under another sun

Sans list, not so effective today at the work stuff. However, I did manage to get my first invoice of the year out, and first as Peter Kenny The Writer Ltd . Not before time. Off to the back crackers. This , said the surprisingly robust Amy, is called the bear hug in America , proceeding to fold my arms then bounce on my chest with her fist behind my back. I think this was therapeutic reasons.  Anyway the ghastly pain of the beginning of the year has abated. After a spot of this off to The Dorset pub to meet Anton who'd consented to come to the cinema to see Wild.  Lorraine and Rosie found us there and we sauntered across the road. Quite a good movie, with Reece Witherspoon trekking the Pacific Crest Trail of America through deserts and snow and so on in search of some inner peace, or 'to put yourself in the way of beauty'. Scenic and lovely film, though not mawkish or overly sentimental. The character's mother, seen only in flashback, was played by Laura Dern who...

Another night of not sleeping. Determined this morning to strive for discipline, despite having matchstick eyes. The first four hours dedicated to creative work, as I am unable to think of anything I'd rather be doing that reading and writing poems at the moment - such is the result of hearing fantastic poets last night. Turns out David Harsent won, which I wasn't expecting but thoroughly deserved. I personally got down the start of something or other. In the afternoon walked through the park and down to the bank, after ten minutes in there exited into a deluge. From London Road up to see Janet and Ken, where I arrived sodden. A chat and cup of tea with them, discussing the Charlie Hebdo business, and the colours that Janet opts for when making fabrics and other diverse subjects before heading off to the back crackers in Kemptown. Given a painful going over which involved muscle releasing too, including the jabbing of thumbs to the most hurty spots, stretches and crackings. H...

Grey misty rain in Brighton today. I walked out to get bread this morning, passing a father and his young son mooching along symbolically with a spent Christmas tree, although someone in Choice Cuts was buying a goose. Woke up late, having had another poor sleep. In desperation I arranged a chiropractor appointment in Kemptown. Saw a very thorough back cracker called Amy who and said I had damaged and inflamed the gap between two vertebrae in my upper back, and did lots of stretching, adjusting, and even some kind of treatment with a laser, and said it would take some time to settle down. Unfortunately lying down, in any configuration, is still excruciating but I felt she had at least released some of the pain and made my neck freer. Lorraine and I drove off to Hove in search of bolts and screws. Lorraine later assembled the spare bed, with only some last-minute screwdriver work needed from me.  We also went to Sainsburys and settled in for a pleasant evening watching movies on...

Quacks and cracks Another zombie dawn after pain kept me awake half the night. Not slept properly now for about two weeks and it is wearing me out. Off to the quacks, which I am beginning to think of as the Cheers Bar. Good news however is that my blood pressure is calming down. Then on to the chirporactor who is beginning to consider my back a personal affront, and did some advanced cracking but the pain continues. There is no escape. Otherwise, I worked hard on Skeletons and poems. Also made the surprising discovery that Calliope can fetch and return her ball toy like a dog, and is very entertaining running about with it in her mouth. Out with Anton this evening and a game of pool. After he thrashed me, we drifted off to the newly renamed West Hill pub, to happily sup a couple of Harveys and survey the new drinking den, which was rather nice, though empty. Drifted home cheerfully after talking about important matters such as Strangler's concerts and Klaudia's TV appearance wh...

Pine feet Up with the sparrows this morning. The Tobster dormant, I did hours of work before he got up. I have targeted a new publisher, Hay House, for my pamphlet project - and this morning I made a few amends to it, and sent it off in the afternoon, to try my luck. I took Toby a nice cup of tea at 11 and, when he had surfaced I cooked peppered tomatoes and mushrooms fried in olive oil on toast. Toby said that his favourite vegetables are tomatoes and mushrooms. Toby is very easy to cook for, something that Romy tells him too apparently. The top Toby accolade for food is a pause for one beat then tasty said with some feeling. Same thing in Japan except that he used the word oishii instead. He then set off up to the Smoke to see Mum and Mas. I did more work at home, before an afternoon swim. The pool full today, and a seemed to have dozens of staff rushing about. One of whom poured a fair amount of industrial strength disinfectant over my feet as I walked towards the pool. A mistake ...

I resign Off to my nice chiropractor first thing this morning. Because of the timing of my appointment I had a nasty mug of splosh in a working man's cafe in Chiswick (not many of those), while a man in overalls on the next table made a prank call about delivering horse manure. Then off to walk about in the rain in a leafy Chiswick square with the trees turning. I picked up a couple of conkers under a horse chestnut tree, and these seemed to be a good omen. The nice chiropractor gave me a good cracking and mostly solved my neck problem. As she worked I started to wonder, a bit madly, what would happen if you were an invertebrate and needed help. And while she was crunching me, and I was reading things upside down from the couch I was diverted by a book on her bookcase called OUCH . Disappointingly it was actually called TOUCH but the way it was typset though the T was part of the design and almost invisible. Then into the agency. Much to-ing and fro-ing, but nothing had changed si...

On cracking and drumming Off to my chiropractor again, she is very sweet. She told me to stand on one leg facing into the corner of a room, as an exercise for my ankle. When I laughed, she looked at me sternly as chiropractors are immune to the absurd. Otherwise nothing much going on other than lots of work. Had a chat with Max the Mentor this evening - who I'd not caught up with for some time. Then I had a cheeky beer with John a very talented colleague who is an absolutely brilliant drummer. He has been on a variety of records, including this by Suncoil Sect . I've listened to this a few times, and think his playing is the outstanding feature of the record. Did my presentation today and managed to work weasels into the story. Not just any weasel, the symbolic weasel of high cholesterol, pictured below.

Fools full of moon Full moon may have had something to do with an exceedingly snarly atmosphere in the agency this morning, with certain people behaving like children. Tremendously unimpressed by this, but fortunately I kept aloof. Keeping aloof is hard when you want to knock people out but I managed it. Other than this tetchfest, and too much work, little to report today. Went to the chiropractor, which curiously was the most peaceful interlude of the day. She is an excellent chiropractor, who was brought up on Cyprus. Had a nice chat about skeletons and modern Greek poetry as she sorted me out. And walked back along the river to my agency with a spine as supple as a slow worm. Returned to the fray, and left work quite late, although feeling fairly cheery. I am now in my traditional position of having responsibility without being given the authority, which needs to be resolved quickly. Home and I had a pizza and watched the last three episodes of Frasier before beginning a new Skelly ...

That's why they call them the blues Plunged into a wormhole of work with the Gnome. Locked away all day, and some of the evening, weaselling out the reluctant conceptual rabbits for a job that had to be done today. Meanwhile I was feeling bleak and paranoid but the Gnome was steady which helped. I did manage to lope off to a new chiropractor called Claire. My back has been giving me unspeakable gyp over the last couple of weeks. She was the first English chiropractor I've ever had, and did a great job. My favourite chiropractor so far, however, was an Australian called Belinda who although scarcely larger than a wallaby managed to crack and womanhandle me better than any of the others, often by literally bouncing up and down on me. Work all day, and ended up having some late drinks in the office bar, gradually feeling less paranoid and shifty. Had to stand most of the way home on the late train. It was full of blue: glum-looking Chelsea fans, one of whom I talked to, after he t...

Back to the back cracker Another frenzied pitch day. When will this end? I almost never eat chocolate, but I found myself suddenly engorging the chocolate biscuits which appear mysteriously in most meetings. I usually spurn those bad boys, but today was different. Earlier I'd been stealing handfuls of chocolate smarties during another pitch briefing too. What does it mean? Can men get premenstrual too? Blessed escape off to the chiropractor , really nice just walking along by the grey river under the grey sky with a grey heron picking dejectedly at muddy, cold-looking stones. All curiously lovely though. Same back-cracker as last time, but she is returning home to Norway next week. Nice girl but not brutal enough with the bones. Given that I am nearly 6ft 2ins and fairly solid, it doesn't seem seem fair on the poor waif as she bounces her several ounces up and down on me trying to free my spine up. Her replacement was sitting there mutely, and seemed promisingly beefier. I di...