under another sun

Up early and made several amends on the stuff I was doing for mes amis in Paris, and then sent this off as a pdf to Val. Then I nipped down to Preston Park Station and made off to Kew Bridge to see my dentist.  Amanda messaging me from NZ for the inside skinny on the Nintendo Switch games that Lorraine likes, as she has just got one too. Quite busy on the way up. I read poems from Finished Creatures, and the latest PN Review on the train for a while, but just felt like rubbernecking out of the window. I arrived a bit early at Kew Bridge so was able to sit by the river, and look at the flotillas of Canada geese and other riverside delights. A beautiful day. Sauntered up to the dentist's office and Lucinda herself opened the door and told me to go straight in, even though I was early. No nasty surprises, which is what you want, and just a bit of scraping and polishing. As I was leaving I told Lucinda how much I appreciated how calm she made me feel over the years. I have not had a mo...

Feeling somewhat brighter. A nice email from Mandy this morning saying that she'd really enjoyed the children's book. She's the first person on earth to have read this version other than me. Others are not far behind though. Felt chuffed though. After doing various bits and pieces this morning, off this afternoon to do rehearsal for the play in The Boots. However this was broken midway as Beth wanted to look at a flat nearby in Vernon Terrace. We zoomed up there and having looked about it, me trying to look intelligently at things like radiators, she wanted to make an offer instantly, having missed out the previous week due to postponing the decision. So immediately we went to the Letting agent's office and Beth started signing all the forms, and calling John. Once the appalling forms had been signed, and precious rehearsal time wasted, it turned out that someone else had made an offer too while we were doing this, so they could not progress until the landlord had cho...

Off to London this afternoon to meet Amanda in the Salisbury, almost at the end of her six week trip to the UK, Poland and Germany. The good ol' gin palace looking a treat, and lovely to catch up with Mandy in meatspace. Heard about her trip to Germany for a vast games fair where she shared a stand and sold some of her games. Sounds like a different world. Stupidly I forgot to take a photo for this blog. Boo. Amanda off to see Bob Dylan, and I slipped off to Cork Street where Tamar Yoseloff was having the launch for her New and Selected poetry collection called A Formula for Night in the Redfern Gallery. She gave a short and excellent reading to a packed room and signed my copy. Nice to say howdy to a few poets and chat to Nancy Mattson about the Canadian election, and meet an interesting woman called called Nancy Campbell, who has been spending lots of time in Greenland and writing poems about it. Home on the train reading poems from Tammy's book and really liking them wh...

An day when things came to me, though I was simply sitting in my office with the cats barging in and out of the room. An offer of some freelance work with my pals in Tavistock Square, which I happily agreed to for the next couple of weeks, what with the Kenny coffers being in a state of déshabillé. Heard from Bob, walking his dog in snowy Salisbury. His dog doesn't understand about vehicles and wants to run under them all the time. I've never felt like that on a walk with Bob. Sent some first words off to Helen for our Centaur project. Excellent to work with someone with infectious enthusiasm. Was also contacted by Sue Rose a poet I saw reading with Tammy and Rhona, and we swapped a poem. She sent me her poem A Guided Tour , which reminded me of one of mine, A n Adumbration of the Light Age . A Guided Tour is gorgeous, very different to mine, but shares that looking back on a past time from the future conceit. Having slipped away from the reading feeling rather trapped nerv...

Cause for celebration today as Lorraine finished work. A day of zipping about doing various chores but little actual work. Lorraine and I went to HSBC today to sign our mortgage papers. There was lots of advice too and calculations of the amount of money they recommend we should save for a rainy day. When I commented that this was unbelievable, this led to a certain frosting of the atmosphere. Anyway we skipped out of there, and did some shopping for holiday clothes, including some shoes that allow you to walk across stones and straight into the water without yelping, a few shirts and some new shades. I really love shopping with Lorraine. We went out again this evening to meet Amanda, who has been on a lengthy holiday in the UK and Europe. Amanda and I went to Copland High School together, although we barely spoke at school, in the intervening years we have become friends but as Amanda lives in lives in New Zealand this has all been via the internet. Amanda is a games inventor and ha...

Up and at book, then off in this weird brightness to the gym. Felt a bit feeble after half an hour or rowing and trundling. Home and a Quorn sausage sandwich with mustard and onion. Later in the afternoon decided to reboot by listening to a meditation tape, and simply woke up an hour later remembering nothing. Lorraine teaching governors till late. She phoned me on the way home having felt nauseous and dizzy while teaching, and got in very late to lie low. I shepherded her upstairs with a precautionary bucket under my arm. Listened just after midnight to Amanda on New Zealand National radio talking about the launch of her new SchilMil game Manifest. She also had the opportunity to select 'the best song ever' which was, unsurprisingly, a Bob Dylan tune. Amazing to hear Amanda on my iPhone being interviewed on the other side of the world. Modern life is marvellous. To back the launch of Manifest and for more information follow this link.

Pouring with rain and, tonight,  a bit of thunder. Working on the book, then shuffling off to Starbucks to sit in the window and struggle with the last few bits of the book which are proving, for one reason or another, very hard to put to bed despite changes of scene. Although the section I am working on is no more difficult than anything else, it is proving for some reason really hard. Later Mark our neighbour knocked on the door with a parcel the postman had delivered to him. It was from New Zealand, and was a present from Amanada who had sent us a prototype of a new game, called Get me to the church on time , which she customised for Lorraine and I, so that the games hazards include tiles featuring The Basketmakers and The Battle of Trafalgar and set the game in Brighton. Rather bowled over by this, and the thoughtfulness of it made Lorraine cry. Then to the gym, where I pushed myself quite hard to compensate for not having gone this week. Another quiet evening in, much appr...

Up early, and full of beans. A sketch for a new poem on the train. The full of beans feeling quickly wore off by the time the train arrived late at Paddington. Working on referencing for much of the day, looking at obscure medical papers, and attempting not to jab needles deep into my own eyes for referencing has absolutely no overlap with any of my actual abilities.  Nice chat though with The FB who took time out from his busy schedule to evangelise about a book called The Master and his Emissary about the brain. It sounds a must-read. Otherwise delighted to be home again. Feeling cramped and hating the commute this evening. A parcel from Amanda, containing Kenakalan, her new monkey-based game set in Bali from SchilMil games , on which I wrote a few lines of copy. Amanda seems to be going from strength to strength with her games company. Also received an bargain priced album from Amazon which Slug had recommended to me called Over , by Peter Hammill, who although being a prog r...

Finished Hilary Mantel's  Wolf Hall , and immediately downloaded its sequel as an audiobook, just released, called Bring up the Bodies . Finding that Hilary Mantel's excellently done Tudor mayhem and wrangling is a pleasant antidote to thinking about about advertising that I am doing for The New Idea. I wonder what the state of advertising was in 1530? A pleasant sunny day though, and warm up in the rafters of the Old Church Hall where I do my scribing. And felt the sun on my head as I mooched gingerly to the gym. I need new gym clothes, as I feel like a tramp. Not that I talk to anyone there particularly. Then tramping into the supermarket to buy the fixin's for nice salad. I made a pretty  tricolore  with fresh basil and mozzarella (so simple), new potatoes with chives and mayonnaise and various other leafy wonders. Lorraine home and exhausted, I fed her with aforementioned salads, then she had half an hour on the sofa and was back at work again till gone ten. I ...

Monkeying around I've noticed that as soon as I start designing anything, time evaporates. Spent hours this morning moving things around by smidges, and endlessly rewriting copy. I was also sent some monkey business by Mandy in New Zealand. Her new game features excellent photographs of evil and wise monkeys, and I will write a wee bit of copy for it. In the afternoon I set off for the gym, bumping into Clare with young Aubrey. Had a nice chat and we were met by joined by Reuben and young Serge who had been into town to look around in the Natural History Museum, and do a spot of whale fancying. A mild-mannered workout today as I had a twinging back and sore throat. Lorraine home early and was able to supervise the pastry part of a layer pie I was making. I had no timings for this recipe but we guessed one and a half hours, and I felt quite proud when I sliced it open and it was in its layers of egg and onion (flavoured with mustard and thyme) and tinned pork meat and had set proper...

Poetic interlude Up early and happily working on my new poem, which is about a pebble and God and is set in Moulin Huet, which was a rather nice place to spend a poetical interlude. Also I explored more on my other concept, which is too new to talk about but is a kind of 'how to' book. I also briefly tweaked some copy for Amanda in NZ who has added game inventor to her list of accomplishments. Her new board game is called Komodo, and sounds great fun if you like storming at your relatives and friends. Off after lunch to show Gary, Lorraine's ex-husband, around my house in the Twitten. He finds himself in need of one, and although a slightly weird thought at first, this may prove to be an excellent and rapid solution to my renting situation. Lorraine working from home this afternoon before going off to a governor's meeting. I was called by Nicola this evening, and have three days work back up in the smoke starting tomorrow. Rather good for the Kenny coffers, bad for poe...

Mandy steps out from cyberspace Slept really well, and woke feeling fairly refreshed. Great not to go anywhere. Instead, after buying bread from the patisserie, and cooking a breakfast for Lorraine and I, went to the gym for a fairly gentle session. My knee is a zone of clicking, slidey , swollen evil but it felt good to be doing some exercise again. Lorraine had met Cath and gone shopping and we met up for a coffee in the afternoon after I'd dome some chores. We met in the Just add the colour cafe, and I had a chat with the owner, and then the girls turned up and displayed their various shopping trophies. In the evening off with Lorraine and Cathy to meet Mandy an old school friend who I've not actually seen for about 32 years in The Basketmakers . She was with her partner John and John's daughter Jas and her husband Mark who are working in Hove for a while. Just another example of how all this blogging and facebooking and emailing can reconnect people even if they liv...