under another sun

This morning it has become clear that the woman we are buying the house from has done nothing since she accepted our offer to move out. She is evading the issue as are her solicitors.  I spent the morning terrifying the estate agents, but it seems we have no option but to start looking afresh. Glancing at Facebook on my return from the gym I learned that my friend Sarah Sprinkles had died. She had been fighting cancer for several years now, but she was incredibly brave, humorous and inspiring to others during this period. I've never met anyone like her - and although I knew she was ill I hadn't realised how critical this had become.  Then shortly after this Toby contacted me with the sad news that Hiroko had died suddenly last night at home in Japan. I am upset about this, as Hiroko has been unfailingly kind to me, and she is such a characterful person, often crackling with humour. I have had many good times in her company, and one particular night singing and drinking...

I love my agency Had an excellent conversation at lunchtime with my two bosses on the terrace behind the Riverside Studios. We all ate 100% organic beefburgers and fries with salad, seasoned with a sprinkling of rainwater. Conversation very cheering and positive. I can't yet go into details here, but suffice to say that I love my agency big time. Persistently dubious guts and headache today so was delighted to finish work and head home. Finished the Philip K Dick audiobook on the train and begun to listen to the Dialogues of Plato - all while obsessionally playing Zuma on my mobile phone. Once in Brighton, succumbed to a bag of fish and chips from Sing Li at the end of my Twitten. Lurked contentedly, if queasily, at home in the evening watching TV and having a IM chat with Sprinkles in Florida who is investigating ways of developing a TV career. She'd be great. The combination of rain and hot sun is making my tiny front garden go ape. Hard pruning has repaid me with an abunda...

A rainy Bank holiday Another day of unmitigated rain. I worked on my poems first thing for a couple of hours. Really feel like I am making progress. Then went out for a mooch in the drizzle where I was randomly raged-at by a driver as I walked along the pavement which made me want to punch his head. After walking for an hour or so down by the sea I began to feel curiously queasy and out of sorts. In the drizzle, home was a big and clever place to be on a dire, cold day. The rest of the day much pleasanter and enjoyed hanging out with with Anton and Anna and the bairns. Finally took the package Sprinkles had sent to me for them up the road. Photos of Anna and Anton in their kitchen, and a strange photo of me and Anton in clashing loud shirts, which I have too. Anna cooked a roast chicken and Jersey potatoes and organic greens and asparagus. Heard all about her work trip to Budapest, and Anton and Anna's anniversary trip to Bath. A bit later as the kids went to bed, I was invited to ...

Garlic and guitar strings Even though I got up early to work on my poems, there seemed too few hours in the day. I had a scrambled head so worked steadily for a couple of hours but achieved little. However, I had a nice chat with Sprinkles, before sloping off for a walk around town, and to do some shopping. I bought a new shirt, some pumps, and a pair of leather sandals. Then some new guitar strings, which later made Bianca my white semi-acoustic sound better than she had done for ages. I gave the fretboard a long-overdue clean as well. Nasty how dirty it gets. Also bought some tahini so I could copy Sophie and make some home-made houmous. I blended the chickpeas, tahini, lemon, garlic, olive oil and water and it tasted okay, although it seemed exceedingly garlicky, making me wonder if the cloves should have been cooked before and not raw. Untroubled by vampires, I spent several hours editing the soundfiles. This interrupted only by chats with Mum, and Sprinkles again, who was telling ...

Blue is the colour Awoke early at Andros and Sophie's place. Got up and had a long chat with Andros. I was interested to hear that he had once known Steve Howe quite well. Howe is the legendary Yes guitarist and one of my all time heroes. Andros had nothing but nice things to say about him - a very modest and likable man apparently. Off to the park for breakfast. Electra took me to watch her swing about on parallel bars, do handstands, and tell me about a debate about cats and dogs they had at school. She was on the side of the dogs, but took a dim view of a big Afghan when it appeared. Cristof and Electra are good kids. A nice breakfast in the open air, then Sophie and Electra came with me on the tube, and we played twenty questions, before I got off to catch the Victoria line, and headed home cheerfully A wonderful afternoon, watching the FA Cup final. Didier Drogba with a skillful one-two with Frank Lampard and a glorious goal, proved what centuries of philosophers could not: th...

A beer with the boys An early knock on the door just as I got up, and two parcels with photos in frames from Sprinkles, one for Anton and Anna and the other for me. Wonderfully wrapped and presented as you would expect. She really is a tremendously thoughtful person. Worked cheerfully on my poems on the way to work, and feel that at last, there is a strong thread of connection between them. At work The Gnome were cooped up all day, as we had a teleconference at lunch with a lady from Coventry with a cold. However I left work early with the French Bloke as he had an evening pass. We met Matty boy in a pub called the Admiral Codrington for a drink, prior to him going on a date. It felt very altogethery to be in the company of the chaps, although both of them are looking gallingly whippet-thin and healthy. Enjoyed Matty enquiring quizzically of the barman "would it be possible to buy some beer?" as if the idea had just occurred to him. After Matty left for his date, the FB began...

Cutting out the dead wood Up with the lark on Sunday morning, although feeling pretty worn out. Began listening to some of the recordings I'd made with Anton yesterday, and I think there is enough (despite some fierce blasts of recorded wind) to be fine. Did bits of pieces of writing too, before catching up with Sprinkles on Skype. Spoke too to Mum, who is going great guns with her site, which I should be able to link to in a few days. Sawed down the dead bits of the tree in my yard. Amazing how many branches and twigs of wood it produced. Also ran about town in the rain, doing things and looking at shelves, buying an extension lead for the aerial and other real life stuff. However, I had a nice interlude watching a DVD a French film called Le Goût des autres which I bought on a whim as it was on sale, and really enjoyed. Funny, quite sad, and very well acted. Spoke to Sprinkles again later, who had spent the day updating her blog with her trip to England, including being unneces...

Sprinkles goes home Up early and sadly took Sprinkles off to Gatwick. Miraculously she seemed absolutely unaffected by our lively night last night, whereas I found myself wussing about with a headache. We had to force her suitcase shut after it was loaded with all kinds of odd presents and English souvenirs for her pals, and there was an entirely separate bag for chocolate. Sprinkles' English accent is now excellent. And it was a shame she had to leave as the Brighton Festival is now starting. As we were rushing through the gates I noticed a man in a dragon suit pushing through the gates into Brighton like a harbinger of mayhem. We got the train on time, and checked in quickly at Gatwick and sat around drinking coffee and laughing about all the good times we'd had. It was an amazing adventure really, and we got on really well, and I am going to miss her. Then a large hug and kiss goodbye and Sprinkles headed off towards security, and I sloped back towards the train. Turns out s...

A trolly full of chocolate A fairly quiet day today, with Sprinkles getting ready for her return tomorrow. We did have an amazing trip to Waitrose today however, where Sprinkles bought £45 worth of "Cadberrys" and other chocolate bars to take back to her pals. You like your chocolate, observed the lady on the checkout. I contented myself by scoring a jar of limited edition Guinness Marmite. Then home to drop the tons of chocolate off and off to Riddle and Finns where we had a late fishy lunch. Sprinkles getting her knife and fork into some brill for the first time. Good service, and fresh and herby food. I noticed the owner of Mama Cherry's happened to be in there too, which must be some sort of recommendation. In the evening Brian Anton and Anna came around for a big night out. Sprinkles getting people to smell the Vera Wang for Men fragrance she'd bought me. There is something utterly disreputable about asking people to smell your Wang, but it does smell rather nice...

Cream tea and a big ass turtle A busy day with Sprinkles. And in Brighton the weather did its best to put on a good English show, running the gamut from grey to rain. However I took Sarah off to The Royal Pavilion and revelled in its orientalist splendour. Sarah quite liking this. We took the telephone guide handsets and drifted about looking at the sumptuous Chinoiserie of the interior. Built by the Prince Regent, later George the IV. The place is crawling with dragons. The bad luck experienced by the Music room are even attributed to too many dragons. It was attacked by an arsonist in the mid 70s, and then just as the repairs were finished in 1987 the famous hurricane dislodged a huge stone globe from the roofing which then came crashing through the newly restored roof, so they had to start again. Then off to the Mock Turtle for a cheeky cream tea. Sarah liked this immensely, and we enjoyed tucking into their still-warm, freshly-baked scones. After his refreshment we wandered down to...

A fairytale castle Off today to an English castle. Caught the train from Brighton (train journeys being a bit of a novelty to Sprinkles) and we shunted off westwards through Hove and beyond. Arrived at Arundel with its picture book castle, Sarah really liked straight away. I am really enjoying seeing England through Sprinkles' eyes, as she goes about noticing flowers, and cute little cars, and getting excited about crossing the little stone bridge past the ruins into town. I missed the castle entrance and walked uphill. This gave us the opportunity however, to rubberneck around Arundel Cathedral of our Lady and St Philip Howard. There were excellent gargoyles and the beautiful stained glass. Sarah took a moment to light some candles, and we sat for a while together in the big tranquil space. The Cathedral is fairly new, being opened in 1868 but built in a much older French Gothic style of 1400. St. Philip was also the 14th Earl of Arundel and became a Saint as he was imprisoned fo...

Sarah Sprinkles jets in Up at the crack of dawn to get ready and clean the bathroom. Then off by train to Gatwick. Naturally I went to the wrong terminal first, and had to leg it to the right one. Fortunately for me I wasn't late as Sprinkles was being grilled by immigration and didn't pop out for another half an hour or so. Finally she toddled through and it was lovely to meet her in person after so many Skype chats. Big hugs and then off to the train, and we were quickly in Brighton. Sarah looking out of the window and loving the buildings and the green of it all was making her think of Wisconsin. Remarkably unfazed by her journey, Sprinkles didn't seem tired at all, which was good as the poor girl was plunged into all kinds of activities from the get go. We got home and had Bucks Fizz and sat in my yard. Later I cooked us both a big breakfast before we set off to the local park where there was a gathering for Oskar's first birthday. Forcing Sprinkles up the steep hil...

A toe in the water Off to work feeling untraumatised. Arriving at the office, I found there was little to do, and the Gnome still on holiday. So had two brief chats with Anton about Dragons, talked to Mum. And swapped emails with Aimee who has had lively time of it when her friend fell off a fire escape down three stories and broke lots of bones and bled heavily. She said that she went for a manicure the next day, and the manicurist was complaining about her dirty nails not knowing it was her friend's blood. Also First Matie who is under the cosh as usual, and Sprinkles who was having ideas for TV programmes. Spoke to the French Bloke who has also taken up gardening, with a chainsaw. Happy to sit at work, watching the red buses cross the river on the green and gold of Hammersmith Bridge every now and again. A lovely warm day and Trace and I had a walk for an hour at lunchtime talking about psychics. Little to do in the afternoon too, so I melted away early. Wonderful to be heading...

Bee busy A Monday that had no evil in it. A long lie in followed by a full day. Skype with Sprinkles early on before she set off to work. She has her own exceedingly feminine-looking blog, and I have put a link to her site in my friends who blog section. Worked for several hours on my bits and pieces, and managed to post off a submission of two short stories. Also worked on my poetry collection which is very much taking shape. Also bought two chairs and a table for my back yard in Habitat from a pleasant lady called Jazz. Home sitting on a chair peering at the roses I had sadistically pruned the other day. They're reacting surprisingly well to the affront. Everything looks messier in my back yard than when I started, which wasn't exactly the point. But none of the things I poked in the ground seems to have died yet. After eating chicken and rice in the evening, I went for another walk and took the photos belown on the pier. Then home again, and a good chat with Toby who had an...

Tea in the Twitten Languorous and warm Easter Sunday. Got started writing early, and have rewritten completely a poem which has been unfocused for years. And bingo! It works. When not talking to Sprinkles for hours today, receiving instruction in rather off colour Tagalog and learning a host of other things, I did gardening. I planted a climbing rose and swept and planted and pulled bits of rubbish in bags from one corner of my yard to the other. Got talking at length to my neighbours Naomi and Steve. They were also gardening. Steve made us a cup of tea and we had a really neighbourly chat. Their oldest little lad is not yet three, and later as he watched me pull bits from the flowerbed he had a long conversation with me about subjects ranging from Bob the Builder to snails and kangaroos. Amazingly good language from such a small thing. Then a long and lovely cyberdate with Sprinkles before blessed bed.

And relax... Actually remembered how to relax today, and that holidays are big and clevah. After chatting with Sprinkles, I got busy in the garden and found this very therapeutic and completely dissipated my feelings of creative frustration. Gardening is the new rock and roll. I painted the wall of my tiny yard white again, and pruned and trimmed lots of stuff from the back for several hours. Afterwards I felt like reading. Completing a moderately entertaining book I bought for my flight to Japan called Viking - Odinn's Child by Tim Severin. Then plunged into a short but refreshing snooze. In the evening had a few cheeky beers with Anton. We went to three nice pubs all within a minute-or-so's walk from where I live. Both of us wondering what Sprinkles will make of Brighton and its boozers. Anton momentarily glum because he won't be able to upgrade his speakers for a while. A few scraps of chats about our radio thing too. Anton has already planned what sort of speciality sau...

The fascination of what's difficult My brain will not work. Been sitting expectantly in front of my computer and watching the tumbleweed and crows in the ideas department of my brain. Instead I want to sleep. This week was supposed to be about world domination, not narcolepsy. Grrr. Trying with the Ecstasy monologue but all my ideas are useless. Have come to an impasse on my useless poems. Just need to print off my reworked play about Thor but can't be bothered because it is useless. Keep thinking about those lines of Yeats: "The fascination of what's difficult/Has dried the sap out of my veins, and rent/Spontaneous joy and natural content/Out of my heart." Of course Yeats was a gloomy sod sometimes. That's one of the reasons I like his work so much. The sunshine, of course, supplied by Sprinkles. She sent me a musical card. It sings the "Yummy Yummy Yummy, I've got love in my tummy" song when you open it and lots of Easter themed sprinkles fell ...

A happy Monday Lovely to sleep in until 8:30 this morning. I am feeling worn out and the prospect of being able to have a week of zzzzzzs in the morning is entirely wonderful. Woke up to some very interesting email from Sprinkles. Then Anton and I went to the local BBC radio for a chat and to be shown how to use a small MP3 recorder. We met Neil Pringle and Lanie Whiting of BBC breakfast team, and very nice they were too. Neil gave us some good, practical advice on what to record and what to think about when recording. Anton and I will do some recording on the first leg of the Dragon walk two Saturdays from now - and we'll see how it goes. It's all good fun. Both quite cheerful about this. Went off to a shop and got a cable to connect my iPod to my stereo, and a new phono stage which Anton assured me I needed for the turntable. Also looking at TVs as it would be nice to have one that isn't the size of a matchbox. Home and Anton kindly set up the equipment before having to g...

Marmite and my mates April fool's day. But thankfully no trickery. My house has become fantastically untidy over the last few weeks, and so spent the morning tidying when not chatting at length to Sprinkles who gets up at five o'clock. This is a) handy for me but b) slightly disturbing as Cabal her dog insists on it. Today we discussed the glories of English food, such as Marmite. Their whole marketing strategy is based on the correct insight that people either love it or hate it. There was this viral film which is rather nasty but quite funny. In the afternoon Trace came down to Brighton and we had a long slope along down by the seafront. Really hot day and enjoyably Trace had a faux fur coat and hat on among people in teeshirts. In fact when I got home i think I had caught the sun. We stopped off at a seaside cafe where I had an eccles cake and a nice cup of coffee which quickly made me want to hurl, an effect which lasted for some hours. However lots of deep chats with Trac...

Alice Russell Up early, and though not exactly fresh as a daisy, I was full of cheeriness. After walking out early to get fresh bread from the patisserie and a paper, I snacked on kippers and toast, then had an exceedingly pleasant chat with Sprinkles for about three hours. In three weeks we will be laughing over a nice cup of tea instead of the Atlantic. My groceries from the Internet shopping were delivered but I haven't quite mastered this yet, as I found a carefully wrapped single carrot, and a single banana. After talking to Sarah, I spent much of the afternoon making ineffectual attempts to tidy up. Anton came by in the evening with tickets to see Brighton's own diva Alice Russell. Anton was always playing Hurry On Now when I first moved to Brighton, and it gradually became the soundtrack to my first few months here. We met up with Rick in the St James in Kemptown and headed off down to Concorde 2, which is down by the sea, and is an excellent venue: not too big, and goo...