under another sun

Lorraine enjoying not getting up. I sprang out of bed at a modest 6:30. Running down the hill to commute, tinkering with poems about Chad still. Work. Stroll at lunch. Work, but home early as there wasn't much to do.  Robbie, who is working in the same office as me sporting black eyes having been head butted in a pub at the weekend. He seems philosophical about it. Met Anton and Lorraine in the Joker. Slow service and no longer woof woof wings, but we still had a nice time chatting and fell hungrily on the food when it arrived. Nice to be out with Lorraine too, and weasel Anton out, who appears to be living a hermetic life at the moment. My Godbairns have been bought a dog by their mother. Anton a famous loather of dogs. Fond farewells, then Lorraine and I walked home and soon into bed. A brief stroll in Hyde Park under a spitting overcast sky at lunchtime. Spring seems overdue now. Hadn't noticed these bear cubs before near the Italian Gardens.

Missed my usual train, and got on a standing room only one. Miraculously, a space opened up and I was able to work on poems very well. Arrived at work and after a while it became clear there was nothing for me to do. Robbie was there today, and I had a quick chat where he managed to say that poetry was not proper writing, and that stained glass was just the kind of tat you get in gift shops. I left him to his own devices. I quietly worked on a poem for a bit, which I am very pleased with, and then was told I could go home at 1pm. I agreed, and had arranged to meet Mark Dawson for lunch. However, at ten to one, I was given an urgent and particularly tiresome cross-referencing-100-page-documents-kind-of-job which meant I had to work through lunch until four. Was also told that the work I'd done earlier in the week had gone down very well with the client, so my stock remains good, and that there will be lots for me to do next week. Then I left early, and came straight home. Howe...

So off to the new job. No travel card, so had to pay full whack, over £50. The journey to Paddington fine, although getting up in the dark all of a sudden a bit of a shock to a delicate creature such as myself. Looking forward to getting the first day over, as my last in house job during the Spring was pretty vile and so my confidence wasn't sky high. Hoping I wasn't going to get my satchel kicked around the playground. However, was sat in a corner, given a laptop, and sent loads of background material to read, and get my head around. This took all day. One or two friendly conversations, and Robbie there too with Spore, who is someone I had once worked with slightly years ago. Went out for a walk at lunchtime around and about in Paddington, and ended up buying a disappointing sandwich. The loneliness of the new starter. Phoned Lorraine at lunchtime, and couldn't wait to be home again. Managed to get myself a new travel id card too, had to find a photobooth in Paddington...

Off to London this afternoon. I'd been doing bits and pieces at home, but not very productively. I did some poetry and managed not to make things worse, which was nice. To Victoria, and I walked down to Tate Britain, which is becoming my new favourite gallery. There was an exhibition there by Rachel Whiteread , who I have liked for years. She makes invisible spaces concrete. I didn't have enough time to go into the exhibition, but I looked at the big piece outside, which was a hundred spaces under chairs she had cast in what may have been glass or some kind of plastic. They looked like big boiled sweets. The problem I am beginning to have with Whiteread is that everything she does is an expression of the same idea. I rashly snapped two of the Francis Bacon faces, and enjoyed it when I was looking at Jacob and the Angel by Epstien, which I absolutely love, a two women stopped and sniggered at it, and then one said, "ooh look he's got wings!" From there I walk...

So up at the De Trafford hotel and eating a Chef and Brewer breakfast downstairs before packing and getting ourselves sorted for the big wedding to be held at a farm near the village of Wincle, south of Macclesfield and in the edge of the peak district national park. All rather idyllic and a gorgeous drive there too. As we were early as we turned off the main road, near the farm, we squinted into the Royal Oak only to see Nicola and First Matie climbing out of a car. We parked up and had a cheery reunion over coffee and then a beer, and were joined by Lucy and Sean, other pals of Matt's. Then we then drove into what was described as the middle of nowhere and kept going through some achingly beautiful countryside and arrived at Barleyford Farm. Family friends of Matt and Isy who were getting married. The French Bloke and Craig pointing the way, both fairly refreshed already, to the barn field where we parked up and found our tent in a village of tents. Quickly changed in there, an...

A sweltering night, sleeping with the big doors open in our bedroom. Cats locked out in case Brian had another roof climbing adventure. Calliope scratching at the door like a demon intermittently. Up to London slightly after rush hour. A train delay (obviously) but I met Matty boy at Blackfriars, we went for a coffee then in for a meeting with the client the agency will pitch to next week. Nice people. Then after a debrief in an Eat cafe, we went back to Chiswick, carefully choosing one of the new air conditioned District line trains. After work, back into London where I went to the Marquis of Granby where I met Robbie, Pat, Barney, Mark and Clare, all former colleagues. En route I bumped into another old friend, and copywriter Debs, who if her son hadn't been going to Zanzibar would have joined us. Fun to be catching up with old friends. The call of the seagull suddenly heard, and I legged off first, grabbed a cab and just missed my train from Blackfriars. Ate a thoughtful san...

Lorraine up early and off to get some physiotherapy for her lower back. The therapist lectured Lorraine about looking after herself better. Then L and I walked down to Preston Park from where we travelled up to Strand on the Green. Matty boy was having a few drinks for his birthday, with his pal Ian who has a similar birthday, in The City Barge. An easy journey. Nice and a bit weird to be with Lorraine in Chiswick. A cheery afternoon and evening. It was good to see Matt and Isy, and and their little Elsa and Tasha and Steve and their Freddie who is of course little Elsa's cousin of almost the same age. Not a massive baby fan, but found Elsa to be a superior baby in lots of respects. Poor Isy having a tough time with her second pregnancy, and feeling rough most of the time. I also got to chat with Craig and Mel, Robbie, who I'd not seen for a long time and who has just moved to Bristol. Also chatted to Andy, who I'd worked with in Tavistock Square who has been working on...

A frenzy of packing and a rush to Brighton station. Then a fairly easy journey to London, across London to Kings Cross and then we caught the Edinburgh train for Alnmouth Station for Alnwick  close to the Scottish border, which Craig had fallen in love with as an exchange student. Heavy rain as we descended from the train, and jumped into a taxi with Sylvia and a friend for the ten minute drive into town. A pleasant bed and breakfast and, after settling in, we took a walk to Barter Books ,  built in the old railway station building, complete with model trains rattling above some of the shelves of second hand books. A secondhand bookshop isn't the best place to find my current obsessions of contemporary findings in paleoanthropology and now Jung, as I have this idea that our blurry prehistory, is akin to our personal prehistory.   I was reading Jung: A Very Short Introduction by Anthony Stephens on my kindle on the train, and it is really exciting me. I hav...

Untaxing Up to London for another day on neuropathic pain. Refreshingly, the new creative director reframes things interestingly, and stretches the creative work. Sean and I have been asked to work Thursday too, and then have a long weekend off before a few days next week. After work I met Mark Hill and Robbie in the Blue Anchor for a few swifties . The place redesigned from when I used to go there. But done quite tastefully. Heard about Mark's tour of Europe, which he is hoping to get a book out of, and discussed ways to get agents. Robbie on good form too, telling us about his new Swedish girlfriend. Made off fairly quickly, and bumped randomly into Paul on a platform at Victoria, returning from visiting his son. Home to my accounts sent by my glamorous accountant, and a calculation of the tax I need to pay. Luckily, it turns out I have saved quite a bit more that I owe. This means my financial cushion is suddenly a lot plumper that I'd thought. Went to bed feeling lucky...