under another sun

Everything on still on hold.  Lorraine and I unable to go to the barbecue James and Beth had planned for Julie's 60th birthday.  Quite bored now and aware of all the things I'd like to be doing, instead of feeling lifeless. This probably a good sign. Lorraine had this bug worse than me, and is still lagging behind. We did watch a bizarre film called Poor Things , starring Emma Stone, and it was unlike anything we'd seen. Surreal, fairy tale elements and with elements of Frankenstein, steampunk and deeply about the idea of personal freedom.   Also watched a football match, England versus Ireland. A dull two nil win for England in Dublin. Maybe I'm finally outgrowing footie.  Watching  Firefly again, a great SF series, that was very entertaining but cancelled after one series. Hopefully tomorrow will be a proper turning point.

A massive sort out of wardrobes today, which was extremely cathartic. Lorraine positively happy today, in the knowledge there would be no nasty work surprises tomorrow or indeed ever again.   Alongside dead sea scrolls and the skeletons of assorted Narnians we discovered that I had a new pair of black jeans and an unworn pair of stylish blue shorts. Lorraine had a serious quantity of clothes. She is going to sell or give to charity some that remind her too much of work. Having cleared away lots of clothes, and vacuum packed (this a Beth idea) winter clothes we have now lots of space. Vacuum packing is ace. You put it all into a bag with a hole in it, attach your vacuum cleaner and suck all the air out of it, reducing its volume massively. Great for storage. As I had all this new shelf space, I ordered some holiday teeshirts and some German ear plugs for swimming. My ears react violently to water and I want to swim lots in Greece.  Still run down, with dubious guts so I di...

A poor night's sleep and woke early feeling a bit wretched still, but then brightened steadily as the day wore on. I had a shower, and cooked breakfast while Lorraine was running about doing various things. I think I am going to recover more speedily than Lorraine. Tried to do some writing, but I kept losing interest and hating everything. Also received a poetry rejection tonight, just to keep spirits up.  Reading about autism today, articles in the Guardian about people diagnosed as adults, and I also visited the autism.org.uk site. Before this I did a short quiz online with Lorraine when we were in bed this morning, supposedly to discern if we had any autism traits. The suggestion, which should be taken with a pinch of salt, was that I scored low, and Lorraine, scored somewhat higher. Became diverted by football and its stories and dramas. It is a safe little world in its own way. Could it be that Chelsea are three points clear at the top of the league, or is it that Manchester U...

Gorgeous weather, and feeling unbelievably happy to just get up and work on my own stuff for a while, before walking through the park into town. I got a haircut, then some earrings for Lorraine, and returned back home, through the park again, picking up an excellent bunch of flowers, even the florist was impressed with her own work, she asked me if there was a special occasion and I said Friday, which seemed to win me brownie points. Then an afternoon doing bits of admin, billing, chatting to Sonia, and attacking the lawn with shears, as the pesky lawnmower won't work despite me spraying it with WD40. A backbreaking business. Clem from next door came around, armed with a beer to discuss the decking and the new stairs we want in the garden. He was full of good advice and the prospect of changing the garden was suddenly all doable, which was great. He is going to lend me a big iron spike to break up the old decking and in with the new. Apparently it is very therapeutic destroying...