under another sun

A fairly productive start to the week, despite waking up in a fury at the government's handling of C19. Pictures emerged today of people cramming into the tubes again, and this is simply a recipe for a second wave. The ambiguous messaging and botched delivery is astonishing. Most of the agencies in the country could have delivered something better. As the day emerged lots of conflicting interpretations emerging, from within the government, let alone the general populace. Attempted a meme.... which at least made me feel better. Lorraine off at school all day. I finished editing, T he Dream Home , the short horror story that was published by Frogmore Papers, and the latest Skelton Yawngrave TV episode (I'm now on chapter 24). Essentially I think I am going to read everything onto YouTube, as it is a way of giving published material a bit of a second airing -- and also should I meet a sudden demise at the hands of C19 I want to have uploaded lots of stuff. Also had a really ...

Woke up at four and was wide awake. Slept fitfully afterwards. Lorraine at school again today, I uploaded the Skelton Episode, which seemed to take ages, and then made off for a long walk in the afternoon. Walked about 15k paces during the day, and went over Hollingbury Hill and into Stanmer Woods for the first time in ages. It is blissful to walk among trees, and there were few people about, all of them on bicycles or the odd person walking their dog.  Hollingbury was noticeably busier today, and I noticed several groups of teenagers hanging out, clearly breaking the lockdown rules. The government has shot itself in the foot and leaked the idea that there will be some easing of the restrictions from Monday. The newspapers reflect the bungled messaging by trumpeting 'Freedom Beckons' etc.  All jostling of course with the groundbreaking news that the singer Adele has shed a few pounds. Home after my walk. Beth sunbathing in the back garden, Lorraine home and finishing off a b...

Craig's funeral today. Strange surreal business of logging onto a webpage to see the service, and spot lots of friends there. Lovely service, without religion, really reflecting who he was and incorporating lots of people's reflections -- some of the music he liked and poems read by Matt and Sylvia. I felt bad I wasn't there, as there were many there I knew. Matt, The French Bloke, and Robbie among those carrying the coffin casket. Shed a tear in my room for Craig and especially for Mel, and wishing everything was different. Matt read The Road Not Taken by Frost, which was a poem Craig liked lots -- and I found it unbelievably poignant in the circumstances. The Government at last announced that pubs and restaurants should be closed today. I went on a long walk this afternoon, and passed three pubs, before the announcement, and all of them had a handful of people in them, almost all of them middle aged men taking what might prove to be their last few beers in a pub for so...

It seems the UK government waking up to the reality of the situation at last, and this evening wheeled out a partial lockdown. However schools are exempt. So however much Lorraine and I and Beth might want to self isolate Lorraine has to go into school with a 100+ pupils every day. Beth's drama teaching looks like it is being curtailed too. I was due to meet up with Robin tomorrow, but we cancelled that. By the evening the show I was going to take Klaudia to this week was also cancelled. I am beginning to think that I will avoid Craigs funeral on Friday too, which will necessitate a lot of public transport and mingling. Feeling a long way from Mum and Mas at the moment too. Thank goodness there is FaceTime however, and I can have regular face to face conversations. I posted a note on Facebook: 'I noticed that I was responding like one of Pavlov’s dogs to the pinging of push notices from (in my case)The Guardian. Virus news was arriving regardless of how I was feeling, or what...

A very productive day today. I have a new strategy which involves meditation, and trying to tune out the health related panic sweeping the globe. I have suffered from anxiety off and have experienced debilitating panic attacks in my twenties and early thirties, my panic was always focused on my own body and health. This current crisis would have to go some to be more triggering for me, I am finding that my coping strategies acquired over the decades are being deployed now to good effect. Anyway, I did a good day's work, and was cheered by being contacted by a parent whose child wants a copy of Magnificent Grace . Sonya wanted a signed copy too, so I obliged. Betty went out on a shopping spree today and returned triumphantly with a four pack of toilet rolls. She stopped off at the Preston Park Tavern and I took my life in my hands and joined her for a beer there. Talked about doing some more theatrical stuff together in the new year, after I have written Grace 2 and launched Sin...

Battering on with the French work today. Lots of mind maps and thinking. Doing this all day, apart from taking myself for a couple of rain-dodging walks. Spoke to Toby on FaceTime. It was snowing in Toronto. Coronavirus dominating the news. I feel a sense of dread about this.  I was supposed to meet up with Madeline, Annie Lamacraft and Hus at lunchtime. Hus has just returned from Northern Italy which has just had rocketing infection figures. I declined to meet up figuring that as I am seeing literally hundreds of children in the next week or so, I didn't want to risk anything. Probably being paranoid, but rightly or wrongly I erred on the side of caution. Spoke to Bob today, while he was walking his dog around Salisbury. Not seeing so much of each other, as neither of us are going to London much now. Below a snapshot of the Guardian's most read stories today.

Up with Lorraine, then working quietly on the job from Paris, it's a branding job so there was a fair amount of mind mapping and thinking involved. In the 'd'oh typical' department was offered some work next week by Pat, but had to decline due to my school visits. The news dominated by coronavirus, making me wish, not for the first time, that I wasn't a hypochondriac. In the evening I met beermonsters Steve and Nick in the Evening Star, and then we sauntered down to see Silvana and Richard playing as Bossa Love in the sparsely populated, slightly melancholy Dorset.  I suggested they need some portable lights as they were poked unlit in a dim corner. Toasted Glen's memory as it would have been his birthday today. Cheery talking to my pals though. Home for cheese on toast.

Teeming rain, and I got up and ordered more books as I look likely to sell quite a few shortly.  I borrowed some money from Lorraine to stock up, and can pay her back soon. Then a morning's work, followed by a walk in the rain to the gym. My gym has many Chinese students attending. Although this does me no credit, I have avoided a sweaty environment with folks who may or may not have recently returned from Chinese vacations. But this I decided is little different to idiots avoiding restaurants selling Chinese food in the UK. So I had a word with myself. Turned out that there were no Chinese students in the gym when I went there. The one guy who did arrive came and worked out on the machine right next to my cross trainer. Made me laugh at myself, how did I even know if the guy was Chinese. I am being xenophobic and that is horrible. Walked back in the teeming rain full of fresh post-exercise ideas about Grace 2, and worked on this again. Also talked to Dawn about National Book Wee...

A terrible night's sleep for some reason. It was blowing a gale. Lorraine off to work however, and I got started with my fresh list for the week, written in blue in on yellow lined paper, as I always do. Feeling rather pleased at not having to commute. It's a terrible time to be a hypochondriac in Brighton. I am alarmed by the UK's coronavirus cases, the majority of which are in the in Brighton due to a 'super-spreader', a bloke from Brighton who had been on holiday in Singapore, flew into france for some skiing, infected people there and then came home all without suspecting he was ill. A medical centre has been closed a bit north of here due to a locum, one of the spreader's mates, being infected. I saw something on social media only about someone being isolated in one of the campuses but this has not reached the news. If coronavirus breaks out in Brighton will they try to isolate the place Wuhan style. People seem fairly blasé at least in public about this,...

Working on the short story. Then the gym. Received a very encouraging text from Rosie in Nottingham, saying some teachers up there have ordered Skelton's book. Listened to reports of Coronavirus. A pandemic is highly possible in my non-expert opinion. Missing Janet today. Watched motivational just do it kind of stuff on You Tube and wrote a few emails. Betty made us Chicken Fajitas tonight. Chatted to my wifey.