under another sun

Up and my first weekday at home for a while. It always takes me a while to get back into the routine. To start, I made an untangling list. I started as usual with Eno's If in doubt tidy up . Trivial things that make you feel better, organising my clothes cupboard, my desk, my study, outstanding emails. Finally being able to put back all the stuff that was displaced during the great carpeting. Being able to do these small things made me immediately feel more in control.  Nowhere near doing any writing or anything creative so far, but a tidy desk is a good start. Lorraine dressed for her personal trainer, but instead got an early appointment at the doctor, which she went to instead. In the afternoon, she spent time with Enzo, as Beth and James organised James's new workspace. The Bambino did his work and Lorraine returned cheery, with two tupperware containers of frogspawn which we put into our wee wildlife pond and two Italian pastries, which we put in our bellies. I went for a...

Sunny, pleasant day. Lorraine and I sorting a few bits out around the house. Beth and Enzo popping in. Lorraine went to see Pat and Maureen at tea time for a game of bingo, which I cooked at home. Pat given more claps when he came into the room, which is lovely.  We have lots of tiny black fungus flies in the house from flowerpots. Having researched it, we are going to buy some nematodes to put in the pots, which eat the larvae. Chatting to Mum we discussed the new problem of giant, mutated nematodes slithering out of the pots at night. Like trying not to picture a pink elephant, trying to ignore the wretched Live Canon pamphlet competition keeps being on my mind. Results are announced on Monday, but as I heard nothing today, I've obviously not got it as winners are usually tipped off in advance. I find being continuously shortlisted galling. A simple yes or no takes up less mental bandwidth. As ever it is the hope that kills you. Went for a couple of walks. I downloaded The Three ...

Dreaming about serial killers Contacting agents today. Plus lurking in children's book departments in Waterstones and Borders checking up on what's hot on the high street. Al called while I was looking through them, to do an emergency afternoon's work writing headlines for a multinational campaign about hepatitis A and B, which I was happy to do. Writing headlines you know are going to be translated means that any idiom or playfulness has to be vetoed as it can't be translated. And given that these were for a pharmaceutical company they have to be rather plonking too, and are legally vetted to within an inch of their lives. Feeling begloomed, exhausted and overwhelmed with frustration. Nothing I have done seems worth a hill of beans at times like this. The feeling snowballs during the day, and the only thing I can face doing in the evening is to rest my ankle and watch Dexter. The series is fascinating, and you are absolutely on the side of this lovable serial killer, a...

A Peter Kenny day Agency awaiting feedback on all my writing today, so yippee! I had a Peter Kenny day instead. Building my Skelton Yawngrave site still. Have done the video, and am sound editing a 15 minute read excerpt. Editing sound files takes forever. But it is so great to have a break from thinking about arthritis and marketing implementation guides, to be doing the real stuff again. A note from Mindy today, who is back at home eating chocolate biscuits and feeling okay, which was great to hear. Hearing from Lorraine who is rushing about on house selling business. Her holiday so far has been completely arduous. Mooched briefly to the shops today, bought some prawns which I shared with a grateful Calliope. Still hobbled, I rented Dexter series two in the evening, and watched a few episodes of that. It's wonderful stuff. I love its dark threads of humour. I can't remember the last time I watched so much TV as the last couple of months.

An inconvenience Able to hobble with a lot more fluency this afternoon. An entirely drug free day. Excited by emails from Romy who has sorted out in exemplary style an itinerary for the visit to the New World. Otherwise wrote digital copy about arthritis and osteoporosis, which was less exciting. A little after five thirty I met First Matie in Marks and Sparks. Back to my place for cups of tea. She had just been down for a casting interview for a random TV show. We left for the Sussex Yeoman just around the corner to strap on the nosebag, phoning Lorraine before I left. On leaving Kate and I were surprised to find a gentleman of the road sitting with his back against my front door, all the better to urinate into his trousers. He was tremendously polite, however, which was disorienting. I was tremendously polite too, and Katie and I climbed over him into the Twitten. I returned a short while later, and applied a judicious bucket of water to the spot where he had been. In the Yeoman I ph...