under another sun

Up and after breakfast a general bustling  as Amanda had arrived to do some decorating. Lorraine and I dug out the paint from the garage. Also Mark from Flowers came to measure up for the carpet in the guest room. I noticed he was wearing a very nice watch. Later Chris arrived to take off the radiator. All fairly disrupting for any kind of writing. I spoke to Mum and Toby who were drinking morning coffees. I popped back to Flowers for a book of carpet samples, then went to Lewes to meet Robin. Looked at the London Review of Books on the train, which Steve wangled a free year's subscription for us. Arriving early, I popped into The Bow Windows Bookshop and bought two second hand books: one on pond life, and the other a collection of three short novels by Thomas Love Peacock.  Then to The Rights of Man pub almost next door. Was called 'mate' by the barmaid who looked about twelve. Nursed a single pint of Harveys Sisters , a so called table beer, mild mannered at 3.4%. Turns o...

Various bits of admin and preparing for the meeting with Robin this afternoon. Otherwise the US election seems in the balance, with the Blue Wave not really happening. The fact is that there are millions of Americans happy to vote for this maniac.   Beth came around in the afternoon after working at L's school for a bath and to visit for the last time before lockdown 2. Had toasties and a chat... She and James are planning to move in together for the new year.  Jumped on a train for the 14 mins ride to Lewes. The train very sparsely populated and the windows open. Watched with something like admiration as a bloke of about 50 who got on just after me, and sat a couple of rows away, had a big bag of beers and chugged two of them by the time we arrived at Lewes.  Met Robin outside the station, and we walked to two pubs, and sat in a pub garden but the ambient noise was too great, and then we sat on a big upstairs terrace of a pub called The Rights of Man. We were the only pe...