under another sun

A sigh of relief again this morning. Lorraine and I driving to the station. Kissed Lorraine goodbye in the car, a cup of tea from  The Daily Grind  and onto the train. This morning there was no need to work, instead I played Patience on my laptop, and listened to Villette, which I finally finished on the way home in the evening.  The final chapters were extraordinarily good, however, and it is a fine book well deserving of its reputation. But I had to be in certain moods to read it, and not a book you can just dip into very easily. In fact it took me longer to complete than any book I can think of. Pleased I stuck to my guns though. A strange day of work. Still very tired, but worked hard for the first few hours, then the afternoon there was nothing much to be done. Went to a pub called The Boot briefly with a few folks, including Sarah who is just about to go on maternity leave. Chatted to Karam too. The boot empty and like going back in time to an old fashioned London...

Made a brand new mind map. Sent out my marketing book proposal for the umpteenth time, contacted my French clients, sorted out a trip to the smoke on Friday followed by a cheeky with Matt, spoke to Janet, organised a meeting with Jess Mookherjee, laundry, bins, spoke to Anton, tidied office and so on. A short walk listing still to C. Bronte's  Villette , which I still love. Savouring this listen. Spoke to Mum and Mas this afternoon a few times. Mas was having a medical problem, and I advised them to call 111. Having done so Mas was asked to go into hospital in the evening. Lorraine feeling the strain before half term. Beth cooked, Lorraine and I took back the hatstand and two chairs used in the play back to the Duke of Wellington with thanks. Delicious dinner, followed by an early night. During the course of the day I remembered Swifty and Amanda telling me that my old friend Neil, from my university days, was in prison. I googled him and found he had been a big news item in ...

End of a curiously unproductive week. More work this morning on the Centaur project. I sent Helen the next tranche of words, which she liked. Between ironing and other such glamorous activities, listening to my audiobook Villette by Charlotte Bronte. I love it. It's a case, as I was saying to Anton, of the right book at the right moment. I really liked Jane Eyre, but I think I prefer this. In the evening, Lorraine late back from work and frazzled after Friday IT problems. We wandered off to Preston Park Tavern which was so busy we opted instead for The Cleveland, which although near we'd never been into. It was a bit like stepping back into the 1980s, except the man sitting alone in the busy pub, staring at a little tablet, his face grimacing with all kinds of emotions. Football I think. Then down the hill to the Shahi. Chatting lots to Sabir, who was saying he wanted to come to the play. We enjoyed being in familiar surroundings and tucking into a curry. Meanwhile more ...

Walking quite a bit feeling antsy and stale and tired at home. Blood test results back today, and nothing to worry about. Poo test results next week. Finding it hard to concentrate on work much though. Listening to Villette by Charlotte Bronte, which is excellent on my strolls. Spoke to Janet. Very pleased to hear that Ken had been released back into the wild today, but only after Janet had to have a large tantrum. He wasn't enjoying being in hospital, and it was very tiring for her. So good news all round. Popped out this evening to have a cheeky beer with Anton at the Joker, as Lorraine was out. Anton eating a plate of woof woofs and curly fries, and we had a general catch up and gossip, not being tempted by the sub-Smiths dirges seeping from upstairs. A snap on one of my saunters. Sunlight amid the cloudy stuff.