under another sun

Needed to do some work on the train this morning, but missed my train, and wasn't able to work not he train I eventually caught. Instead finished Back in the Jug Agane . Richard had given it to me in Guernsey. It was a Molesworth book that I didn't realise existed, and it made me laugh aloud a couple of times. Laughs that I frankly needed. Work okay apart from IT issues affecting lots of people, including me. The time I have wasted at that agency through IT nonsense is quite large. The people are very nice though. Lovely weather. I had a walk along the canal, having brief chats with Betty, who was on her way to be with John, and with Mum. Came across two police frogmen glooping about under a bridge with handers doing things with ropes. I didn't feel right photographing them, so I did so hurriedly and badly. Left work and as Lorraine was out with some buddies, I decided to meet Anton at Waterloo and have a quick drink with him and go home. Sprang out of work on time, b...

Unrest Some French work first thing, then struggling with major decisions on Skelton Yawngrave, deciding that the story must be told in the third person, rather than by Skelton. Converting it from first to doesn't seem to be too tricky, and I worked steadily through two chapters and it seems to be working. This decision throws one or two babies out with the bathwater, but also allows new ones to bob up. The new version seems darker and more dramatic. A noisy student protest starting at the station. I saw a small group of students, all looking rather small and young. Oppressive atmosphere crackling with tension, ramped up by the disproportionate police presence. The students are protesting about having University fees trebled, among other things, and have got a good case. At the weekend some were supergluing themselves to the windows of TopShop and Vodaphone - allegedly owned by tax-avoiding plutocrats. Meanwhile up in London interesting to observe the speed with which this new gove...

On computers, burglars and First Matie A new computer today. A shiny silver and white Dell Inspiron. I had to wait in most of the day for it be delivered. I was hoping for a first thing delivery so I could get to work, but it wasn't to be. This, however, turned out very well for me. In the morning the police called to say that there was no DNA match for my burglar. I thought no more of this till there was a knock on the door just before 1.00pm. I opened up thinking it was the computer delivery guy but instead there was a tall guy of about 25 with a broad face and a bright orange jacket, who asked me in a heavy east European accent if I had any work. Not the sort of question you ask in a random residential area. A few seconds after I had said no, and closed the door, I smelled a rat. I walked out into the Twitten only to see that he had legged it -- without knocking on anyone else's door. I felt sure this was the man who burgled me. He was tall, as was the burglar, looked a bit ...