under another sun

Up and running about tidying as Lorraine baked some courgette bread. Last night she announced that her nursing pals were coming around this morning: Chris, Anne, Chris and her partner Gary. We sat in the garden and I gave them drinks and so on. They made off to Beachy Head to sightsee. Lorraine and I went into  town, a huge swarm of scooters driven by aging mods heading in the same direction, probably inspired by the Quadrophenia film. There was a huge gathering of them in Brighton for the weekend, also marking nostalgia for the days of the Battle of Brighton . Lorraine off to see Pat and Maureen. Maureen had been upset this morning, so Lorraine wanted to spend some time with them. I popped in to see the Seaford Art Club's exhibition. Eileen and Palo on duty, so it was nice to see them both. I then went off on a longish walk. Late afternoon Lorraine and I bussed into Brighton. Along the route an outbreak little St George's Crosses attached to lampposts. Much about this in local...

A lovely time with Catherine and Tanya who we met in The Bath Arms for lunch. Unusually chaotic there with a bull in a china shop man serving the tables, who dropped our tray of beers on the floor next to us, soaking my shoes and trousers. The food was microwaved, and none of the desserts advertised were on. However the company was excellent. Lots of good chats. From there we went to a new ice cream place where we had some rather delicious ice cream and coffee. Here I was talking about the idea of putting together some kind of course, and Catherine and Tanya were so positive about me, and so full of helpful and encouraging suggestions that it was far better than any therapy session, and I came out of it with a rapidly emerging alternative path ahead of me. It was brilliant to talk to them, and of course Lorraine was as supportive as ever. So all in all a lovely time for me. Home, and I took the sodden clothes from the washing machine to the launderette, and then after I returned, spe...

Up and at 'em, at least for a Saturday. Phoned Janet, who was tired after a poor night. I will see her next week. Lorraine and I had what we indelicately call a house poo, where we took sacks of rubbish to the recycling plant in Hove, and boxes of things to go to a Hove charity shop. Quite satisfying to have a tidy dungeon, into which we can now neatly store garden stuff that had been kept in the rotting shed we got rid of. Then back to Brighton, where I bought Anton a card and pressie. A lovely afternoon, and Lorraine sat finally lounging on her sun lounger, whose purchase had been within fifteen minutes of bringing it home before we went on holiday, the signal for the end of the drought. A really nice evening. Off to the Bath Arms to meet Anton, where we sat outside for a bit. We went off to have bite to eat in Indian Summer. He was perky having been to his cardiologist, who told him his valve looks fine, and he is now officially in good shape, despite having a pe...

Scorcher time renewed. Lorraine and I slowly getting organised for holidays, and shutting down business of all kinds for a couple of weeks. I feel a great need to escape at the moment. After looking at my shrinking coffers online, what better thing to do than go shopping. So Lorraine and I went into town where I bought a pair of sneakers to replace my holed ones, a pair of light loafers, some paper to paint on, as I am going to break out my watercolours on holiday as we should have a balcony to sit on and a view. Lorraine looked at various dresses and so on. Nice to be strolling about, although it was very hot. Eventually at around four o'clock we popped into The Bath Arms to get some food, and gulp down some lager shandy, as it was scorching. Home, Lorraine quite sleepy. Tom here tonight, and chatting to him, while obsessively playing the simple but obsession-inducing game Wood Puzzle Lorraine showed me a couple of weeks ago, on my phone.

Up early and working for a while, before sloping off into town, where I bought shoe laces, dust masks for scraping walls, and went to the bank. After this I had a quick coffee in the Marwood cafe. It was regrettably full of posturing arty types doing some kind of quick and grubby photoshoot, as if it were the most important thing in the world. Bah, I thought, Old fogeyishly. Then off to meet Catherine at The Bath Arms for lunch. A pint of beer, some grub and a long chat. Catherine is so intelligent and sane, I always feel braced and perked up by her company, and that I can say almost anything to her. I also spoke to Rosie about our forthcoming birthdays, which as they are only a day apart we are going to have a mutual drink in a pub with our many mutual chums on Saturday night. Still no real energy. I start off the day full of hope and cheer, but by mid afternoon feel tied, and achey, which makes me feel glum. It feels like there are million things to do, but I just have no oomph. ...

Good work on the novel this morning, then I mooched down to meet Catherine for papal audience in The Bath Arms, ate fish and chips and talked at Catherine till her ears wilted. Catherine with a day off from the University, really good to see her, although work has been hard, she's been off colour with a virus, and she was sad as one of her and Tanya's beloved cats died on Monday. Pet deaths are tough. One of unappealing characteristics is moaning. Once I have moaned wretchedly for a while, I feel cleansed, happy and optimistic. Weirdly the hearers of this moaning don't always feel the same way. Luckily Catherine is made of robust stuff, and endures a bit of moaning in good spirit. She is a most excellent person to talk to, funny and entertaining and inspiring. Perhaps my subconscious takes her Pope surname to heart, and I come away feeling absolved. Walked home afterwards in a good deal of rain, and felt suddenly very flat and tired. Spoke to Mum, in a flat and tired wa...

A pleasant day, not having to write about homelessness nor anything else. Mainly allowed me to sit about and  cough and snuffle to my heart's content. Bussed to the Bath Arms have a bite to eat with Catherine, and we had a good chat on a wide variety of things, everything from The Epic of Gilgamesh to Donald Trump, and a bit of gossip thrown in. Catherine mentioned as an aside that her PhD thesis on Florence Marryat, that she has restructured as a book is now going to be published at the end of next year. I came home and flaked out a bit, and then when Lorraine was done with work and Beth was back from Eastbourne we went off to the Preston Park Tavern, which felt like a celebration of Lorraine being on the weekend. I wasn't drinking much, however.  Beth and Lorraine menacing each other's bottoms in the dark on the way home, despite it being no later than eight. 

Working on various poems this morning, and writing something on the Telltale site. Then off to answer a Papal summons in The Bath Arms, for lunch (sausage and mash for me, and a bleeding steak for Catherine) and wide-ranging discussions with Catherine, including the recent uncovering of a Dickens rejection letter to Mrs Florence Marryat. A writer Catherine knows an enormous amount about. See Catherine's blog on the subject here.  Also received advice about going backwards on the cross trainer. Catherine amusingly went to extremes on the gym last year and doing an astonishing seven day a week routine, which even her personal trainer told her was too much. The wiry fit Pope clad in black lycra was what led to Tanya dubbing her Spiderpope, which still makes me laugh every time I think of it. From here back home, where I had a judicious snooze and started work on a new poem. This in response to a request to write a response to Willie the Shake's Sonnet 19, for an anthology. I hav...

Up early and another early start, sending off some more poems, and generally being industrious. I bused into town to have a really enjoyable afternoon with Catherine Pope, a papal audience in the Bath Arms where we had a couple of beers and plates of lunchtime fish and chips. The world was put to rights and the woes and triumphs of writers and publishers discussed. As well as being a sagacious and clever person Catherine makes me laugh a good deal. We were discussing my new found love of gardening, at which she was shuddering and said that Tanya was a big gardener too. Catherine said she looked in a front garden and saw something that genuinely interested her, as she had never seen a plant with perforations like that, and snapped a photo of it on her phone to show Tanya till she realised it was a crumpet. Really good to see Catherine because she has such clarity that after discussing my various projects with her I came away with a clear sense of priorities, as well as a copy of Har...

Spoke briefly to a shattered Mum this morning, who had finally arrived home after a massive delay at O'Hare. I spent the day working on ways to brand a new piece of medical equipment. Felt a bit like I'd been sent to my room, as I am now in holiday mode. In the evening out into hammering rain. Caught a bus full of singing people from Kent. The off to Olé Olé a Spanish restaurant in the old lanes where we met Betty and John, and hoovered up some excellent tapas, and enjoyed some stampy Spanish music and dancing, and generally had a laugh. We'd not seen Beth for what seemed like ages, and it was great to see her. Eventually as we couldn't hear each other talking very much, due to the Iberian prancing which seemed to be very popular with the ladies there. We made off to the Bath Arms for a cheeky drink before cabbing home, and chatting more. A cheery night listening to some tunes, John playing us some music by The Cinematic Orchestra which was rather good too. Belo...

After a morning of purposeful shopping, ironing and tidying, off to The Bath Arms for a long and leisurely birthday Sunday Lunch for Catherine, who is 40 tomorrow. As well as Catherine and Tanya, I met their pal Juliana for the first time who had drunk in the Bunch of Grapes, haunt of my teens. Also there were Matt, Wayne, Tim and Guy. Some really funny and interesting conversation, I find Catherine and Tanya refreshingly smart, and both are in the final stages of their PhDs and have giant brains. A good lunch, and I managed to cram down some apple crumble too, a last hurrah for gluttony as I am returning to virtue tomorrow. We all sat about for hours companionably, just one of those days when I am so pleased I live in Brighton. Catherine was bought lots of chocolate, Lorraine and I got her a phrenological head that as a Victorianist, we thought Catherine might enjoy. Wandering back in a group through Brighton, saying goodbye to people on route, till it was just Lorrraine and ...

Up early and in a frenzy of tidying up and activity. Sun pouring in through the velux windows this morning galvanising Lorraine and I into a frenzy of tidying up and activity including painting the last remaining mauve wall white. Why does anybody paint mauve onto a wall other than to signify their own moral degeneracy? Lorraine told by Beth to expect a surprise delivery at 11:30 today. And the delivery proved to be of Beth herself and three pals from college, Olivia, Liza and Emily. Lorraine and I had arranged to meet Matt and Wayne in the Bath Arms for a late roast lunch, and the girls came too. Beth's friends proving cheery and likable - although Olivia had just lost a friend in a car crash so was putting on a brave face. Beth took her pals off to look at the pier, where two had their fortunes told, and went on various rides. Matt needed some shoes, so L, Wayne and I went shoe shopping with him. As we were leaving the Bath Arms bumped into...