Clearing

Up early doors, and multitasking, doing laundry, preparing breakfast, carrying the oversized chair from my study down to the studio, while getting dogs abuse from the gulls. Looking at the absolutely bloody final poem from the full poetry collection and making some more final final tweaks. Lorraine off to Bolney to see her personal trainer. 

Then spoke to Mum for a bit, before scampering to the bottom of the garden, where Rosie was bringing us some blankets. Rosie and Innis had hired a two men and a van who were dropping off furniture to Laura and Adrian from the back alley behind our house. I went to shoot the breeze with them, Innis and Rosie, and two of their neighbour friends.  The van also collected the bits of Rosie's Mum's furniture we had been storing. Rosie gave us a gorgeous chair and footstool which had been her mothers, and is exactly the right size for my study. Later, I sat on it and played a little guitar for the first time in ages, as it is perfect for that job. 

The Bay Tree Studio is beginning to take shape now. To the untrained eye, it looks deceptively garage-like, but the stored things have been cleared over the last couple of weeks its soul is beginning to change. It wants to be a studio now.

Off in the afternoon with Lorraine to pick up Pat and Maureen and take them off to my gym, where they got their Covid jabs. Lorraine does this all the time, but it's not easy, with Pat needing to be in a wheelchair, and Maureen on her little trolley, and going up and down in the lift and in and out of the cars and so on. At the gym I selfishly left them to it, and did a work out, leaving Lorraine to take them home. The lat pull, which seems to fix a multitude of back problems for me,  was clogged with pairs of teenagers all the time I was there. Still, I did everything else.

I walked home a bit later, and was bipped by Yvonne in her mini. She pulled over, and I sat in the passenger seat for a chat.  Brian drove by waving. She had driven him to collect his car which has been having all kinds of problems. They are just about to go to France with their car and are keeping their fingers crossed. Her old mini is too venerable to do the job. 

Home, and Lorraine cooked a light chicken stew, and then made off to do pottery in Eastbourne. I felt in a sorting mood, tidied my study, pleased with taking the giant chair away and stroking the new one, then watched France vs Senegal, which was entertaining. I was neutral, although I like Senegal because Léopold Sédar Senghor, an excellent poet, was their first president -- serving between 1960-80.