Vikings and new friends

Kenny Towers abuzz with activity this morning, Beth off teach and Lorraine and I falling asleep again, then realising I was hideously late for Lewes. Lorraine kindly drove me there then did some shopping for tonight's beano and then went to do her pilates session. I went to the Town Hall in Lewes to attend the Frogmore Poetry/Needlewriters/Telltale stand in the societies fair for an hour.  I wandered about a bit and fell into conversation with the Vikings, a pleasant couple who were fully dressed in dark ages gear and I was invited to heft a variety of weapons including a spikeless mace, a sword and a shield. Their main business is battle re-enactment, and 'competitive' battles, which seems to be a bit like rugby with axes. 

To the stand where I met Jeremy from Frogmore, and spent an hour with Charlotte Gann, who is a fantastic poet and had been kind enough to review The Nightwork for Frogmore. For all kinds of reasons the chat I had with Charlotte about poetry was one of those occasions when you are talking to exactly the right person at the right moment, and she said some things which I found extremely helpful. Charlotte and I also talked to the likeable lady mayor of Lewes, and others including the charming Danish wife of the Viking man, who wanted to join a writer's group. Robin arrived after a while and took over from me on the stand. A quick burst of Telltale business before I melted away back to Brighton feeling really cheerful.

Home and Lorraine and I, with Betty and John later, spent much of the afternoon getting the place straight, and getting the garden ready for the dozen or so guests we had coming around to night. Making mounds of salad, assembling the spidery barbecue, taking chairs outside and so on. People started arriving at around six. Anton first, and I had a cheeky beer with him outside before our other guests arrived. Tanya and Catherine, our neighbour Jenny, and neighbour but one Joe, Rosie and her pal Alice, Helen came and met Lorraine for the first time, Dawn, Steve Cartwright, Laura and her mum and dad Jane and Olli. 

Some potential for humiliation with the barbecue was avoided with the help of Anton, and the sausages were nicely done, with only a medium sized sausagey Chernobyl rising into the skies. 

A good time, with the opportunity to talk to everyone. Enjoyed getting to know Jenny next door, meeting Joe for the first time properly, and also talking to Jane and Olli for the first time too. It was a bit of an eclectic mix of people, but worked out really well. A lovely evening with good friends, and we sat outside with candles till late.