting questions from the children. And again, they particularly liked Mum's paintings, and seemed to enjoy the first chapter of the book when I read it to them. They all applauded at the end, and bemusingly, several of the children approached me with scraps of paper so I could autograph them. They persisted, even when I explained again I was not famous, so I gave in and did it. I really hadn't expected that. Home and it was only 12ish, so I ...

Back to school Up early and working on poems today. Making progress on a companion piece to the Vineries one, about the ruined glasshouses still dotted about the island after the tomato industry died. Into Stanford School this afternoon to meet Mark Rodericks and two of his colleagues to discuss Skelton Yawngrave in the school, and we arranged that I am going to do some work there in June, which should be fun. Mark is a really likeable guy and appears excellent at his job. Some interesting feedback from the teachers too who are reading Skelton. The test will be when 90 kids look at it, and I get their feedback. Yikes. Funny how easy it is to get quickly lost in a school, felt quite mazy as Mark walked me through it. He also told me they have a wartime bomb shelter in the grounds, and describing this makes for a great creative writing exercise for the kids. Walked away in teeming rain, and down towards Sainsburys. I found myself near Lorraine's house, and as she was working from hom...