under another sun

Podcast upload day. Listened to the episode first thing this morning, and made a couple of last minute tweaks before Robin uploaded it and I wrote the blurb. Also, happily, I secured my next guest. Sarah called around to see Lorraine and have a spot of lunch. She brought a pot of sweet peas with her. Lorraine loving showing her around the garden. Sarah, whose koi have bred, suggested there was too much weed in our fish pond, so I will remove even more. Lorraine's Bolney friends are proving to be trusty mates even now Lorraine is no longer the village head teacher. Lorraine spent some of the evening cooking in preparation for going to Ashford. I however, slipped off to Brighton, where I met Anton at the station, he having just returned from a work trip to Leamington Spa. Turns out that at lunch he had gone to a pub that I am fairly certain was once The Commonwealth Club -- where I did my first ever poetry reading just shy of 41 years ago.  Good to catch up. Anton had been on work re...

Three old friends Up to London to meet Sophie at Victoria. We ended up going to a Zizzi restaurant and chatting for hours. Sophie has been under a lot of pressure lately but her business seems to be going well. I thoughtfully added to her to-do list by giving her another CD. Lovely to see her as always. I then popped over to Chiswick to see my friend Sarah, who I'd not seen for a few years and is freelancing as a teacher, editor and various other things. We had a chat in a cafe and generally caught up in a weirdly hot and sunny in Chiswick. Getting out of the station at Turnham Green felt like stepping into a different season. Then back into town where I met Mike Court my old art director in The Salisbury. Really nice to catch up too, as I'd not seen him for well over a year in which time he has separated amicably from his wife and moved into a new flat. He is still playing lots of guitar in bands, and his oldest son is following in his father's footsteps, and is now in a b...

A day of no ideas Took my laptop on the train this morning to work on my poems and had a productive session. But at work the story was opposite. It was pretty hellish, with The Gnome and me finding ourselves unable to crack a concept for this latest pitch. I can't remember the last time I felt so stumped - and at one point simply left the office to walk by the river and think of reasons not to chuck myself into it. Stayed a late and ended up having an enjoyable glass of wine with the FB among others, which soon helped get things in perspective. Then phoned Sarah Sprinkles walking to the tube. She sounds strangely young and different on the phone. Then had an altercation on the Brighton train. I was sitting fiddling about on my computer and one of the two gay men behind me repeatedly kept kicking my chair. I asked the kicker to stop it, and he said annoyingly that he wasn't doing it consciously. I then asked him to ask his subconscious to stop kicking my chair. He said I was bei...

Not a bomb but a damp squib Somewhat stressful work day caused by work demands with the usual combination of urgency and lack of clarity. Relief provided by a bomb scare to the business next door, and we all had to shuffle out for some time past the three police cars that had arrived and stand by the river. Had an impromptu meeting over a pub table with our boss, and then returned to work for an ennui-inducing meeting that dragged on for hours. Made a break for home, and got the tube and sat on something unspeakable and very wet, which I don't think was urine. Just managed to catch the train listening to podcasts of BBC foreign correspondents, to be in time for home delivery of food. Chatted to the lovely Sarah, and found myself channelling the ghosts of dragonflies she had de-winged as a child. They forgave her. Worked on poems and went to bed.

Inland Empire Pleasant Sunday. Something of a lie in. Then chatting with Sarah who introduced me to the delights of Hawaii's own Don Ho amongst other things. And looked at Hawaii recipes for pork "butt". Apparently standard US nomenclature. I learn lots of odd things from Sarah. Spoke to Mum who is finalising her website. I will have a link here as soon as it is up and running. Pottered about for a bit in the afternoon, with an eye to the Chelsea v Spurs FA cup match on TV, with the noble Chelsea recovering from a poor start to force a replay with the upstarts. Also applied for some ISBN numbers. Took myself off to see Inland Empire the new David Lynch film, at the Duke of York's Picturehouse in Brighton. Excellent venue, grand and slightly shabby. They seemed to have pumped all the oxygen from the cinema however, which made me almost nod off at one point. The film however was stunning, gruelling and mystifying all at the same time. It features Laura Dern as an ac...

Holding the babies A text from Anna this morning to say Anton was ill. Went up the hill a bit before noon to discover Anton in the grips of the lung-attacking flu I had last week. Anton assured me, however, that his was much worse, and he has to have an x-ray on Monday for pneumonia. This may trump coughing blood so I had to be sympathetic. Anna was off to run a charity clothes sale, so I was on hand to amuse the babies in a Godfatherly fashion. After feeding Oskar who is an unbelievably sweet natured and placid baby, I took Klaudia off to the park in her push chair. She loves the swings and enjoyed the small slide. She had her eyes fixed on the big slide however, which made me feel a bit twitchy but she managed it several times but she was fine with it as long as I held her hand as she went through netting and over little chain bridges and so on. I felt like thrashing a slightly larger child who barged her: it must be hard not to shout at other people's kids if you are a parent. ...

Friday, Skyline and more Lynching Up surprisingly easily this morning having been entirely sensible the night before. Off to work, and met Max the Mentor not far from the office, who linked arms with me and we walked companionably into work. Today was her twentieth year in the agency. Made me think how one of the things about working at the same place for seven years is that you do make some good friends. For me, not a bad day, worked on another pitch blog, and was taken out for some Italian grub by a nice suit called Nicoletta to discuss the overarching strategy for a new pitch. I like her and we had a nice chat. Her fiance is the pleasant opera singer I met a few weeks ago. I am going to get sucked into a world of pitching again for the next couple of weeks. Back to work and the Gnome and I were slightly bogged down. Felt enervated and so I focused more on coughing impressively. However I encountered an even more jaded-looking French Bloke in a meet during the afternoon. He is simpl...

More Lynch A good deal more lively today, and able to walk further without feeling unsteady on my pins like some sort of Victorian maiden. I decided I am going to go back to work on Thursday after what has been the worst flu I can remember having. The night before full of strange dreams. Of standing by an orchestra which was playing such a protracted deep note that it was making the air lumpy and tactile. Also dreams set in Guernsey which happen all the time. Watched the David Lynch film Mulholland Drive. Quite Twin Peaky in some ways. Difficult to interpret, very dark and dream-like and with conflicting narrative threads and just lots of stunning scenes and disturbing bits flecked here and there with humour. Looking forward to watching it again, which I don't often feel with films so soon after. I really admire the strangeness Lynch is able to inject into everything - just like no one else. Looking forward to being able to focus better. Feeling frustrated to have an agenda for ch...

The grapes of scoff Still ill. Went to the shop and suddenly felt submerged. I thought I was going to pass out like a Victorian maiden. I had to put my basket down in the shop and stand outside to gulp some air. Stuff like that can get you a reputation for strangeness. Rats to this flu. Otherwise a very low key day lounging on my gold sofa picking at a bunch of grapes like a chubby Caesar. Mum told me she has been asked to show her paintings to a dealer which is exciting. Also spoke to Sarah at length. She was similarly holed up at home. Skype is a great invention for invalids. And at the end of our last conversation she had the idea of creating a Wikipedia entry for me, which is something that would never have occurred to me. She is full of nice surprises. Anna called offering to give me a lift down to the quack's tomorrow. Trying not to think about the work implications.

A random elephant Fairly tired today, and kept my head down at work. Not much to report other than feeling a bit jaded. Worked through lunch and scooted off from work a few minutes early in the company of Trace who has been in the wars lately. She fell from her bicycle a couple of weeks ago and banged her head badly (typically it was the one time she was not wearing a helmet), and now she has a work crisis going on. Met Reuben on the train coming home and had a cheery, Friday chat over a can of beer. Home and had a lengthy IM session with Sarah talking, amongst other things, about 1980s English pop which she was mad about. Then had a phone call from Mum who is investigating having prints made of her pictures. And now bed is calling like a siren... Below examples of essay answers from an email sent around today. Here are two that made me laugh. Especially the elephant.

Valen'ine's day A cheerful day. I already had a card and dragonfly pressies from Sarah so sprang from my bed happy in the knowledge that I had an admirer from afar. I sent Sarah a card and some chocs which, travelling under a benificent star, arrived today in Tampa. As a goddess of love, today is Sarah's day. And I ended mine having a long chat being sprinkled with divinity from as much as 4420.41 miles away. Up early to send Mum some of her photos of her money-making pictures with corrected perspective. And then off to work where I learned that we'd won the pitch I worked on last week. I was then taken out for a lunchtime drink by way of celebration. Listening now to The Hobbit on audio book. Quite fun but I feel the need to listen to something that isn't Tolkien, because it leads to narrowness which in itself can become a bad hobbit. In the evening I went up to Anton and Anna's place to babysit the bairns. This gave them a chance to go to the movies like the ...

Brand expression and potato soup A while ago I had a conversation with Janet about portfolio careers - where basically you do lots of different jobs at the same time instead of just one. Additionally Sarah recently mentioned that she thinks of herself as a brand. She even has her own logo. This made me think that if you think of yourself as a brand, and all your activities as brand expressions, it seems very limiting to do just one thing. After all, very few organisations create or manufacture just one product. Of course we all express ourselves in ways outside our jobs. But it is limiting to think of yourself as capable of only making money in one way. This also appeals to my cautious side. After all, putting all your eggs in one basket isn't always a good thing either, especially in a volatile industry like advertising. Sent an email to the local radio wondering if they would be interested in a feature about the dragon quest I'm doing with Anton. After work I met Simon in Dea...

A tipping point An enjoyable Sunday, helping me to regain my equilibrium, and then to make some decisions. Talking on many and various subjects with the delightful Sarah on skype first thing, with her dog Cabal panting in the background. Then I set off for a walk. My friend Hannah texted me to say she was in town and I met her briefly and pleasantly for a cream tea and a chat in the Mock Turtle. I love that little place, it is like stepping back in time. Then I went for a walk along the seafront. The sea very rough and bursting over the groynes in a Lawrencian manner. Walking along I decided that I was going to change my career. I want to spend more time to spend on things I find meaningful. Otherwise not too much else to report. Unlike the tempestuous waves, battering the shore, my changes are submarine for the time being. Below waves near the pier.

A box of dragonflies I was woken by the postman this morning. Regular readers will understand that, despite this being Brighton, he wasn’t actually in my bedroom but knocking on my door. To my surprise was a parcel from the US from Sarah. It was a box of dragonflies. First there was a tin which, when opened, contained a beautiful origami box housing two dragonflies. Then there were other presents: a special edition of Wings of Desire, which is one of my all time favourite films, a box of Scooby Snacks (self-evidently sensible), some Moleskine (my favourite kind) notebooks and a lovely Valentine's card which was full of heart-shaped sprinkles. There was a note on the envelope to open it over a table. Moreover everything was immaculately presented, so much so that I was reluctant to open things. It was such a surprise that I took a snap first thing in the morning of some of its contents. So it was a very happy and cheery Peter Kenny that set off to the dark place to work this morning...

The ON button Up at six to get into work early. Managed to locate the Peter Kenny ON button and worked in a highly-focused burst for an hour and a half. Doing what seemed like a day's work. Then at the official start of the day a client meeting to discuss how to pin down the exact copy tone for a particular brand. I jumped up at some point and made with the mind maps. Amazing how simple stuff like pinning down the target audience, and getting them to imagine who the author of the letter is, can make people's hair stream out behind them as if the were standing in a wind tunnel of inspiration. Then I tucked into the wraps and sandwiches. And sneaking out from the working lunch for ten minutes I spoke to briefly to Sophie, who sounded very stressed. We talked for ten minutes, she cried a little, and then said she felt loads better. After work went to Waterloo to meet Bob and his very nice colleague Maria who is a lawyer and was born in Jamaica. We had a very fun evening chatting,...

Frog and Angel Started writing a new poem on the train in the morning, despite the elbows of the Times reading buffoon next to me. Have this idea about focus groups, where you sit behind two way mirrors and watch people being interviewed. The news full of bird flu and turkeys being slaughtered (they must think it's Christmas every day). The BBC and other establishment organs are radiating calm, so you know something well dodgy is going down. Thank goodness for a letter bomb in London today to take everyone's mind off it. Met a woman called Rachel who I worked with at IBM many years ago, and is now one of the agency's clients. Had a short nostalgic chat with her before doing actual work. Still feeling somewhat frustrated. I did attend a meeting in which I had to give a short presentation. During the course of this I found a frog glove puppet, which I employed to stare and gape at The Gnome across the table as things progressed. Otherwise, there was little of note to report. ...

Fear and Trembling Work is not buttering my parsnips at the moment. Took two briefs today, one of which is a healthcare one and potentially quite exciting. Sadly I have have undergone a successful enthusiasm bypass, but I expect enthusiasm's close cousin Fear will kick in soon and make me pull my finger out. Slightly disturbing is the fact that the office is trembling. This is due to massive machines tearing up the concrete on the building site next door. I enquired about whether this was normal and was told it wasn't. Still, there are conversations to be had. The Gnome showed me two new clever jazz chords on the guitar; Trace and I went for a walk at lunchtime by the cold river talking about relationships and psychological insights, and passed a winter tree full of parakeets. I still find this quite surreal even though they have become quite common now. Later, after sitting in another briefing, I went for a quick walk and gossip with the French Bloke just for a breath of air. ...

Sunday people Early start to the morning. A headache which I blame Brian for, and some pottering about. Then Anna and Brian called for me and overcame my feeble resistance and took me off to Bills for breakfast. Rather pepped up by a fresh rhubarb, ginger and apple juice followed by a nice herbstrewn and healthy full breakfast. Hurried home to be there for my home delivery of groceries ordered off the Internet. This was clearly big and clever idea, and I don't really understand why I've not done it before. A very pleasant guy arrived exactly as arranged, and it saved me having to lug lots of heavy things like bottled water, and cans and so on up the hill and liberate my precious weekend time from the supermarket. Spoke to Sarah twice today. Lots of laughing, she is a very funny person. I enjoyed hearing about her struggles with a lizard in Tampa, and learning about nail technicians and lots of other stuff I've never thought about before. Including photo of a catapult affai...

Friday in the company of ladies A cheery Friday. I am still quite quiet at work, and was tempted out for lunch by Max the Mentor. Went to the Distillers which is fast becoming the agency pub since reopening and once inside we chatted to all and sundry. Max took me into a local cobblers, and did some shoe business. She told me she was wearing a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes which she said had cost a fortune. They were nice greeny multicoloured things and, admiring them, I felt I had stepped accidentally into an episode of Sex in the City as one of the gay best friends. After work I met Mex my ex-wife, in Victoria and had a nice time catching up. Her fame is growing and she will be on TV again soon. And her website been nominated for the Bloggies . All richly deserved. She seems to be keeping incredibly busy, and it was good to see her. During the day I was delighted to get a call from the very nice indeed Sarah to thank me for flowers I had sent her, as I had missed her recent birthday. She...

Klaudia is three Work uneventful today. I went for a swim, the first of the year and now far enough into January for the new year's resolution people to have thinned out. I am fat at the moment, and it was good to start to do some exercise again especially as limping has precluded much walking lately. Swimming instantly made me feel a bit less antsy, and appreciative of life in general, and Sarah in Florida in particular. Her friendship is a surprising gift. There's nothing like churning up and down for 40 minutes to get things in their proper order. Left work slightly early as there was little to be done and, more importantly, it was Baby Klaudia's third birthday. She was still up late playing with her new doll's house, and also fairy princess Barbies with a horse and carriage when I arrived. Poor little mite has a scuffed nose where she fell over on the seafront at the weekend but otherwise seemed very cheerful. I'm amazed at how quickly those three years have gon...