under another sun

A fun Friday. Did a bit of writing I was really pleased for the first few hours, and then after a snack at lunch, hoovered, washed the kitchen floor and other domestic chores for a couple of hours. Spoke to Anton who while speaking to me was watching heavily armed policemen walking along the street checking under cars. Otherwise he is greatly pleased by having reached his target weight of 80kg after a month of starving himself and drinking nothing.    Lorraine home early, being this week slightly more on top of things, and has been finishing earlier, and was at home before five tonight. We even played some cards, and treated ourselves to woof woof chicken wings and oven chips, washed down with some beers. We watched Sherlock and a French series called Lupin on TV.  Also, quite late, watched a documentary about Dolly Parton, which I weirdly enjoyed. Spoke to Mum and Mas. I am so happy they are vaccinated but they are as bored and depressed by lockdown as anyone, and stress...

Icy rain this morning, and Facebook full of pictures of people north of here enjoying the snow. Not a flake on Kenny Towers though.  A nice breakfast of avocado and crispy bacon on toast. A spot of tidying up, laundry, floor mopping and so on. Lorraine enjoying her exploration of the beautiful underground wonderland in a game called Pode for quite a while. Chuffed as Tess is setting up a business as a professional proofreader, and said she could practise proofing on a bit of my stuff. This prompted me to gather some of my short stories with a view to getting some of them properly read for errors. In the afternoon I went for a quick stroll up the hill listening to Bleak House while I did so. I then came home to pick up Lorraine for a quick stroll around the neighbourhood. We bumped into Simon and his wife for a chat, but it was uncomfortable with people trying to come through on the pavement. A quick circuit of Blaker's Park, and past the closed down pubs The Cleveland and The Prest...

Klaudia's 17th birthday today. Anton said the other day that he told her she was only a year away from buying him a pint in a pub now. Felt sorry I haven't seen her for such a long time. I at least texted her and got her bank details so we can send her some money for baubles and trinkets etc. A designated day of rest. I began rereading through Rhona's books to prep for our interview next week. Many of them are signed, including one from 1988. We go back an awful long time. A quick spin around the streets with Lorraine at one point, just to get her aired and exercised. Also a certain amount of computer gaming. Loraine downloading something called  Pode , and we did a bit of racing about on Mariocarts too. Lorraine made beef burgers tonight, with real beef. Generally I will only eat beef in a bean jar, but these were delicious. Luckily, thanks to Allopurinol, I am able to eat beef once in a blue moon without getting orc foot afterwards.   Watched a film called The Wife, whic...

Back and head pain abating. A walk with Bleak House, some writing of my own, and generally feeling a good deal cheerier. Really happy this evening to receive a takeaway from The Shahi which L and I ate with glee. Beautiful tender chicken.  Lovely feedback about the interview with Charlotte too, and she seems happy too. Chatted with Mum and and Anton.  The only good thing about Lorraine going into school, is the fact it does give shape to our week. And it is possible to feel quite Fridayish on a Friday. Some snaps from today, the on the golf course, and two others walking home towards the sea. The last one out of one of the kitchen window. I just liked the colours in the clouds. 

In a bit of pain today, with a bad backache that also transfers significant pain into my head too.  I had a bit of a doze this afternoon, however, helped loosen things up.   A stroll around Blaker's park at lunch. Was briefly ambushed by anxiety as I ambled along, luckily I have the skills to ward off panic attacks these days, but I needed a minute to collect myself. Walked past the collection of little huts there which turn out to be a new Covid Testing site.    Did bits and pieces to do with the podcast, and I uploaded the Charlotte episode this afternoon . Robin and I fairly pleased with the way it had turned out. Also emailing Rhona over in British Columbia, who I will interview next week.  Sainsbury's delivery, Kevin too our vegetable guy delivered. Also a Christmas card from Sarah and Louise and Zach arrived having been lost in a postal Bermuda Triangle. In the first world problems section, I ordered a new diary from Mokeskine on 30 December. After harassi...

Joe Biden's inauguration day. The satanic Trump slinks off to the dustbin of history. But the wounds he busily rubbed salt into for the last four years, still are open. A weird affair on TV at least, with the politicians and J-Lo and Lady Gaga (I can imagine the lunatic Qanon types going on about lizard liberal elites) and a 22 year old poet called Amanda Gorman, going through the motions of history, witnessed in person by a tiny socially distanced crowd, two hundred thousand flags, and off camera thousands of troops packing Washington to prevent a repeat of a Trumpist insurrection. All in all, a big sigh of relief. Biden was busy overturning some of the worst Trump diktats straight away, reaffirming the Paris Accord and rejoining the World Health Organisation and defunding the Mexican wall building. Spoke to Mum and consulted the hive mind of my facebook friends to give me some perspective on the situation with Mum and the nutcase neighbour wanting to build a fence down their shar...

Lorraine off to work, before I had even struggled out of bed having got up in the night.  Spent much of the day editing the podcast, broken by a walk up the hill in the grey and drizzle, while listening to Bleak House. The audiobook is read, absolutely fabulously, by Miriam Margolyes. Such a great book.  Had chats with Anton, and a long catch up with Bob, who was an optimistic mood -- he seems positive we'll meet later in the year for a beer. Spoke also to Mum and was saddened to hear that her neighbour's behaviour will now necessitate talking to solicitors. He is threatening to build a fence down their shared path. It seems lockdown makes crazy crazier. I will help as much as I can. But lockdown of course makes nothing easier. Lorraine home and was fed mashed up new potatoes and sausages. She played her computer game on the big screen for a while, but was persistently swallowed by a creature that stripped her avatar of its shield. I sipped a glass of aquavit again tonight....

More podcast recording with Robin this morning:  the what we are reading section, and reaction to Charlotte's interview. Robin talking about La Vita Nuova by Dante, and me chatting about audiobooks by John Cooper Clarke and Joy Harjo. Robin is not interviewing her next victim till tomorrow, and so we decided to go with Charlotte for this week, so it means I'm leading on this episode again, so quite a bit of editing to do in the next couple of days.   Charlotte saying she so wanted a beer with me, Robin, SJB and Mr Bone. That would be a fine thing. A proper Blue Monday this year. Not that I heard anyone on the radio mention it. Doing my best not to feel bleak and mid-winterish, but glum dissatisfaction now settling on me and my own writing like a flock of malign birds. I have so many promising ideas, that I slowly prune to death; a reductio ad absurdum.  A news clip of folks enjoying life in Guernsey, with no social distancing, made my personal little heaven seem even more...

Up early for a Sunday. Breakfast, and then a spot of Zelda Link's Awakening. One of the games that Lorraine bought, where you enter a magical world full of puzzles and quests. I love the little Japanese touches you can detect, such as the way the blocks in the dungeon walls are drawn to look like those in Edo castle. Played this together for a bit, then Lorraine played it off and on for hours, mostly exploring a dungeon, sometimes on the private screen, uttering things like Skeletons! Can we kill skeletons?   It is a much needed escape from the pressures of the real world.  We also briefly played MarioCarts, an exciting driving game which is fun. I edited the first draft of the Charlotte interview enough to send it to the Gannster for review and to Robin. All happy, with just a few tweaks to make.   Lorraine and I went for a walk around Preston Park, but it was crawling with people as it was a very pleasant morning, being very casual about social distancing.  Home an...

All about games today, which Lorraine said would do me good. We played the Nintendo Switch, driving about like maniacs on Mario carts which I like a lot, and starting a quest on Z elda, Link's Awakening . This is what Lorraine and Beth call a bimbling game, where you nimble about a beautiful environment on quests. We had a laugh doing this only to break off for a cheeky walk around Blaker's park. But everywhere busy with people doing the same thing.   A day where there were no urgent calls for Lorraine to deal with thank God, and I fell asleep this afternoon too, and felt quite drained. I think I was relaxing. Lorraine made a delicious fish pie this evening. Then a zoom call with Beth and James, and played Linkee down the line with them, which was fun. Beth now doing cross stitch too, and loving it. She and James seem happy. It is lovely to see. A supportive note from Rhona about Planet Poetry .  Went to bed, but then I lay awake for hours. 

Lorraine off to work. I hate seeing her go off to work at the moment. A day of working on my own stuff, and editing the Charlotte Gann interview. Also a tidy cell is a tidy mind so hoovered the house from top to bottom, washing the floors and bathrooms and kitchen and so on. An afternoon walk up to the usual places. A small military ship just off the coast, and police helicopter flying over central Brighton streets for ages. A car had accelerated through a police stopping point, and was being tracked. Finished listening to I wanna be yours. Eventually he straightened out, but another shining example of how rubbish heroin is, listening to how JCC spent years of his life wondering where he was going to get his next deal from. Home and a chat with Mum, who is fine post jab although still bored and George next door still doing bad things. And in the first world problems department, I started a campaign against Moleskine, from whom I have now been waiting 15 days for my diary's delivery...

A misty morning. Only the roofs of houses one row behind us visible, with the rest of the valley below in mist.  Lorraine had a day off today, to regroup from having worked through the last few weekends. She is a bit shattered, but enjoyed catching up on some phone calls and relaxing and according to her fit bit, her body battery was in at 70% mid afternoon. This must be good, and better than normal, although I am not sure what it means.  An article in the Guardian about Death In Paradise. It seems that Lorraine and I are not the only ones to be  liking its undemanding fluff last year.   Really good to see Charlotte on my screen, and record an interview about her poetry this morning. She writes so honestly and illuminatingly about anxiety. Because she is a mate, we both wanted to avoid cliquey backslapping stuff, so I think we did a good job.  Later Lorraine and had a plague-dodging walk around Blaker's Park and through local streets. A grey old day. In the...

Had my best morning writing poems for an awful long time. Managed to put to bed a few poems that had been hanging around for a long time. It made me pretty cheery. My usual walk, and a bit of prepping for my interview with Charlotte tomorrow. Rereading her books Noir and The Girl Who Cried is an absolute pleasure. She is such a good writer.  Mario in touch wondering about his ratings.  Otherwise Lorraine cheery tonight, as she has tomorrow off, partly in lieu of having to work through weekends and so on. To celebrate she made chicken and cheesy vegetable parcels and I cooked some rice, and it was nice.  Brooding skies.

Lorraine went off to work in a happier frame of mind having worked hard for most of the weekend. Fewer children to be looked after this week, and L largely confined to her office. I managed to do some writing this morning. Also spent time looking again at my pal Charlotte's two nooks Noir and The Girl Who Cried in preparation for our interview later this week. There is magic in them. Good news from Mum and Mas in that they are getting their first jab on Thursday, down at their usual GP surgery. Anton said Anne has been jabbed, and Pat and Maureen have been done too. I can't help feeling that headteachers need to be at the front of the queue, not to mention hypochondriacs. At least they seem to be cracking on with it now. Otherwise the usual walk, fewer people around today, mostly hardy dog walkers. Still listening to John Cooper Clarke book, which I've almost finished now, and it is still worth reading although it is in the obligatory 'I was on tour with x and trying ...

A cheerier afternoon, as Lorraine was at last able to stop her constant stream of communicating to parents, staff, govenors and so on. Next week looks somewhat more manageable. We went for a quick circuit of Blakers Park and nearby streets, tidied the last festive vestiges into boxes marked Christmas for another year.  A game of cards this evening, followed by a roast chicken with a lovely bottle of wine. Then we opened some chocolates left over from Christmas. Also a long chat with the Tobster -- safely bubbled up with Romy still. Romy had a big job interview on Saturday morning, after a many months process, and it went as well as could be expected. Weird to have to do stuff like that online.

Lorraine messaged at around six this morning, leading to day of wall to wall stressy work for her. A faint and distant cry from being the best of Saturdays. I ended up doing some writing and going for a walk. A tired wife on the gold sofa tonight.  

Lorraine up and off to work before the sparrows. An anxious start to the day, with Lorraine being messaged extremely early about staff needing covid tests. Left me finding it hard to concentrate on brainwork. I used the morning to hoover and mop the kitchen floor, do some laundry and so on. If in doubt, tidy up. I also made a covid contingency plan with Robin about the podcast, should one of us get the lurgy. Nice comments from Mario and Clare Best and Charlotte about this week's podcast. Listening to the Cooper Clarke book, while on my stomp, an interlude of him monkey-sitting for a cafe owning acquaintance in Amsterdam made me laugh aloud.   Anton on a post work exercise walk, dropped off half of one of his cheesecakes and we had a chat, with him standing out in the street and me at my door. I was set up an interview with Charlotte for next week. and chatted to mum while I was chopping root vegetables for a turkey stew.  Lorraine home at last, late and having had do deal wit...

Wide awake at five today, and as soon as L was getting up, keenly checking the news from Washington. Astonishing to hear unrepentant Trumpists without shame or regrets. This morning, Biden's victory has been rubber stamped by the senate, although there were still shameful Republicans calling the result into question. Meanwhile the orange devil has belatedly been silenced by social media platforms at least for a short while.  This led to a couple of podcast shenanigans, with Robin understandably wanting to remove a tiny bit when we were laughing about Trump's will-he won't-he business. Otherwise the episode is listenable here . Mario is a profound guy these days and his interview is genuinely interesting.  Feeling edgy this morning. Not helped by news about covid surging, democracy teetering, I took myself off for an early walk which helped. Lorraine battling off to school again first thing.  When you do a similar walk often, it is amazing how everything looks different ev...

These are dark times. The pandemic waxing like a baleful moon, and in the evening a Trumpist insurrection, storming the US Capitol and interrupting the ratification of Biden's presidency.  The gullible mob had been whipped up by the orange Satan a few hundred yards away -- his last gamble appears to be to stage an attempted coup, with a mob made up of white supremacists, Q-anon lunatics, and dunderheads who have drunk the cool aid. The mystery was why the security offered so little resistance. There was little or no gunplay,  no tear gas, nothing of the kind of deadly quasi-military response should the mob have been BLM supporters.     Meanwhile, in Kenny Towers, Lorraine off to work, trying to cope with the impossible demand that over half the school's children belong to essential workers therefore feel entitled to still send their kids in -- and then taking urgent covid related calls in the evening. She is doing magnificently, but is very tired. I hate that she is ...

Another gruelling day for Lorraine, having to set parent's expectations, home to emergency zoom meetings in the evening too. Huge amounts to deal with, and anxious parents to be spoken to. It seems to me that she has responsibility for the wellbeing of the school, and much of the community too. She is doing brilliantly, but already feels exhausted having worked through a highly stressful weekend. A much better night's sleep. Got to my desk to find still-warm cat spew under my chair. Had another recording session with Robin which was much better today, and we had a good laugh doing it. Spent hours editing the podcast. Interrupted only by a long walk, Calliope coughing up a fur ball on my desk and chats with Mum who is still doing fine. I told her I was looking forward to someone sticking a large needle into her and Mas soon.  Meanwhile Anton who had a heart check up today he was slightly dreading, which lead to unprecedented behaviour of him eating couscous and veggies, and shun...

So the first Monday of the year, and Lorraine went back to school, having done her best with her team to make the school as safe as humanly possible. Felt extremely concerned about her having to do this, when it was so clearly nonsensical. Even the dogs in the street could see closing schools would have to happen, but not those in Downing Street who rewarded the virus with another golden day of infection opportunities.  At 8pm Johnson announced a new national lockdown, and closed all the schools. Sunday's quote from Johnson on the Andrew Marr show: 'Schools are safe', was now (with no new data) that they were too unsafe to remain open. They will of course remain open for key workers children, so about 40% of the children at L's school will still be there.  For Lorraine this meant she had worked through the weekend like a dog on plans that were toast in a few hours.  Then she had to start again this evening after the PM's speech at 8 having to phone the chair of gove...

A good night's sleep and much perkier. Dawn called by and dropped off a bag of herbal medicine creams and so on for Lorraine. Stood outside chatting with her for a little. Lorraine's whole day until 7:30 consumed with school stuff and being quietly magnificent as she prepares to reopen tomorrow. Beacon of truth and scientific rigour Boris Johnson declared 'schools are safe'. Starmer proposed a national lockdown starting tomorrow, SAGE advisers think going back to school is a bad idea too. I expect Johnson to dither for another week, racking up tens of thousands of more infections, before doing the right thing. My powerlessness at this time makes me feel very stressed. All I can do is support Lorraine as best I can. Heroes led by donkeys.  Took myself for a walk to the usual places, and just the boon of some exercise made me feel a lot better. I continued to organise things in my study, and do filing and so on. It feels good. Made a Guernsey bean jar today, its aromatic ...

Slightly nauseous, sore throaty and off colour today, sparking the predictable hypochondria. Lorraine took my temperature which was fine, and eventually even I had to conclude that I was okay.  Spent the day clearing out my study, arranging and archiving books. Things looking considerably tidier. When the mood takes me for a root and branch tidy, it has to be obeyed as it rarely happens.  Lorraine went off to see her pal Carolyn today, for a bit of a walk and a chat, but spent most of the day listening to poor Lorraine taking and making calls all day about the school opening again on Monday. Assorted unions, local authorities, scientists and so on are advising against the reopening schools. The Government think resolutely otherwise (except for the last minute U-turns on the policy in London). There is now a vaccine, swathes of the most vulnerable of children's family members are about to be protected (and hopefully teachers too) so why make this the last hill the Government st...

New year started at 5am for me, unable to get back to sleep again afterwards, I eventually got up and fed the cats, made tea, and cleaned up Calliope's vomit. Plus ça change. As a consequence felt somewhat wan during the day and slept on the sofa this afternoon. Heard from Robin and we arranged to meet virtually on Monday morning. A day of not going anywhere or doing anything, which was fine by both of us. Spoke to Mum and Mas, and later  Lorraine skyped Sam and Jade and Sian. Then L and I watched Murder on the Orient Express tonight, the version from the seventies, which we both enjoyed. Ate more nut roast, and confined ourselves to a small nip of port in the evening, and drew our curtains on the world.