under another sun

A morning of action. Got up early, and sent off the first two parts of Gordon Road , to Long Poem Magazine. Then had breakfast with Lorraine, looking at my mail, which included the last two copies of the Sampler One from Mariscat with a nice note from Hamish the editor. Another letter told me how to claim my state pension, and my replacement Lamy pen arrived.   Had a good morning's work. Lorraine off to see Pat and Maureen, and brought them back for lunch. Then Lorraine went to the dentist, with Maureen as they both had appointments. I went for a long walk this afternoon, taking some photos with my proper camera. Spoke to Beth briefly, who'd seen the midwife today. All well.  Home, and Pat and Maureen in the garden. Maureen told me very sweetly that the best thing that ever happened was Lorraine and I meeting each other.  Later Lorraine and I mooched down to the seafront again, stopping at Osbourne's fish and chips en route. We ate fish and shared chips in the evening sun...

I learned from Julia that her and Bob's mum had died yesterday. Messaged Bob of course.  Happily working at my desk this morning. Generous amounts of rain hosing from the sky. Spoke to Mum, who was not enjoying the weather and was off to the Waggon pub later, for a bit of fun. She'd gone to another meeting in Edgware where they were playing Bingo which she thought was a bit of a pointless game. Also spoke to Anton, off this weekend taking his Mum to stay with Uncle John in Spain.  Sylwia here for a few hours making the house look spick and span. Lorraine at Pat and Maureen's to take a doctor's call with Maureen. At lunchtime I mooched around to Osborne's fish and chips, picked up a pensioner's box with two fish, and more fish and chips and Mushy peas and  had lunch with Pat and Maureen and Lorraine in the flat. The sea less lively today. I love how Pat is enjoying seeing the ferry come in and they both get quite caught up by all the goings on, like a yacht race ...

A good deal better today, and was up and about tidying and getting things ready. In the morning three ladies from the house sales team came, and mooched appraisingly about the house, *sounding* very positive through their masks. But then that is their job innit. Then three ladies from Dusty dolls came around and tidied the place up for the first time in ages followed by a bloke who came around to do the EPC check.  All this excitement was a bit tiring. Fish and chips in the evening, which were delicious. 

A much better night's sleep, and a welcome change of pace with two fun briefs to work on from mes amis in Paris. A quick chat with Val by phone. It was oddly nice to hear her -- something normalising about working with her again, after a bit of a break. One of briefs even required me to be funny, a bit of a first for me in animal health. This took up much of the day, interspersed with two short walks around Blaker's Park to think. Both times raindrops fell on me, although not enough to qualify as rain. After the wettest winter we are now by June 3rd, on the cusp of a drought. Although Lorraine said there were puddles in Bolney. Spoke to Mum who was setting up a FaceTime call with her old pal Mark Lewis. Finished Carrying the Fire . Fascinating book, and it makes me want to watch the Documentary Film Apollo 11, which was released last year and Toby said was amazing. I have some trailers on YouTube, it looks wonderful. The world you glimpse in the book, from an astronaut'...

The itchy and scratchy show Another swim today, which I'm loving. My skin is incredibly dry and itchy at the moment though, which means I can't go too often. It also necessitates the faintly homoerotic business of standing about rubbing moisturisers and unguents into myself in the often quite crowded changing room. Curiously Blogging seems to be flavour of the month at the moment, and I have been asked to write another one for work soon. In the evening met Paul, who I'd not seen for about six months. He is now creative director of his own starter agency, and was wearing his pinstripe suit and two tone shoes and generally looking gangsterish. He also had a mysterious Romanian woman called Diana in tow, who was having a difficult life crisis. She was interested that I wrote poetry, as she did too, and she had also studied philosophy. Paul had offered her a roof over her head while she gets things sorted out - typical of him as he is always helping people. They came to meet m...