under another sun

Up early again enjoying sitting at my desk and thinking about words. After breakfast and Sylwia arriving Lorraine went off to Rhyme Time, and I spent a few hours editing the Kansas story, which I think is going to be called The Follower Followed or maybe just The Follower.  I hacked hundreds of words from it, and probably needs a bit more. It's still over six thousand words and its completion has been hampered by being ill and so on. Taking lots of time over something doesn't necessarily equal quality though.   I had a bite to eat, and then popped around to Melissa's house for a review of my drawings, which soon evolved into talking about art and life more generally. She's thinking of doing a performance piece later in the year, and is a properly creative person. I left with lots to think about. Talking with Melissa helped me realise I have been putting too much weight on the drawing and should just trust myself to explore the possibilities, rather than being goal focus...

Noticeable how much more I can focus than a week or so ago. The brain fog is abating I hope. I sent some questions to Will Harris ahead of next week's interview, and later did a little editing of the never ending Kansas story. Also made time to watch King Charles's speech to Congress. I'm not a royalist, but even I have to admit it was a good speech and he delivered it well. The speech cast things in historical perspectives, which seemed to suggest that the Trump idiocracy will soon be just another historical period.   Off this afternoon for an eye test. Fortunately my eye health is good. I've ordered a bifocal pair for intermediate and reading, and a longer distance pair for watching TV at night when my eyes are tired. After this, off for a walk, after no rain in April, the ground is cracking, which I find a bit shocking. When I was a young lad, April was a month of showers.   Home and a bit of time with Lorraine before she left for her class. I snuck off and got mysel...

Lorraine still unwell but making slow progress. Still needing breakfast in bed and generally taking care of. I was up early and sent off Snowfall , the short story I'd been revising recently, to a magazine called Superlative -- The Literary Journal. Then I pressed on with editing the Kansas story, which I will probably rename before I release it into the wild. I went for a short walk by the sea this afternoon, and popped into the supermarket.  Once home, my throat flared up and I felt quite ill. Cooked a decent chicken stew, and sat about feebly. Enjoying The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler. A proper page turner.  Snaps by the sea, which looked really green in real life, proving that I did actually make it out today. Also the chaenomeles Dawn gave us in our front garden, a gorgeous flower.   

Lorraine unwell, with the shivers and cold symptoms overnight. Made her a hot water bottle and found the wooly Canadian socks that Joan had given me ages ago and put them on her feet. These seemed to make a big difference. In the morning I took Lorraine breakfast in bed, and did my best to look after her today. Having seen Mum yesterday I began to worry I'd passed this new lurgy on to her. But she was philosophical about it when we spoke. The CBT work I'm doing says there are worries you can do something about and others that you can't. Worrying about things you can't change is futile. A useful  reminder for me. It's funny how the most useful things to be told are often the most blindingly obvious.  Met Robin online this morning to discuss the next two episodes of Planet Poetry, which will be new ones. I always feel braced and more purposeful after we talk. Then to Brighton, as the train pulled in I glimpsed John McCullough standing alone on the platform so distinct...

Very nice not to be on a train this morning. Felt full of beans and cheerfulness all day, it was a beautiful sunny spring day and I'm beginning to wonder if the months of rain and overcast skies had undermined my mood more than I thought.   I woke up at six and got up at seven, sat at my desk writing for an hour or so, then returned to bed with cups of tea. Lorraine off to Storytime, and then see Pat and Maureen. I went back to my desk and at last finished the first draft of Kansas . It was only this morning that the end, which had eluded me til now, fell into place. The draft is in a fairly finished state. It's just under seven thousand words but will soon be tightened.   This done, I went for a walk around Tide Mills, trying another new path. Home again at a little after two, and Lorraine and Beth were at home. Enzo having been left at the nursery for half an hour without problems, and Beth feeling steady about it. Lovely to see her, and the baby a bit later.   Arranged...

Up early. Got a bean jar into the oven on low heat, and the house full of beany goodness all day. Then after breakfast I made off to my drawing class, the last one of the term. A model called Lorraine Yu  who I've drawn before. Again I simply enjoyed the session, with no self recriminations about not drawing well enough.. Nice to see Adele back from Ireland. Melissa going back to the States. Kate, who I often sit next to, doing some excellent work. Back home, and Beth and Enzo there having a rest before popping around to the Nursery for another familiarisation day. Enzo relaxed about being left there for a few minutes already. Lorraine and I went to the garden centre at Paradise Park, home of the dinosaurs, and bought sacks of compost, a pink camellia, and some pansies.  Then home as big splashy cold rain began.  Home and as we were carrying stuff into the garden, Lorraine reported some free swimming tadpoles in our wildlife pond.  Robin in touch, and hopefully will ...

Snoozed in this morning after a lively night. Called mum a couple of times as she is unwell with the horrid sore throat cough bug. Lorraine seeing Dawn after she went to her personal trainer.  One of my poems, called Gardening with my Wife accepted this morning by  Channel Magazine . They are based in Ireland and so they pay, due to Ireland being a civilised country that values culture. It's a short poem, and one of the few that mentions Lorraine. Like many other writers, what gets me writing is what's unresolved or in some way troubling, so Lorraine rarely makes the cut. Out for a walk this afternoon. The business of replacing all the pebbles on the beach going on slowly. At the Seaford end of the bay, the sand is still visible. I'm not sure I quite understand the process, but the pebbles defend the beach and absorb the power of the waves. The little beauties keep chaos at bay. Somewhat rainy towards the end of my walk but I wasn't utterly drenched. Otherwise I was li...

To Edgware a  slow journey and an infernal wait at Mill Hill Broadway station so I didn't get there till almost one o'clock. Had printed out a hard copy of Kansas, and did some proofing and rewriting. Couldn't listen to anything as my earphones no longer work, having left the case on the bus yesterday.  The new key box outside Mum's house is up and working, and I confirmed on the journey up that the lifeline people had the code should they ever need it. All well. Also talking to Mum about the power of attorney business we will set up. She is going to ask Wynford and one other if they will witness it. Good to see Mum looking well,  her eye much improved now, and what's left covered up artfully by makeup. We zoomed off to The Waggon and Horses, where we had a bite to eat and a drink. One of the regulars, Tim, was there sitting in Paul's old seat. We chatted to him too as he was on his own and Steve and other pals were elsewhere. He told me he had thought about mov...

Up at seven, feeling like starting the week with a good dose of early morning writing. By springing out of bed, I woke Lorraine up. This was fortunate, as we immediately got a call from Maureen saying Pat was on the floor having slipped out of bed. We drove around, and popped him back in, and afterwards enjoyed a spell by the seaside, looking at the lovely colours of the early morning. Home again, and I got on with writing more of Kansas . The first draft is almost done, but the end still needs work. It comes in at about six thousand words. I also called Mum arranging to see her on Wednesday.  A walk this afternoon, unremarkable, but I was listening to a the rest is politics interview with former labour leader Neil Kinnock, which was quite touching. I always liked him, and he seemed a man of principle and sometimes raw courage.  Lorraine and I in the warmth tonight, eating chicken stew I'd made, which was rather good. We are watching Dexter now, and enjoying it. Early to bed....

Writing Kansas this morning and using Chat GPT which I am using as a fast way of understanding the geography, and history of Kansas, then known as an Unorganized Territory, in the early 1820s. Now that I am a --ahem-- mature man, whose own life and recollections span the 20th and 21st centuries, the nineteenth century seems quite close.  Then I went to hang out with Pat, while Lorraine took Maureen for a blood test. Chatting with him, making him a cup of tea and laughing at an estate agent's haircut on some long running daytime TV show featuring  property developers buying down at heel properties and doing them up and selling them at a profit. Home again, and then Delores sent me some of the work she had been doing, on which I offered  comments and tweaks, which took a while and was an unpleasant return to copywriting. Then off for a longish walk to shake it all off. A pleasant evening in the Boot with today's cast of Adele and Patrick, Helen and Andy, and Andy. Talking l...

A nice note from Charlotte about my shortlisting for Gordon Road, and then another forwarding some publicity from Bloodaxe, with a quote from me about one of their poets. I wish they'd chosen a quote that made sense, but you can't have everything.  So having sent off a story yesterday, I picked up another tale that I started about two and a half years ago, and now can see a way of resolving it. I was surprised when I reread it, how much I liked it. I need a few more short stories to complete a MS of short stories, the bulk of which have already been published. This one seems a good idea as it is historical, being set in 1822, so provides another dimension.

Lorraine off to meet Adele for coffee, I meanwhile continued writing my new short story, which for all kinds of complicated reasons is called Kansas . Writing in flow state. There is nothing like it.  Also firming up two potential guests for the podcast. In the afternoon we did some gardening together, and in the evening we simply took ourselves out for a curry in Seaford in a recently opened restaurant called Spice Village . This was fairly empty, but was the best Indian food I'd had in Seaford washed down with the obligatory bottles of Cobra beer. I'd revisit without a qualm. We were put in a little booth, which was nice as the place lacked a bit of atmosphere but the friendliness of the staff certainly ensured a cheery time.  Then we walked home along by the sea just after the sea had set. A full pink moon hanging in the air next to Seaford Head, and looking back towards Newhaven the sea was lined with anglers. Quite magical.