under another sun

Fog and chocolate cake The train nosing through a tunnel of dense fog. As usual this reminded me of Bleak House by Charles Dickens, especially as the train slid over the bridge into Victoria station. I did some good work on my poems on the train. Meanwhile, at Victoria, I went to the ticket office to renew my oyster card and pay the man back for the free ride he gave me yesterday. He was surprised, but he declined payment, and said it came from the heart and said that sometimes this sort of thing makes the world a better place. This philosophy, delivered in a sunny West Indian accent, entirely renewed my faith in humanity. And I found his small and random act of kindness to me genuinely moving. Had another swim at lunchtime, which I enjoyed and was much less frenzied than yesterday which was barging and elbowy and too full. Meanwhile the great resignation saga goes on. The agency may has well have been lost in the fog as no new deal was forthcoming. I ended the day sending written c...

Greeks bearing gifts Up with the lark and putting up the blinds in my living room with only one short bout of enraged swearing. Remo has discovered that there are big chunks of flint in my walls (the house is 150 years old) which explains why drilling has been a very unpredictable affair. Today the gods of drilling must have been appeased. Now I have blinds are light-proof so that my room will be obscured from the eyes of would-be pilferers as they peer at my windows at night. Sophie, Andros, Christof and Electra were in town for the weekend, and they are very cheerful company. First we went to the pier and me and Sophie did bumper cars with the kids. Sophie completely exhilarated afterwards. Then I was dragged off to get drenched in the watersplash. I am not over fond of fairground rides, and the children and Sophie seemed to derive quite a bit of enjoyment from the photo of the waterspash log poised at the summit with my face frozen in a rictus grin while the two kids are nochalantly...