under another sun

Outside this morning, feeling cheery. Before we left to mooch about the shops, Lorraine and I nipped out to hang some washing out, as it was briefly sunny. There is a covering for the umbrella like drying line, and we hold this in place with one of the grotesque concrete animal sculptures that infest the garden.  I am now collecting these things and placing them carefully by the side of the Summer house in a way that all the cartoonish rabbits, and frogs, and fornicating rabbits etc. look at back at you like the figures in Anthony Gormley's Field for the British Isles.  Anyway the concrete animal fell from some height onto my foot. I was only wearing my canvas Vans, and it hurt two of my toes like a bastard.  Lorraine and I into town (me with throbbing toes) to do some shopping. Looked at the little market, and bought nothing, popped into the Crypt where there was an exhibition of Sussex printmakers. We have pieces by two of the exhibitors. We liked lampshades made by Sal...

Again, more positive for most of this last day of January. Working on a small poem I'd started a few days ago about snow, and spent the morning sending out queries for my children's novel to five new agents. Afterwards I saw on Instagram one of the people I had attended the Children's event with at Bloomsbury and saying that every rejection felt like a step closer to acceptance. Love the optimism there. In the afternoon a watched the second half of a brilliant documentary featuring Antony Gormley looking at How Art Began, featuring cave paintings by Neanderthals all the way to Australian rock art. A beautiful and eye opening documentary. This subject matter really excites my imagination, which has been keen on this ever since I read a book called The Mind in the Cave. Went out for a walk up to the golf course on the edge of the downs. Bitingly cold up there, and the snow clinging on, and getting ready to be refreshed. Lorraine home early to beat the snow, and I decide...