under another sun

Mum's birthday today. I'd given her a CD by Stan Tracey called Under Milk Wood. She used to know Stan Tracey quite well when she worked at Ronnie Scott's. Lorraine and I lay in bed like slackers and then did a spot of gardening in our front garden, in the few minutes this took I managed to hurt my back abominably by lifting up a sack of wet sand. Then we drove with a carful of stuff to the tip. A good feeling to be getting rid of things rather than constantly trying to find room for things. The evening spent enjoyably playing cards with John and Beth. We played euchre and uno, and another not particularly good game called crazy eights where eights are crazy. Great fun sitting about listening to music and sipping the odd Christmas drink, especially for me while playing Euchre, which of course forcibly reminds me of times past. To bed, where my back began to hurt abominably.

Lorraine off teaching governors this evening, and so I had a fairly monkish day working on the book all day and in the evening too. Got a good deal done however, which is pleasing. Following my conversation with Mum yesterday found a piece of music by Stan Tracey called Starless and Bible Black (the same Dylan Thomas inspired title used by King Crimson ten years later). The Stan Tracey piece absolutely beautiful though, and from an album of music inspired by Under Milk Wood . Go on, treat yourself and play this… I can't believe I have never heard this before.

Up fairly early and catching up on some admin. Also writing to Mike Stirzaker, an old friend from university. He was dating a woman called Clare when we were at Warwick, and they are still together and have had two daughters. Quite impressive. Off to meet Mum in London. Was slightly late leaving, and missed my train so was annoyingly late. As the train left Brighton there was a big pall of smoke in the sky, seeming to come from near our house. However, when I got home everything was okay, except for a trace of lingering smoke in the air. Good to see Mum. Met in the old gin palace of The Salisbury, and after chatting there for some time, and giving her a lovely dragonfly broach Romy and Toby had bought her, and a Japanese ink brush that Lorraine and I had found, we wandered into Soho's Chinatown where preparations are clearly underway for Chinese New Year, which is being celebrated here on February 2nd. Rather than the Japanese who have aligned it to the calendar and start it as...