Life is a bowl of gooseberries

Up and spent a few hours enjoying reading the poet Richard Skinner's work, and planning my interview with him, and emailing my suggested readings off. Meanwhile Betty and Lorraine went for a scoot around Seaford so Beth could get an idea of the place, for she and James are planning to move soon, and Seaford is one of the options. Beth signed up with some of the local estate agents, and produced a spreadsheet, which she talked me through this afternoon when Lorraine zoomed off to see her Bolney pal Jo and Yvrose, who is over from Haiti. Her husband stayed at the school and was attacked yesterday, threatened with a machete and a poisoned knife, and had petrol poured over him. Luckily they were out to scare him not kill him. But society is falling apart under the shocks and strains that have been visited on it, and it sounds a terrifying ordeal.

Zooming about tidying and hoovering, then an interlude of calm. Steve appeared sporting a sunhat and carrying a wicker basket groaning with gooseberries, and he told me to help myself, as he had talked to Lorraine about it. I got a humongous bowlful of those bad boys.

Then Beth and I went to Morrisons to buy stuff for the barbecue. We were remembering going shopping together just before covid hit, and running about panic buying in the Sainsbury's by the Vogue Gyratory in Brighton.  Had great fun hanging out and chatting with Beth.

Lorraine home, and then Sarah and Dan came by, and despite a coolish wind we all sat in the garden eating, and drinking, and watching the moon rise, and a bat flit by, and so on. All very nice indeed. Dan had been in the police too, and I was asking him about his work. It occurs to be that I have two friends with police experience now, which is useful when it comes to writing fiction. Lorraine exceedingly fond of Sarah, who was such a source of support to her when she was a headteacher.

Below: Tidying up the house meant getting a good look at the colours, and matching some of our pictures to new places. I am just loving the cleanness and boldness of it. Snapped the view from the kitchen into the hallway, mid tidy, which previously had been a world of mushroom and biscuit.