under another sun

Lorraine working from home today, so a comparative lie in… Getting up at 8 o'clock. Lorraine working on the next desk while I had an excellent day's work on the book, clarifying the introduction and making its argument more rigorous. Quite satisfying and I am beginning to believe that I can actually get the thing finished. L and I received another wedding present from John and Sue, a beautiful hardback copy of The Tower by W.B.Yeats. Not only is Yeats my favourite poet, but the tower in question where Yeats lived, Thoor Ballylee, is close to their property in Ireland where we have been invited to stay. I would love to visit it. Nice to have Lorraine at home, and eat soup with her at lunch and cook in the evening before she went off to the school she is a governor at. I also slipped off this afternoon to visit Janet and Ken. Janet is having a heart check up on Monday, and Ken and I are going to collect her or visit her depending on what action is needed, after she had a bit...

A slow start, feeling coldy and unwilling to spring about with customary sand flea vigour. Instead remained in bed till ten before getting up and going straight out to the bank. Here I paid off Lorraine's mortgage, having paid mine off last week. An amazing feeling to go into a bank sit at a desk, do some simple stuff on a screen and reemerge into the freedom of London Road having purged another tapeworm.  Lorraine and I completely own the Old Church Hall house now, and still have money in the bank for when we choose a new house in the next year or so. Amazingly fortunate. Like Borgs, Lorraine and I are stronger together. Celebrated this transaction with a Danish pastry and a cup of coffee at the Emporium.  Otherwise a restrained and quiet day, with only a limited amount of productivity, plus an afternoon snooze. Listening to Morton Feldman's sublime  Music for piano and string quartet , which Lorraine described as an annoying itch that you can't scratch when I played ...

Working on the book. I'm impatient to finish it, but for some reason it has set its own slow but steady pace. Something in me dies when I have to be methodical. Sloped off to the gym for a brief go on the cross trainer, not much gas in the tank, but it was better than nothing. A sudden nervousness about going into hospital next week, but this passed. Afternoon spent washing my gold sofa covers and clothes, plus more writing. Saw an idea on the internet the other day which has proved an absolute boon. Put a box on your desk if you have a cat. Calliope is constantly interfering with me when I work, and trying to sit on my lap, keyboard etc. Now she just sits in the box. One of  Lorraine's starving days so I readied my kid gloves for she gets tetchy when she is hungry. We ate salad and brown rice and some river cobbler. River cobbler is a kind of Vietnamese catfish suddenly going cheap in Sainsburys. It was smoked and tasted fairly nondescript although Lorraine had been read...

Working steadily on the book, having to consult Matt about musical matters. Quite handy to have an actual composer to consult. His advice led me to investigate more works by Morton Feldman and Frederic Rzewski on Youtube. Interesting stuff and worth dipping into. There is so much great music in the world that rarely gets heard -- and so much godawful gutless pap that gets heard too much. Lorraine working at home this morning and having a technical sounding meeting with her pal Tracey about educational data. I investigated John Cage's 4' 33' ' (the famous silent piece). I love that it is in three parts, each marked Tacet in the score. I sloped off in the afternoon to have a rather good haircut, and to browse in Dave's Comics. I love the graphic novel format, but find Superheroes have a limited appeal. Home in the afternoon and more work on the book. Lorraine had an after hours meeting with the estate agent, and then we shopped efficiently then rounded the week o...