under another sun

First day of the new year. Lorraine and I woke up feeling clear and sprightly having drunk very little on new years eve. Lorraine and I then did stretches on mats.  Over breakfast, we swapped texts with Anton,  Brian (whose birthday it is today), and Yvonne among other pals.  I went down to the sea at noon, which was almost exactly high tide. The strength of the wind had raised the sea level meaning there was a risk of flooding. The sky was overcast, while the sea was an expanse of rough grey waves and white foam. Clouds of drenching spray rushed inland. All quite invigorating. I took some photos, though my camera lens got quite wet pointing into the wind. Quite pleased to be home and drinking hot coffee not long after. I called Mum, who seemed in good spirits. Then a luxurious afternoon, raining heavily outside, while Lorraine crocheting a small baby hat, after having completed a baby jacket last night.  I finished reading The Sea by John Banville -- a quite brilli...

First day of the year, began in fine style, with a cup of black smoked Japanese tea in bed. Lorraine has embarked, on our behalf, on a gut health twenty days, where we are going to eat lots of different kinds of plants and so on, to reset our gut biomes. We had oyster mushrooms on sourdough toast. Plus what we are calling 'the seeds' Lorraine's custom mix of: flax, hemp and chia, black sesame, dried goji berries, to a bowl of yoghurt sprinkled with oats, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. It all tastes nice and nutty, and certainly, ahem, gets my gut moving.   A certain amount of light pottering about today, a degree of alphabetising of books and so on, and Lorraine making a walnut and treacle tart -- but happiness pervading our Seaford niche. Quite a few messages from friends, and I chatted with Mum and Mas and showed them about the house again. Off in the car, just as it started raining, to drive to Anton's this afternoon for a new year's meal (armed with Lorraine's...

So 2022 then. Lorraine and I found ourselves in Bromyard with Sue and John on the first day of the year. It was also the hottest New Year's Day on record in the UK, around 15C where we were.  Up fairly slowly for a smoked salmon breakfast and then a trip out to Berrington Hall near Leominster. Grounds originally designed by Capability Brown, and a lovely house sat in excellent grounds, with trees planted not in copses but individually and slightly distant from one another. The house inside was okay, but there was one room which I found utterly magical. The dining room, which had been dressed for Christmas with tree branches hung with dried circles of oranges. See below. For me it was worth the whole visit, and put me in mind of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell .     A drive back through a couple of picturesque black and white villages, down lanes strangely busy with bicyclists and horse riders. Hereford is gorgeous even in winter. Home in the afternoon, and after a judi...

New year started at 5am for me, unable to get back to sleep again afterwards, I eventually got up and fed the cats, made tea, and cleaned up Calliope's vomit. Plus ça change. As a consequence felt somewhat wan during the day and slept on the sofa this afternoon. Heard from Robin and we arranged to meet virtually on Monday morning. A day of not going anywhere or doing anything, which was fine by both of us. Spoke to Mum and Mas, and later  Lorraine skyped Sam and Jade and Sian. Then L and I watched Murder on the Orient Express tonight, the version from the seventies, which we both enjoyed. Ate more nut roast, and confined ourselves to a small nip of port in the evening, and drew our curtains on the world. 

Monday 1st January 2018. Lorraine and I spent the day happily sealed in our domestic bubble. Breakfast in bed, and hauling things around in the house, such as the futon from downstairs to the big bedroom, which suddenly made our living room seem large and airy. All this seemed to take up lots of time, but we felt happy with ourselves when it was done. Spoke to Mum on FaceTime, and saw some photos Toby had put on Facebook from his trip to Japan. Blue and crisp skies and scenery, as opposed to the overcast skies and steady rain here. Lorraine coming up with another culinary marvel of a cheesy sauce and pasta. We also played a couple of games of scrabble. In the evening we watched a couple of programmes about the rock group Queen. A happy day, if not terribly eventful, for the first of the year. I am feeling lucky and well disposed to life at the moment. I also had a Proustian moment. I opened a bottle of Greene King IPA, a beer I can't remember drinking before, and as I i...

Traditional start the new year, a run-over somewhat maimed feeling, having drunk a fair amount at Anton's house last night. Got up carefully, fed the cats and returned with a cup of tea for my lovely wife, who being far more sensible than me was in fine form. After weighing myself I forged an iron resolution not to overeat for, due to some species of medical anomaly, I appear to weigh more than two entire kilos more than I did this time yesterday. The day's plan involved picking up Rosie, zooming to Dawn's house for brunch, then galloping about on the Downs. We retrieved a hungover Rosie and Lorraine drove us to Steyning, where the normally bubbly Dawn confessed had consumed two Tuacas and some Prosecco the night before, which for Dawn is a skinful, and so was a tad jaded too, so instead we sat about in Dawn's cottage talking for hours. Dawn administered Berroca, delicious quiche and salad, coffee and prune and banana muffins and delicious squares of chocolate tiffin ...

Fairly fresh and hangover free on the first day of the year, which is always a good thing. A slow start, having had a poor night's sleep due to the pesky trapped nerve in my back. But surprisingly sparkly this morning. Made off to the local shop first thing to buy bacon and eggs, and Lorraine, Toby and I had a cheery breakfast. Meanwhile Beth and her pal Amy stayed in bed all day, eating the Ace pizzas they'd acquired on the way home last night. Phonecalls to a groggy Anton, and Lorraine drove us and Toby down to the sea to meet him, and we had a stroll about along the sea front. Windy, cold and bracing. After mooching about in this for a while, Anton took his hangover home, and we drove back home. Toby and I sat chatting in the kitchen drinking coffee for much of the afternoon. As tea time approached, Betty and Amy emerged from bed.  Toby and I sloped off to meet Anton in the Preston Park Tavern for a cheeky drink. Anton arrived sporting his Russian hat, possibly in respon...

Up slightly shambolically first thing and all crammed into Eitaro's elegant large car with Romy and Hiroko folded neatly into the back. Chasing the sunrise we made it just in time to the beach as it was growing light. A handful of driftwood bonfires on the shore and we stood near one waiting for the sun to rise. It seemed to be a little later than everyone had expected but when it rose it was redder than I have ever seen the sun, it was a beautiful moment. This witnessed the crowds melted away and we drove off with them, home for breakfast which included traditional rice cakes in a traditional soup. And a glass of good stiff sake. The TV in the corner of the room featured lots of people wearing comedy horse costumes as this is the year of the horse. Then most of us went back to bed. I found I fell asleep for a good couple of hours and having been a bit groggy first thing felt considerably better.  A slow kind of day, which was welcome, getting to know Romy-chan, Little Romy, th...

Resolutions I like the idea of New Year's resolutions. Why not reaffirm your choices and take a helicopter view of life? I made mine several days ago. First is that I have decided to forefront my own health, and the single best thing I could do for myself is to lose 20kg. I am making this declaration as public as possible so as to encourage lip curling sneers if I don't stick to it. Jan 4th is the day my new regime begins, and if I could achieve anything by positive visualisation alone I would already be there. I am approaching it three ways. Steady exercise, reduced food intake (especially my 10pm snack attack) and taking an extended holiday from boozes. Luckily Lorraine is thinking along the same lines so we will, hopefully, be gauntly healthy in due course. Even someone who can be as blithely oblivious to the bleedin' obvious as me, has noticed that if I have achieved anything recently it has been with the help of other people. Lorraine apart from her many other qualitie...