under another sun

Even hotter today. After breakfast with Lorraine, I went to the gym first thing before it got really hot. The gym is air conditioned. Lots of people there this morning and all the cross trainers clogged up. I managed all the other bits, and went briefly on a cycling machine, and one of the inferior cross trainers, till I got to the proper cross trainer, only to feel a slight pull in my leg after about ten minutes, which I thought was cramp at first, but now I think was a muscle thing, so I stopped. Meanwhile Lorraine had been to see Caroline and had done her personal training.   I have no energy in this humid heat. Did nothing that could be considered work, no writing, no form filling, editing of the podcast and all the other stuff I want to do. I read online (so it may be nonsense) that blood pressure pills make you less able to cope with extreme heat. Whatever, I don't remember feeling so lifelessly hot before. The temperatures might be as much as 40C this week -- smashing UK rec...

Awake for several hours last night. Listened to a short lecture about Napoleon in Egypt, who while he had a fairly disastrous military adventure there, had thoughtfully taken lots of artists and scientists with him, who kicked off the study of Ancient Egypt. Before I went to sleep I listened to a second lecture about the Rosetta Stone. A bits and pieces sort of day. I focused on the tiresome business getting my new credentials document together. I have always been terrible at forcing people to provide evidence that I had done any work in the last twenty years. Normally I don't have to prove anything to anyone, but it is good practice. I found a few minutes of film at the foot of this page , which Brad shot when we were in Chad. Took me back it did, especially in one or two shots I was standing next to  him.  Not often you see a movie shot by a filmmaker of such a vivid moment in your experience. Ignore the voiceover commentary. Anton and I discussed a local walk we are pla...

Up and feeling curiously perky after a few days downtime. Walked down to Preston Park and worked on poems on the way up to London, trying to finesse a couple of poems about Chad that have not yet seen publication. The train slightly less crowded today, being the first day after Easter. Work fine. Although I had to fill some hours out on their timesheet system, which is the single worst system I have ever encountered. Took just shy of two hours to enter my hours for two weeks. Unbelievable. I went for a good walk at lunch, stumbling across the artwork below glued under a canal bridge. Home slowly, as there was a track fire on the circle line and I ended up getting a bus to Victoria. Feeling fairly mellow about work, as I've only three days before I'm on hols again. I'm reading a book called The Year of The Hare by Finnish writer, Arto Paasilinna. Quite entertaining, and easy to read while on the move, being in short chapters. Home late to my lovely wife, who had been wo...

Friday up early and tweaked the poem about Chad I've been working on and then spent the working day doing creative concepts for a charity pitch. This necessitated a call or two with Matty. Work went well however. Beth at home ill with a bad cold. My sore throat persists, but otherwise all well. Popped out to buy chicken flavoured noodles for Beth, and throat pastilles for me. Didn't speak much to Sonia as I was busy. Once work finished I had the idea of popping out to a pub and reading some poems, but I went to the Park View which was strangely rowdy, Lorraine called and said she was coming home before going out again with her work people for an end of year party. I bought fish and chips and pie and chips for Beth and spent a happy quiet evening in, for my energy is low, watching three or four episodes of Firefly, the TV cult SF series on YouTube. Quite like it, and perfect for a post fish and chips washed down with a can or two of lager. Lorraine home having had a cheery e...

Another day of copyslogging. I've never had the experience of writing so much based on a short lived experience (going to Chad) before. Every day I am in one way or another having to relive the the things I learned there. Making me think how ghastly post-traumatic stress disorder must be. For me Chad was benign, but I learned the other day that the area we visited will, this spring, be classified as subject to extreme hunger trending towards starvation. Having met some who this will fate will fall on, it is a very hard thing to think about. A much needed jolt of positive feedback on a couple of things I'd written today from the client via Matty. In a short lull between jobs I had another walk. It being such a bright and clear day that it seemed mad not to. Walked up my road to the top of the hill, then took a long circular route home again. It's good for mental clarity to be able to glimpse the downs and the distant sea reflecting the low sun. Beth at home today, record...

Woken at around two in the morning by sudden wind and a storm. Shutters on the hotel were banging and unidentified bits were skittering down the corridor blown by the wind from the roof patio nearby. I got out of bed and looked at the sky, and saw it was lit up with lightning, there was the sound of distant thunder but no rain came. Despite pushing every single button in every combination on my air conditioning, an icy blast continued to surge out of it onto the bed all night. I resorted to wearing my fleece, despite the huge heat outside, and my tilly hat to deflect the polar gust on my head. I slept pretty well however, worn out after no sleep the night before. The team hanging about this morning, waiting for our papers to be approved. Then we were driven to the Charity’s office. The streets of N’Djamena seeming chaotic to me, people and cars and scooters wandering about in the lanes. The streets lined with stalls here and there, and cramped shops with hand drawn posters, and p...

As the plane took off from Heathrow I decided to neck a diazepam. This kept me completely calm for the flight, but sadly did not help me sleep. I had invested in one of those neck rests, but it didn’t help much. So spent my flight wide awake and looking at Matty and Steve, next to me, who were dozing like babies. I could see Brad the filmmaker watching movies, and Pete the stills photographer zonked out. A bit galling, though I did get to look out of the window. As we approached Addis Ababa just before dawn I saw the sky flush red above the clouds and we ducked down below a couple of cloud layers to land in Ethopia’s modern airport as the sun was rising. A long wait here, where we found a café and had overpriced cups of tea. The airport rather airporty. Women carrying things on their heads and when I went to the loo rather solid looking men washing their feet in the sinks let you know this was Africa. Ethiopians very fine featured and attractive, but this was a crossing point of many ...