under another sun

Lorraine off to Ashford this morning, after going to Rhyme Time. I spent time working on the What's Inside story, having regained faith in it. A nice note from Diana at Mariscat Press about the sampler publication some of my poems are in, which will be published early Autumn. This afternoon I spent two hours talking with Charlotte and the other Understorians Marilyn, Emma and Linda. Soon after I'd begun this little group a few months ago, I learned that Marilyn, who I'd just met, will be published in the same Mariscat sampler.   I mooched into Brighton this evening to meet Mark and Peter in the Basketmakers. Sat there eating wasabi peanuts and shooting the breeze for quite some time. The England and Netherlands semifinal besieging other pubs, but not in Baskets. Mark and Peter both shared zero interest in the footie. Off for a decentish pizza at Franco Manca.  Could tell by the roar we could hear in pizzeria that England had won. Home on the train with Mark, and then home....

To bed feeling shattered, and then was woken shortly before 1.00am by a party in the garden next door. Then someone knocking drunkenly on the door next door, and the thunder and lightning. Missed hours of the night, and got up and drank some chamomile tea and so on. Eventually back to sleep and woke up at nine. Got up and brought Lorraine some tea.  Off to see Jewell today, to do a deep tissue massage on my back at 11am. Both painful and blissful, and we had a really good chat. Lovely to catch up with her for the first time in almost two years. Like seeing an old friend.  Felt lots more upright afterwards, and headed home. An afternoon of work for the team in Germany, and bloody pleased to be done with it. Also a smidge of work for the mes amis in Paris too, when I followed up with them. Done by 5:30 today, which was excellent. Then Lorraine, Jade Sam and I mooched into town for fun. Walking with Jade and she was so excited about going to see a Marvel movie, it really made me ...

Stormy weather today, with loads of rain. After a morning enjoyably pottering about in the dungeon, and ordering things on the internet, then Lorraine did her work and I worked on a poem I'm writing about the Nomura Samurai House in Japan. Lorraine and I walked into town to meet Beth and John in the teeming rain. As we did so, I realised that I was feeling better than I'd been feeling for weeks. This being the day before Beth's birthday we went for a nice and attractively priced pizza at Franco Manca then after a swift pint, into the Kommedia to see the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them -- as Beth is a big fan of all things Potterish. This is the new film from J.K.Rowling, and I thought benefited from being written for cinema, rather than being a translation of a book. Charming, escapist entertainment in the Rowling world, but without Harry Potter and his mates. A deluge as we left. Eventually we found a cab, and came home. Below, the a street in North ...