under another sun

Up and after eating scrambled eggs on toast Romy had made, we packed as the others went for a short walk over the dunes. Later we drove in a convoy slightly southeast Henne Kirkeby Cro (Cro translates as Inn in Danish). A beautiful place in its own grounds, with a big garden at the back where many of the  fruits and herbs and so on were grown. A lovely restaurant room, tasteful minimal decoration, crisp white tablecloths, artfully selected flowers, and interesting Danish recent art on the walls. I was looking at two pictures of the backs of heads. A meal of many little courses, all exquisite sweetbread, mackerel, cod, little crumpets served with cream and caviare, sauces with wonderful delicate flavours, lemon and herbs for example, all served with style. As we were three drivers we drank kombucha in different flavours (mine a lovely cherry flavour. A cheery meal and good to get to know Nori and Verna better. Romy and Toby treated us to it, to say goodbye to us, and hello to Nori a...

Getting back to my preferred pattern. Up at eight and at my desk. It felt good and I began to make some small progress. Reading the first three sections of the Kenniad, and being fairly pleased with them after not having sat with them properly for a while. At around noon  Lorraine and I dismantled our plastic Christmas trees and decorations. After a bite to eat, I went for a walk by the sea, in a strong buffeting wind till I had walked my 10k paces. Finished The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge by Rainer Maria Rilke.   I found it confusing but occasionally the writing was exceptionally brilliant. I am making it my mission to finish all the books I have started in the last year or so but not completed. Read it sitting on the sofa with Lorraine, listening to relaxing music and while Lorraine was industrious or played her game. She spent much of the afternoon with Pat and Maureen. I cooked a delicious chicken curry. In other news Toby and Romy arrived back in a snowy Washington ...

Apart from a pre-breakfast lope to Morrisons to buy breakfast eggs and a later foray down to the sea to take a spare key to Lorraine, who'd contrived to lock herself out of the car parked outside Pat and Maureen's place, I happily drew all my tentacles into the house and lurked indoors. All I wanted to do is read The Sea by John Banville which is a magnificent book. I had no desire at all to go out and party, and it was a wild night too with strong gales roaring into Seaford. Instead Lorraine and I preferred to stay indoors and count our blessings. During the day I had a go at writing this blog in a kind of an accounting for the year way. But it ended up being like one of those cringy letters people send you inside Christmas cards. Enough to say that I'm not entirely sorry to see 2024 slink off. There were lots of events: Mason dying in February and me spending lots of time with Mum. Pat and Maureen and Beth and James are all now settled in Seaford. I ended my copywriting ...

Lorraine off to Rhyme Time in the library, a more manageable group size this time, and she had a friendly conversation with one of the babies' grandmothers, an ex-nurse she had lots in common with.  I did some writing of my own, really delighted to focus on my own work. I also felt a mite perkier than the last few days. When Lorraine returned from nursery rhymes with babies, we went for coffee with Joy and Jim next door. Just as we stepped onto the pavement, however, a bird voided its bowels with an audible splat on my head. Seconds after, with the guano still enriching my scalp, Anton called and enjoyed my predicament.  To Joy and Jim's with an unbefouled, or should that be unbefowled, head. We both like our neighbours. Astonished to learn that Joy will be 80 this year. She looks ten years younger. We also discussed the bit of fencing we need to replace. Good fences makes good neighbours. A few bits of house bits this afternoon, and I scribbled down an idea I had in Joy and J...

A day when nothing much had to be done. More peeling wallpaper from the bathroom today, which was good. Amanda had told Lorraine the best way to do it was to strip off the top layer, and then went the underlayer. It simply peeled off without damaging the plaster. Next step is taping it up prior to painting it with undercoat. No Laura, Braheem and baby today, as the wee thing is still ill. Emails with Charlotte today about her and SJB's the Understory Conversation. I am going to join if I can.  Roast chicken dinner tonight. Happy to be in out of the cold tonight. Talked to the Tobster for quite a while this evening, who told me about their adventures in Japan, luckily on the opposite coast from earthquakes, tsunamis, and so on. He sent me a snap of him and Romy and Momoyo taken today. Watched Barbie the movie tonight, or I watched the first half and was so tired, at 9:45 that I simply went to bed. Lorraine followed shortly after.

New Year's Day a damp and windy affair, but last night's general japery had done me good. Although alarming news first thing of an earthquake and expected tsunami in Japan, where Toby and Romy are.  Luckily the trouble was on the west coast, and they are on the east, so that at least was good. I start the year with no resolutions, and no grand plans. I don't feel I need to give myself that pressure. Lorraine drove us back to Brian and Yvonne's where I sheepishly collected my phone I'd abandoned bufoonishly the night before. We then went to the supermarket and bought a chicken, and hunkered down, ending the day with a rather delicious roast. Last night did me a great deal of good.  Chatted with Anton and mum.  Anton starting a miserablist dry January in an effort to kick start some weight loss. The night he is going to have a beer, following Stav's funeral, is the night I am giving my poetry reading in Lewes. Mum in fairly good spirits. Below our Jack in the Gre...

Off to Brighton this morning, rain dodging to the station and up Museli mountain to Cathrine and Tanya's house to celebrate Catherine's birthday with them and Guy and Tim. Great to see Tim looking well after a difficult health year. Such wonderful conversations with these folks.  Talking to Tanya about EM Delafield, who she would like to write about, and her current indexing job is for a book on Schopenhauer, talking to Guy about interior and textile design and family, having deep conversations with Catherine and Tim about life in general. All good. A few glasses of bubbly there, and we  walked into town to go to Petit Pois. Love this restaurant, and always good food. Lorraine and I both had vegan food, toothsome  mushroomy and leeky main courses which we shared. Then, as is tradition, off to Brass Monkey, the ice cream place, where we sat outside under the awnings having ice cream and coffee and watching the rain. On East Street Lorraine saw a 12X (the fast bus to Seafor...

Lorraine busily getting ready for Pat's party tomorrow, and driving off to Hateful Heath to get the cupcakes which were going to be shaped into the number ninety tomorrow, and arriving home with drifty black bags with helium balloons in them. Then Lorraine and I hopped aboard the Seaford train and slowly made our way north to St Pancras, where we crossed the road and met Romy and Toby, up on the 10th floor open air bar of the Standard Hotel, which had fine views of London. We were surprised to find Mike and Zena there too. A merry reunion. Romy looking remarkably recovered from her flight which arrived yesterday. Lots to talk about with her. Mike and Zena have moved to Little Venice, and are loving the area.  Back to street level, and Zina and Mike melted away with promises to visit us. Then we four mooched off Merchant's Square, round the back of King's Cross, a stylish rebuilt area opposite St Martin's art school and canals. I knew a bit from having worked near there ...

Sunny at first, with the bloody seagull tapping on the kitchen door again. I leant out of the window and photographed it doing so. But the big thing today was... Rain. Rain at last falling on Seaford this afternoon, and fairly heavily too. We had a garden morning, potting up tomatoes, chilies and so on.  Lorraine drove some cardboard off to the nearby recycling, and I floated about in the back garden for a few minutes just soaking up (ahem) the experience of rain. Petrichor, I learned recently, is the word for the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after long heat. And there was a sense of the garden sighing with relief. The fish pond, which had been making me feel anxious because its level was so low, despite sneaking buckets of water into it, was replenished by a good amount too.  Was contacted by an old school friend today, Peter Hoibak, out of the blue for the first time in over forty years -- via his wife's linked in account. A pleasant surprise. I guess we ar...

Ah. Sunday. Up early and had breakfast, fried tomatoes mushrooms and egg on toast. After Lorraine had finished some sewing we drove to the gym and did about 50 minutes in there. Felt knackered by the cross training half hour as I was pushing it a bit. Then a few weighty bits and home where we decided to clear away a huge pile of garden waste and drive this to the tip. A proper deforestation of bits of bay tree, buddleja and conifer as well as the Christmas tree left over from Christmas. Took a few visits to the recycling centre in Seaford. The last journey Lorraine made alone as there was no room in the passenger seat, while I concentrated on sweeping up all the detritus left behind.  Steve came by shortly afterwards for a cup of tea and to pick up some seedlings that he and Lorraine had been talking about. Having spent a couple of weeks in Portugal with a friend, and having Mike stay from Holland, he said he was happy to spend some time alone. He described all the clubs he belongs...

Beth and James and Julie, James's mum, around for dinner this evening. Julie arriving with a large potted peace lily.  Lorraine cooked her special chicken dish with grapes and lettuce added to the stew at the end. Lorraine and I like Julie lots. A lovely, chatty and friendly person. James calls her 'The Goose' which is quite sweet. She and Beth get on really well too. All's well. Toby called during the evening. He and Romy are still a bit jet lagged as he said the sun shone today for the first time in Toronto today since mid december. Without the sun, reacclimatising is hard. 

A houseful today, proving that our new house is an excellent Christmas house. Pat and Maureen with us this morning, and Beth and James arrived early on in the day too. Although James had to immediately climb back into the car as he had forgotten to pack Beth's presents, probably somewhat preoccupied with having been able to drive Lorraine's new car door over, which had been in their garage over the summer. Beth officially stopped monitoring her phone at close of play today, after a very busy few work months for her. I spent the day at home with everyone, but seemed to spend hours shopping for a few last minute bits and also visited all three supermarkets.  Home to do a bit of wrapping, chatting with Toby who was supposed to have flown to Japan today, but a once in a generation 'weather bomb' created snowy blizzard conditions all through the eastern US, and sub zero temperatures as far down as Texas. Toby had one of those ghastly airport days, and ended up having to retu...

 So a holiday. Thank God.  I needed a complete break, so did not take my computer and did not blog.  Instead I took a new mould green notebook, a kindle, a volumes of poetry by Cavafy and Elyitis and my camera. I wrote was a couple of Greek inflected poems rewriting the drafts in my new notebook just as I did in the out of date diaries Gwen and Dave used to give me as a teenager that served as poetry notebooks. The journey to Meganisi fine. A morning flight, Lorraine drove us to Gatwick. Everything looking sunbaked even in the morning. Passing an inferno of a car which had crashed into a tree and was gouting flames and a vertical line of smoke, and a fire in a field visible as we took off.   The plane delayed an hour and a half on the runway, but the flight fairly comfortable, and after a judicious gin and tonic felt reasonably relaxed. A small boy sitting at the window seat and me in the middle. Lorraine made friends with him of course and he showed us a water drink...

Lorraine working from home today. I had to get up for an 8 o'clock start, but brought her a cup of tea in bed before having the morning to catch up on various jobs she wanted to do, before starting work again. Somewhat gruelling day with Keith, and various creative presentations via Microsoft teams. A generally positive response to the work we have been doing however. A nice bunch of people. Then after work, a spot of recording with Robin for the next episode of Planet Poetry. Only time for a quick 15 minute walk today. And an opinion needed from mes amis in Paris about a forthcoming job. Lorraine and I played a few games of cards this evening, before settling down to another episode of The Wire. The week seems to have been going on for ages, even though it is Wednesday.  An email today from the Romster after I'd sent her congratulations on the huge role she has landed in the Canadian Finance Industry. Toby regularly updated me on the resilience she has shown through a process ...

A cheerier afternoon, as Lorraine was at last able to stop her constant stream of communicating to parents, staff, govenors and so on. Next week looks somewhat more manageable. We went for a quick circuit of Blakers Park and nearby streets, tidied the last festive vestiges into boxes marked Christmas for another year.  A game of cards this evening, followed by a roast chicken with a lovely bottle of wine. Then we opened some chocolates left over from Christmas. Also a long chat with the Tobster -- safely bubbled up with Romy still. Romy had a big job interview on Saturday morning, after a many months process, and it went as well as could be expected. Weird to have to do stuff like that online.

Untroubled by triskaidekaphobia, I sprant up with Lorraine and sent off my latest story  Doctor Spotlight more in   hope than expectation to Black Static Magazine, and sent three stories off to Krishnan at Neon. Then I walked down to the seafront to have a walk and a talk with Innis. However, despite setting off in good time, I simply walked to the coast too far towards Hove so was a little late. Good to see Innis however, and shoot the breeze in the soft but drenching rain, with a very smartly behaved Pippi in tow. He is fine, and gradually processing his pal Grol's death a few months ago. We walked back to Innis and Rosie's place and then I simply walked home again, latterly in sunshine, while chatting to Anton. By the time I reached home, I already walked almost 15k paces, which was rather good.  Then working on my French brief about animal health this afternoon, feeling weary and not firing on all cylinders.  Spoke to Mum for a bit, and later in the evening Toby,...

Halloween. Offensive weather this morning. The news buzzing with rumours of a English lockdown next week. We set off to see Mum and Mas, and at one point even considered turning back as the motorway just north of Brighton. The wind was very strong, the road surface running with water, the air full of spray and rain.  Stressful driving for Lorraine, and the rain causing delays on the M25 so we were delayed. Mum and Mas in a little corner by the fire away from everyone, and we joined them for lunch and a couple of drinks. Lovely to see them. Mas rather sleepy after eating and in the warm, and not getting on particularly with his hearing aids.  Food better today, and the pints of Guinness I drank were nice. Lorraine enjoyed chatting with Mum and Mas. Mum saying about trying on her auntie Kay's clothes when she was a kid and they all lived in Ridge Road. Soon after we had arrived, I was sent a photo from Toby of him and Romy. I sent him ones back of us, which was nice. In contrast...

Our seventh wedding anniversary, and the first day of L's half term. So I was mainly on holiday. A leisurely start to the day, although we had to get up eventually as Lorraine had to go to the dentist. In the afternoon we went for a brisk walk and took advantage of some sunshine. Then to M&S to buy ourselves a few nice bits of food. We stayed in and had a candlelit dinner, played cards and even performed a spot of romantic dancing. All nice. Wine, and starters, and main course of fish pie, and micro greens, dressed with Sicilian balsamic vinegar (bought last year at the price of liquid gold) and was very delicious, then little strawberry tarts for dessert, and cheese even. Lovely. Cats sat on empty chairs for lots of the meal, which was a bit comical. Spoke to Mum, who was pleased to receive a kokeshi doll from Toby and Romy.  Below Lorraine and I out and about, and the present Lorraine gave me for our anniversary, which now sits proudly on my desk.

Up early and Lorraine and I cat herding Brian and Calliope into the carrier, and we took them off to Top Cats in Patcham. A bit like an alien abduction for them this time, as we had to sit outside in the car, then hand them to a veterinary nurse, who took them in the basket inside to be examined. We were phoned in the car to chat to the vet, and then they were injected and brought out again. The cats were fairly calm, and even Calliope's yowling was only half hearted. Home again, and then did a bit of work, a sandwich lunch, then walked over to the osteopath in Hove, and back. Pouring rain on the way back. No thunder though. Not sure much is changing in my back, but I will not return for a month now. Home and a hot shower, as I was soaked. Then a bit more fiddling with jobs, before I began the third attempt to interview Tess. My invitation emails that she had to click on to join the conversation went into her spam file, or were mysteriously delayed, then her headphones wouldn...

A lovely relaxed holiday day. Up and pottering about, then off in the car, grateful for the air conditioning, and thinking about another water feature in our garden. Went to Maidenhead Aquatics, where we looked at overpriced things and fishtanks and fishes, and then a salvage yard where Lorraine spotted a bird bath, with roses on it. We scored that bad boy then came home with our booty, after stopping at another garden centre to mooch about toying with alternative ways of having a little fountain in the garden. My interviewee from yesterday emailed, and graciously accepted another recording. A chance to get it right this time. Off at lunchtime to The Park View, where Lorraine and I had lunch and a couple of cold beers in the beer garden, well distanced from anyone else. It being a Tuesday, the food was subsidised too. Beth had put the idea of burgers into our heads yesterday, and we simply found ourselves having burgers. Great fun though. In the evening we drove off to Hove, and ...