under another sun

Up early and doing a little work for my French amis this morning, before I got back to writing my latest short stories. I am not sure I have known a period of such fluency in writing before, and I am just getting it all down while I can.  To Brighton station, after a chat with Beth, who is not feeling well today, via my pharmacy. Simply handed a bag of drugs there, and paid nowt. One of the benefits of being older. NHS God bless it. In the afternoon I went to London, popping into Tate London near Victoria, and had a quick zoom around the Blake exhibition, and looked too at a giant installation by Mark Leckey, whose work I have liked a good deal before, called O' Magic Power of Bleakness. I felt I did not do either exhibition justice as I was in and out quickly. I will reserve judgement. There was loads of work in the Blake, really comprehensive exhibition.  I did squeeze in time for a pot of Earl Grey and a flapjack in the members only area upstairs though.  Fro...

A full day. Did a fair amount of writing this morning, and then went for a long walk for a couple of hours. Also had a hair cut (the less hair you have the more you need it cut etc.) and bought another copy of Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience . This with the pictures and the words facing them. In the evening Lorraine drove us down to Hove where we met Beth and had some dinner at the Regency cafe. I had superior fish and chips, and Lorraine had fish pie, and Beth had a seafood platter. Full of Chinese tourists for some reason. Then we walked along the seafront to the Brighton Centre to see War Horse the theatre show based on the Michael Morpurgo children's story. The show worked very well, and the sets and costumes were really good. The story had its heart in the right place, but I thought the pace a tad slow, probably due to playing to such a huge hall. I'd never been to the Brighton Centre. A nice way to spend an evening in the week, a rare school night out f...

Somehow twisted my neck which set off referred pain into my head. Got up in the middle of the night and microwaved the bean filled bag that Maureen gave me, to drape like a heavy slug over my neck. I spent much of the day be-slugged while I worked on Sin Cycle . Now I have Sarah's comments too, I am now making my final tweaks. Weirdly, there are several parallels with Songs of Innocence and Experience  which I haven't read for years, although one of my poems is a reworking of an old poem of mine inspired by  The Sick Rose , a picture of the Blake's engraving which I posted yesterday. Otherwise a quiet day, and Lorraine working late. Maureen phoned me up to talk about curtains. She said I wouldn't understand it but she told me anyway. Glenice phoned to thank Lorraine for birthday flowers. Meanwhile I did my 10k paces in three walks. Not snowing in Brighton as it was in much of the country, but there were occasional odd sleety or snowflake in the air but nothing with an...

Up fairly early for us on Sunday, after quorn sausage sandwiches. Lorraine and I had a longish walk and a good breath of fresh air and popped into a garage to look at second hand cars and spoke to a cagey second hand car salesman who we didn't warm to. A relaxed afternoon. I read Blake's Songs of Innocence & Experience for the first time in decades, much more intrigued by the Innocent ones than I remember, which the more you look at them, the odder they become. I have a book with Blake's pictures in them too. He was an unusual cove, and all the better for that. Lorraine working this afternoon, and I snoozed and cooked roast chicken and spoke to Mum and Toby who may be coming to blighty in the Spring. Below The Sick Rose as printed by William Blake.