under another sun

A little bit of a swine Still sluggish. Beginning to wonder if I have had "the swine" in a mild way over the last week or so. Certainly the bouts of coughing, temperature, sore throat, headache and exhaustion seem to fit the bill. But then I am a fantastic hypochondriac. Lots of people I know have had similar symptoms - including Toby, Mum and Lorraine. I reckon this bug is rampaging through the country now, and the official reporting of it is lagging way behind. If it is the swine flu, then this is good fortune to get it in such a mild way. I'm feeling a little brighter, enough to phone my client (who had a "terrible cold") to explain that I'd not made as much progress on the rheumatoid arthritis work as I would have hoped for. Lorraine and I went for our usual Friday night curry. The amount of fawning Lorraine gets in there is unbelievable. Not only does she hugged and kissed, she get served special baltis, and we were introduced to the owner Ash's gir...

The Blues Lately returned from the Eddy watching Chelsea miss out on the Champions league cup final by a goal in the fourth or fifth minute of extra time. At least two stone cold penalty decisions not given by a visually impaired Scandinavian referee. Unbelievable. Wrongheaded non Chelsea fans cheering in the pub too at this last minute twist of fate. Intolerably robbed again. I hate football. In other news a mixed bag of work today: some pharma stuff writing about incontinence and high cholesterol, a briefing on a little French tourism stuff from my lovely French client, and a fair amount of Skelton Yawngrave too. The Government's swine flu leaflet was delivered. Bland but informative. I think it's the only non-letter pushed through the door this year I've read, which just shows you that if it's talking about something relevant, the creative can be as dull as spuds.

Rain and swine flu A proper Monday morning for most, teeming with rain in Brighton. I got up a little before seven, scarfed oats and a large cup of tea and got to work. For one good thing about rain, is that it makes you feel great to be inside in the warm and dry. At eleven I broke off and went out into the rain for a workout in the gym. I used the cross trainer apparatus which is giving Toby legs like the Hulk, and quite enjoyed it. Made me sweaty. Someone nodded at me today in the gym. Naturally, to blend in, I returned their nod with an indifferent stare. I am beginning, just a little, to enjoy it now and feel less self-conscious. Back to work, untangling a chapter of the book most of the afternoon. I'm keeping focused. Heard from Diane, and Lorraine and Bob today. Also from a Canadian writer friend Mark who is going to write a travel book about Europe, which sounds rather a splendid idea. Listening with increasing interest to the news about Swine Flu. Two people have it in Sco...