under another sun

A day to myself. Lorraine off to see Pat and Maureen. I spent a blissfully monastic day working on my poetry MS and made some satisfying strides forward. Dare I whisper it... It is beginning to feel like a book now. I also went to The Crypt to talk to Palo Almond, about buying a print of one of her paintings Lorraine and I like lots. We talked about her work and the particular painting Lorraine and I wanted. Chatty and asking with genuine interest about my work too. In the afternoon I went out for a walk briefly into the gym and then along the seafront and round about to home, to make sure I'd done my 10k paces. More good writing in the afternoon too. Feeling happy about having time to think.  Lorraine home again this evening. I watched The War of The Worlds with Tom Cruise. The first half of that film I really like. Then we watched a bit of TV before bed.  Horrible climate news today, what with various places on fire, and a headline in the Guardian suggesting the Gulf Stream ...

Lorraine with stinking cold today.  Beth recovering now. I felt under par myself, so it was a gold sofa day when I wasn't taking care of Lorraine. This peppered with a few movies, and discussions of what to eat over Christmas. I slept in the afternoon. To bed early, Lorraine, already has decided not to go into school tomorrow as she is too ill.  Watched an episode of His Dark Materials tonight. Very enjoyable. Then BBC's remake of The War of the Worlds, which was a dog's dinner again. It is over now. I had been really looking forward to that series, but it was a stinker. And so to bed with an ill wifey.

Lorraine and I up and off to Ashford to see Pat and Maureen, now mostly recovered from the nasty chest infection bug they had. We went to the Supermarket, where we all did some shopping. Maureen likes to scan as she goes, and so gave Pat a stern warning about putting things in without scanning them, which happened last time apparently. Then, provisions safely in the boot, we drove the short distance to The Blacksmiths for a remarkably nice slices of roast turkey (Lorraine had lamb) all washed down with a couple of pints of Harveys. Really excellent veggies and good value too. We sat in the bit where Pat plays darts on a Friday night. Home and we chilled out, and I even had a snooze. Maureen toasted crumpets with butter and honey, and showed us a whole collection of knitted figures she had made. Then a long drive home listening to the radio, before getting home in time to watch the new BBC version of War of the Worlds, which I found very irritating as it introduced all kinds poorly ...

Up and a boiled egg breakfast with Lorraine. Two foxes passing through our garden. A day for sending manuscripts out. Spent several hours assembling three poetry submissions and a short story submission. The short story was rejected in less time than it took to get it ready by a magazine in the US. A rapidity never experienced,  I had resubmitted it by the end of the day. Off to Marks and Sparks today, to replace the boxer shorts Lorraine had got for me at the weekend. I chose the right size and presented them along with the wrong un's and receipt for a box of shortbread. not having noticed the receipt Lorraine had left me was wrong. They were fine about it though. Went to see Helen, buying some fancy biscuits en route. They were coconut and Helen doesn't like coconut. Met her son Josh again briefly. Listened to the new and hard to compose section of the Opera she has been working on. Part of it is a musical interpretation of a helicopter which is interesting, and strangely...