Domino day

Still feeling a bit sluggish, but up fairly early and fiddling about with some of my writing with a view to sending off some poems before the end of the month. Chatting with Mum too. Lorraine on the epic job of repotting the bazillion indoor plants in the kitchen. A stormy day, with high winds and rain. 

In the afternoon, I caught the train to Brighton. The sea, seen over The Salts, full of big white waves, which crashed on the shore. The lighthouse at Newhaven as ever, dramatic with big waves breaking on it.

To Brighton then, and I met Anton in The Evening Star. Seems ages since I saw him last, had a few beers,  lots of chat, and a few games of bones. His work has been draining to say the least. I told him about the funeral and so on. It's good to have a beer about such things.

Despite its reputation as a 'sausage bar' (a bar that blokes go to and not women) we had to leave as there was a noisy hen party on the table next door. Then to the Batty, which has a new owner. The background music, although at low volume, was rock and heavy metal. And in some travesty of all that's decent an old picture of a ship had been removed and replaced with things to do with the rock group Foreigner. Gah. Still we had a nice time in there. Fond farewells with Anton, and mooched down to the station, where I discovered I had missed the Seaford train by one minute. Went across to the Grand Central and ordered a half, and sat comfortably before training home. Lorraine home, and we enjoyed delicious fisherman's pie. All well.

The numpty funeral directors called me asking for Margaret just as I was about to wrap my laughing gear around my first beer. They now have Mason's ashes, however. 

Below Anton, glimpsed across the domino field shortly before the Star got very noisy.