under another sun

Incredibly crawling late train this morning. The Brighton to St Pancras First Capital Connect service is truly dire, and their timetables are works of risible fiction. I find this all very stressful. Once at work, a pleasant enough day. Off at lunchtime with Matt to a local pub and we discussed my (advertising focused) New Idea, plus Jungian archetypes and other wide ranging subjects over a glass of wine and a bit of fish-based snap.  After work, I found myself in an extraordinary local dive called The County with Steve and Pat, (who have their own unsavoury name for it). Like stepping back into the 1970s, with strange decorations and lots of little tables with chairs. I had to change my chair for the gentleman who had been sitting in it before me was evidently rather aromatic. An hour or so given over to gossiping about former colleagues and their mad ways. Interspersed with older people shouting at each other.  Home, and a late chat with Lorraine before heading for be...

Cheered today by the folks in North Acton who called to ask me to return for six days starting next Monday, another big Yay!  of relief from the dusty Kenny Coffers. Otherwise spent much of the day bent over The New Idea and making some speedy progress on it. Lunchtime noodles chatting to Betty and Laura who had just returned after a lengthy night out with Laura's cousins from Dublin. Laura, who makes me laugh and somehow reminds me of my old pal Carl, vigorously celebrating her last day at her job, and talking in an immaculate Dublin accent and insisting she was going to fly to Dublin this afternoon, an idea which, like her Irish accent, Betty said wore off after a pizza and a bit of a snooze. I went for a walk in the park, which is now busily being got ready for Pride this weekend, where it will be the scene of a good deal of cavorting. Absently mooched into the walled garden, where hidden in one corner where about a dozen  teenage girls who looked at...

Much of the day spent getting my business ducks in a row and then, after sliding off to the gym worked on The New Idea in the afternoon. Also spoke to Jane who was struggling with technology. I had a brief struggle with it too, but to no avail. Sometimes IT takes agin you, and there is little to be done other than swear a lot. Sam arrived in the evening in great cheer after reacquainting himself with The Basketmakers, lifting Lorraine off the ground and giving me a beardy kiss. Lorraine had cooked a nice green chicken curry, and a profiterole pyramid (Sam's favourite) with a candle in it as it is his birthday tomorrow. She also gave him the Pythagoras pottery cup we'd found in Samos, which employs a siphon to empty itself when overful. We heard a little about his new girlfriend Jade, also a philosopher, and his philosophy course and so on.  Later Beth arrived back from Devon where she'd been on holiday with her dad, and Sam and Beth went back out to the pub with him. Lorr...

Woke up at 3 o'clock with blasted radio adverts on my mind. Had to go downstairs, sip chamomile tea, and write it all down for an hour. Beth, and her pals Milly and Ainsley stole in quiet as cat burglars and spoke in hushed ways with their mobiles bleeping with post club messages while I worked. To bed, and nightly noises of catfights, Calliope scratching on the laundry basket and stealing Lorraine's water, next door's children crying and so on meant that I barely slept till it was 6:25am and time to drag my sorry self from bed. A smooth journey to work, and miraculously after two cups of coffee, with the middle of the night work, I was able to fulfil their insane request and swiftly wrote four good quality radio scripts in an hour. More importantly, I used The New Idea thinking to good effect. After this, and a short but frenzied burst of work in the afternoon, I was released back into the wild, my stint over. It had been very challenging, but some of the people there we...

Back on The New Idea, and benefiting from a break from it with another major ah-ha moment and worked for many hours. I think this is sufficiently a good idea not to be blurting about it yet. Hobbled to Sainsburys to meet Lorraine after work, where I bumped into Adrian Turner over the veggies. L and I trying to buy slim foods. Ate aforementioned slimming foods, but she cooked some chocolate and beetroot brownies tonight to take into a team meeting, and I was undone. Delicious. Rewarded for walk to supermarket with tiresomely painful foot. Managed to watch football, and listened to a few more chapters of  Moby-Dick , which in its slow unfolding becomes increasingly gripping journey into the unknown and mental collapse. I wonder if it was an influence on Conrad when he wrote  Heart of Darkness . Must find out.

A beautiful hot day. The crowds surging down from the station to the beach like urban lemmings. Worked on The New Idea this morning, as Lorraine worked on the next desk on preparation for her school interview. Then I took myself off to the gym. Working out for quite some time, and trying to lose the fat suit which has stealthily crept back onto me. Feeling an odd sense of frustration at the moment. I am working hard on the The New Idea, but having to dispel a fresh wave of pessimism every day before I start work. Once I get going things are progressing well, and I believe in the project, but for months I have felt as if I have been driving with the handbrake on and any progress is incredibly hard won. Going to the gym is the healthiest way of getting rid of that feeling. Other than having a few drinks. As Lorraine was working tonight, I went to see my pals in the Tacet Ensemble play in Hove, conducted by Matt. A really good evening's entertainment, with pieces by lots of m...

Another long day today. Up early and working on The New Idea again most of the day, apart from taking a constitutional in the park late this afternoon. Had planned to be in London, but my key meeting fell through, which I was rather pleased about. Mooching about in my newly discovered walled garden again. I love walled gardens. Something about walling out of the rest of the world, to make a contained environment in which you can be connected to nature, but completely alone (if you are lucky). I also enjoyed the book A Secret Garden , when I was a child, despite the book cover saying it was mainly for girls. Very warm, even late in the afternoon, and found a bench and did a spot of meditating, listening to the birds and the traffic nearby. Mooching slowly about I noticed one of the corners of the garden was lined with Victorian gravestones for dogs. Like poor Soot, who was poisoned in 1884. Quite touched by this. When you think of the millions who have died since then probably ...

Working in a focused fashion on The New Idea. Happy with its progress, and it is demanding lots of thought. Mercifully the people working on the viaduct were not immediately behind the Old Church Hall today. At 3 pm took myself for a walk in the park for an hour or so, peering into ponds and photographing some fish, though they were camera shy, almost koi. Discovered a walled garden in the back of the Preston House, which was lovely and quite timeless and a nice place to listen to Wolf Hall . Walked about thoughtfully for some time enjoying this interlude from my desk. Home and Lorraine home quite early, but with loads to do. She put me to work drawing a picture for her presentation this evening, and after we went out to the Shahi to bolt some grub. Lorraine in a tunnel of work, but we had some respite. Home feeling full. Below some koi in a pond. Inside the walled garden, Brighton bowling club hard at it, and the folly in the Preston Park.

Another rainy day. I love the music of rain falling on the velux windows. It mitigates against the heavy machinery grinding away on the viaduct above my head. I noticed, however, one of the bright yellow cranes is called a Bronto. Perhaps I should learn to love them, lumbering about in the rain as they do. Watched a TED talk today, which are often brilliant gobbets of interesting stuff. Susan Cain was talking about The Power of Introverts , despite being really good at things, are not really catered for in modern school and workplace environments. She said at one point "there is zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas", which I rather liked. I am close to the middle I think. I loving mingling with others and can happily take centre stage, but also I crave bouts of solitude. Such as spending a productive day making big strides with The New Idea. This is not going to be a massive project, and so I can i...

Up working on The New Idea for most of the day, and thinking about it in the gym during my workout. Very broadly, the New Idea is about the business of creative concepting. It feels a bit like a copywriting job too, more of a chore that my other writing, but I hope it will be of practical use and therefore be sellable. Sell like piping hot cakes in fact. On my way back from the gym, I got a call from Lorraine excitably lurking in a corridor saying she had an interview for the job she had applied for. Getting an interview with her first application is an excellent achievement and when she came home we had a glass of bubbly to celebrate. I am proud of her. Mum called this afternoon too. Then a stroll around the park after supper for 40 minutes, really nice just to get out. Plants and roses all luxuriant with having had so much water. I find myself watching too much TV these days: mainly The Big Bang Theory, and footie,...

Getting my act together today. Trying to finishing the poem I shall be delivering at Craig's wedding next weekend. There is a worrying potential for looking like a huge buffoon, especially as there will be several writers there. Also working more on The New Idea for a business book which pleasingly is taking shape. Nicola called me to say I have a smidge of work later in the week which is good. Otherwise I maintained a low profile, apart from a trip to the shops. Also scrabbling about on my back for some times trying to fix our kitchen island, which is on wheels one of which has inexplicably come off.  Lorraine's first day at her new school today, and she seemed to enjoy. At the moment she is doing two days as week there, and then doing her existing job for three. This will change as time progresses. I cooked tonight and it was just nice to hang out chatting. I let Lorraine play Angry Birds on the iPhone this evening, which...