under another sun

Lorraine went to see Paul in Hove for a haircut, and returned looking very glamorous indeed. She also popped in to see Rosie while there. I did some writing, then had a longish walk.  Early evening off to Saltdean Lido to celebrate Yvonne's big birthday (a couple of weeks in advance). We supposed to meet the others on the bus, but L and I accidentally boarded a rogue 12X and were there early. There were twelve of us there, obviously Yvonne and Brian, and Patrick and Adele, Marek and Sally, Guy and Barbara, Rick and Gabby. It was a beautiful art deco building dating to the late thirties. Strange clientele, mainly in their sixties and one or two looked only a little younger than the Lido all merrily dancing away. In a lengthy queue for the bar, I was being sized up by a table  of mature single ladies. I briefly felt like a sardine in a shark tank. Men in pork pie hats, one or two in sharp suits, and so on. It was styled as a reggae and ska night, but there were two tone types (a...

An early start at the poetic coalface. Then breakfast with Lorraine, and she went off to do Story Time. Sylwia here, very cheery she is. And Lorraine and her always kiss when she comes in. I melted away to the gym, hoping to get some physical jerks in before it got too hot. En route I called in at Melissa's to hand her a sketch back. I had daubed a D minus watercolour on a piece of paper she'd handed me, to discover  as I turned it over, I found there a sketch of a dog called Benji, a much loved hound Melissa has been commissioned to do a painting of it. Then bumped into Delores on the way to the gym, as she was entering the bicycle shop 'Hello darlings!'  I spent some time in the gym, then sloped home feeling cheery, and end of term-ish.  Lorraine and I made off to the Boot where we met, Steve, Guy and Barbara, and Yvonne. Brian on a pilgrimage walk with his pal ending up at Canterbury. God knows what his knees will be like. Finding myself enjoying the company of Guy a...