under another sun

A bit drained and wet blankety but mostly cheerful. This afternoon the sun was at the exact degree of Libra as it was at the moment of my birth, and so invisible fairy dust was sprinkled over me.   Lorraine had most of the day at home, and she planted the Guernsey lilies she had got me as part of a birthday present, and even did some pottery in the studio this afternoon. It makes me happy when she feels relaxed enough to do that. I finished  Light , by M. John Harrison. Science fiction is not a genre I read much, despite loving it in my teens. This was superior SF though, complex but emotional, and highly readable, with some of it set in Chiswick. Once I finished that I started reading Confessions by St Augustine, and passed the point where my 1980s self had given up and his underlinings ceased. I might take it away with me, especially as the forecast for Paxos is somewhat rainy. Lorraine and I ate a tasty delivery meal from The Viceroy. Finally we have found a decent purveyor...

Up and off to see Mum this morning. During the journey I finished reading The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again , by M. John Harrison which I think is a fine book highly enigmatic and haunting, and much of it set in my old stomping ground in West London.  A bus from Mill Hill the short hop to Edgware, and such a beautiful day. I sat on the top deck, and felt a moment of unalloyed happiness looking at the children's drawing style puffy white clouds and deep blue sky. Feeling strangely free today. I found mum in good spirits, having had a busy day yesterday. She has managed to sort out a call with the tax people to do her accounts next Tuesday. Also the woman who comes to clean a bit, and the gardeners came yesterday. We drove off to the Waggon and Horses and had a chat with Paul at the bar, and some food. She asked about Gordon Road, and I told her what it was all about, and how it had been sparked in part by her remembering the name of the street, Gordon Road, where my paternal gran...