under another sun

Sam and Pat's actual birthdays today. Lorraine went out for lunch with Pat and Maureen, and had a good chat with Sam, who although not doing birthdays, was in good spirits. Lorraine sent him one of her crocheted bags. A morning being able to focus, which was marvellous. Have a sense, which I hope is not an illusion, of making a large step forward with the poems, and refining what the project is all about.  In the afternoon off to Brighton to get my hair cut. As last time a the same bloke walked in and started talking insultingly to Stacy about when his appointment was and so on. By chance he appeared last time I went there. He is a client Stacy inherited called Barry the Nightmare, and is in his phone by that name, which Stacy said was awkward when Barrry the Nightmare looked at Stacy's phone the other day. Stacy also told me I wash my hair too much. Then to my traditional ideologically unsound Starbucks, which has had a bit of a refurbishment to make it slightly less welcomin...

Lorraine off to Chichester this morning to see her pals Carolyn and Leslie. I gathered myself slowly, then went off to Brighton to get a hair cut. I arrived a couple of hours early, as Anton wasn't free, I had an enjoyable time mooching about Brighton in the sun, and also sitting in the ideologically unsound Starbucks, where I read a poetry pamphlet by Ian McMillan and more of the Essays of Idleness by the Japanese monk Kenko. Enjoyed revisiting old haunts. Then a saunter to the seafront which was full of colour and busyness, the sea a bright blue green, and also looked at the fire-ruined Albion Hotel. Seeing an open door in the ruin, made me think that during the Blitz this sort of thing must have been an everyday sight. Lorraine on her way back from Chichester came down to find me in the Barbers, Stacy hard at work who was giving me his usual excellently perfectionist haircut. Toby called me when I was in the chair, and said he'd be down south on Monday. Back with Lorraine o...

Lorraine and I into Brighton together this morning. Lorraine off to have her hair cut. I popped into Churchill Square and saw an exhibition Beth had organised, on up cycling clothes. From there I went to my old ideologically unsound Starbucks and sat there sipping their largest oat milk latte and working on some poems for a couple of hours. Lorraine on her way, I mooched across the road into the Library where they were holding a poetry and spoken word performance, by trans writers. I stayed for a bit. There is a hard polarisation happening these days. Trans exclusionary feminists who don't think calling yourself a woman suddenly makes you a woman and that trans women who are really men in women's spaces is threatening. Meanwhile trans folks, especially trans women who most of the ire seems directed at,  feel victimised and don't feel that their reality is acknowledged, and that they really are women. I have no dog in this fight and just look on aghast at the viciousness tha...

Only a poltergeist-lite scraping on the roof this morning, and the sound of a burner as new roofing was laid meant that I did not have to abandon my own office. Picking up the threads of my horror story, currently called Nothing compares to you . A note from Val in Paris wanting me to urgently look at something, but she sent the wrong file and then was uncontactable for a few hours. The right file arrived just as I was stepping into the gym, so I sloped down to my favourite morally unsound Starbucks and worked there till it was done, and I was able to return to the gym. A good session in there. Home and a bit more work before I cooked. Spoke to Kevin as he delivered our Share of the Crop tray, and said I had met Sam and Eva last night. Lorraine late tonight, but I cooked a large chicken and veggie stew, which we ate happily, watching Fleabag , and Star Trek before boofing off to bed. Brexit an endlessly depressing background. Since the shameful day this country voted for Brexit, ...

Thinking about how Ken lots, and how irrepressible he had been for most of the time I had known him. I would love to be able to believe in a heaven where he is sharing a nice bottle of Blanquette de Limoux with Janet right now. Apart from this, I wound up the week by posting signed stuff to a solicitor, putting an open to persuasion update on LinkedIn, and readying and sending off a short story to Popshot. This more in hope than expectation, but demonstrating Iron Discipline nevertheless. A chat with Sonia who made me laugh as usual, then off to the gym for a session there. Most enjoyably, I sat in Starbucks afterwards with a notepad, and plotted the first part of this new story I seem to be writing in the horror tradition. It is about twins. Then home in the pouring rain and straight into a hot shower once home. A quick chat with Anton, sending sympathy about Ken, and then Lorraine home and she immediately began cooking a pepper beef curry This was one of Beth's favourite chil...

Mason still in hospital. Otherwise a better day for me. Doing mind maps and just generally taking a helicopter view of my activities. In the afternoon, I had a quick chat with Sonia, who said she noticed with approval how much tidier my study was, I walked it town and sat in Starbucks for a bit. For some reason I find this an excellent place to think and work, as do many others. It is partly the place's blandness. Also I think its position. There must be a strange kind of feng shui about being on the corner of two streets, where you can see the world going by. Anyway, I spent quite a bit of time in there working and thinking before I walked home again. When Lorraine arrived home, we zoomed straight out to the Preston Park Tavern for a spot of dinner and a couple of beers. Lorraine had a good day today, with one of her staff writing to her board of governors to say what a good job she was doing. Sloped home early, and boofed happily into the weekend. Below the helpful bland...

So up with Lorraine this morning, and waved her off not to see her for the rest of the week. She is going to the Isle of Wight today with a couple of dozen children in a coach and a boat. So left to my own devices this week. Certain photos taken of me last week at the poetry reading I went to, cropped up on Facebook. In these photos I look a bit like Friar Tuck. I began a two-pronged attack on this, going to the barbers late this morning to make sure the ratio of gleaming pate to hair was a bit less medieval. Then to the gym for the first time in ages, for a mild mannered half an hour on the cross trainer.  From there to the non-ideologically sound Starbucks, where I worked for a bit on my laptop, before sauntering off to The Marwood where I had arranged to meet Catherine and Alex, as I thought they should meet as they have much in common. Nice to drink even coffee and chat with them for a couple of hours about all kinds of things. Then home, where I did a bit more work. I am ...

Working from just after seven on the final two chapters of the novel, which is now called The second kind of darkness . Some of my favourite ideas have to be given the Herod treatment, but after all these years, the end of the story is literally is in sight.  After four or five hours with blood on my hands, an omelette for lunch (made with turmeric as standard now). Then I slunk off in the gorgeous weather to sweat in the gym, where I had a good workout, doing the cross trainer but adding in a bit of rowing machine and one or two weights machines. Doing this gingerly as I am unfit. But things are slowly improving. Thence to the ideologically unsound Starbucks where I drank tea and worked till gone five. Walked home and spoke to Bob about various hypochondriac subjects, and then to Mum, who showed me the new rose arch in the front garden when I got home.  When Lorraine got home, we no-brainered down to the Preston Park Tavern for some cold beer and a bite to eat and...

Lorraine up and off this morning. I struggled out of bed and walked down to the doctor's surgery to have my blood pressure taken at 8:30. I told the nice nurse I have white coat syndrome, and it would be high. It was high. So we took it again and it was higher. After a while she took it again. This time I pictured Lorraine's face and it fell twenty points. Still not ideal though, and will have a yearly check up with my doctor on Friday. Nice that imagining my lovely wife is calming. Then to the non-ideologically sound Starbucks for a couple of hours, had a cup of tea and a small breakfast, and wrote an aesthetic manifesto. Then up to the gym. A man, possibly Brazilian, pelted after me to ask in broken English if I had left my phone in Starbucks. I hadn't, as it was the Japanese woman who was sitting next to me had plugged hers in under my table.  But an extraordinarily nice thing to do, as I was already 40 yards down the street. To the gym, where I did another half hour...

Worked out at last how to replace a section towards the end of my story, with a much better bit. Although hard to explain to anyone else,  for me this was a big step forward and I felt a cheeriness about it. Spoke to Mum, did some billing,  and chatted to Sonia about going to the gym. The gym curiously empty, and I felt good for trundling in there.  Sumo'd it in the showers there too, ad I had cunningly brought more clothes. Afterwards I sat in the ideologically unsound Starbucks and did some excellent work on a few new scenes for the book. Also there was some news from my French friends, and the work I was doing for them recently on a pitch was won, so I'm still big and clever. Other bits of freelance being dangled around. Then a pacy walk home, feeling strangely full of manly vigour, just in time for Lorraine to arrive, sneezing with early hay fever, and we slid off to the Preston Park Tavern for a quick bite to eat, before sliding back to the attractions of the gold ...

Another shabby night's sleep. Lorraine woke me up by literally screaming. Not murderers, but cramp. She went to sleep immediately afterwards. As the screamee, however, I lay awake with shredded nerves. Working from an early hour on the Centaur business, and was able to send off the work to Helen by midday. Then onto the gym again. Felt much better today, and did my half hour cross training (I am starting myself off gently again) without difficulty. Had a shower in the gym, and then had a large mug of Americano in the ethically-unsound Starbucks, where I attempted some work. More than usually like a student library today, except for the boys speaking Arabic next to me, and showing each other clips of things on their phones. Then off to buy some marker pens for concept work as they were going cheap, like small birds. Felt positively springy after the gym, and felt like I was walking faster and so on. I had weighed myself the day before and seem to have shed a kilo and a half. Not...

The Tobster's birthday today. Messaged him before he went off to school. Looking forward to having a meatspace beer or two with him in the Summer. Spoke to Mum, who was going to have her first day of not visiting Mason, and doing something different. She needs a break. I spent the day being mildly thwarted, but feeling quite cheerful. Went into town to try to get my watch strap replaced. Replacing the strap involves sending it back to Skagen the manufacturers, and will take a month. I raged at this and went to another jewellers, and found it to be the same story there. I randomly spotted a beautiful leaf green pair of shoes, which looked great, were cheap, but felt abominable on. I then went into the EE shop to see if a new phone was due, but I have a month to wait on that. I ended up in Starbucks, hoping to do some of my own work, but I was contacted about the rabid dogs several times. I had to rewrite some copy which was found to be too hard hitting, and another place where t...

Tea brought me by my lovely wife before she left for work. Off to the doctor's for me. He suggested a precautionary colonoscopy to check out my unsettled guts, given that there is a family history of intestinal nasties. This should happen quite soon apparently. I was hoping for this outcome, so I suppose I am pleased and hypochondria is under control. Thence to the Starbucks where I did a smidge of work a large cup of tea and a skinny blueberry muffin, before hefting off to the gym. I am very fat at the moment, but have been going to the gym with some determination. Had an excellent session in there, doing a bit of cross training, some rowing machine things, a few of the anxious boy arm exercises plus lats and pulling ropes with weights on the end of them. None of this done with the heavy weights you understand.  My enemy is cheese, and I returned home to Yarg cheese (wrapped in nettles) on toast. A gentle nap this afternoon with Calliope, before Beth and I set off to a new pla...

Off for blood tests this morning, and the nurse thanking me nicely for my poo sample. The nurse thanking me for this gift. Then to Starbucks where I tried to do some work for a while. Brain not functioning with any alacrity and generally feeling unproductively antsy, even when I came back home. Spoke to Mum today, who had read last week's short story and found it disturbing. Naturally I was pleased with this. Noticed that The Warren, where we will have our show, is now being constructed. In the evening off to The Black Dove in Kemptown, which managed in an instant, to become my new favourite pub. A strange little space downstairs, dark and mysterious, with a tiny stage. We ran through the whole play, and actually having a stage was good as it focused everyone's minds. It also made me realise I had to cut a few lines from the opening section. Good to do it now. Had a swift drink upstairs afterwards with Dylan and Beth, before we all went our separate ways, Beth off to se...

A rather blissful Friday, with a couple of smidges of agency work to be done -- and postponed some other stuff till monday so I could do some urgent stuff to get A Glass of Nothing rolling. Had an exceptionally productive few hours sat in Starbucks. I just wanted to escape the house and it worked a treat. I find the anonymity of Starbucks strangely helps. All the not being able to work on in meant that once I did that a huge amount of it seemed to slot into place right away. Suddenly I saw how I could underpin the three sections of the play with an overarching dark theme and got writing. I have had the set up for a long time, but I can only compare it to being some kind of detective. You keep looking at the opening scene hard enough, and the clues begin to reveal themselves. Wonderful to be writing freely again at something that cheers the soul. A glimpse of light. Home and once Lorraine returned from a hard day at work we jumped on a bus and biffed into Trafalgar Street. Had a Diavo...

Pouring with rain and, tonight,  a bit of thunder. Working on the book, then shuffling off to Starbucks to sit in the window and struggle with the last few bits of the book which are proving, for one reason or another, very hard to put to bed despite changes of scene. Although the section I am working on is no more difficult than anything else, it is proving for some reason really hard. Later Mark our neighbour knocked on the door with a parcel the postman had delivered to him. It was from New Zealand, and was a present from Amanada who had sent us a prototype of a new game, called Get me to the church on time , which she customised for Lorraine and I, so that the games hazards include tiles featuring The Basketmakers and The Battle of Trafalgar and set the game in Brighton. Rather bowled over by this, and the thoughtfulness of it made Lorraine cry. Then to the gym, where I pushed myself quite hard to compensate for not having gone this week. Another quiet evening in, much appr...

Back at last on the book after some weeks. Took me all morning to pick up the threads again. Vaguely disappointed that a poltergeist has not been hard at work at it, while I've been doing other things. Chatted to Mum this morning. And also had more correspondence from the lettings agent people. Then to the gym for a workout. Mercifully the air conditioning appears to be at least partially functional now. Had a shower there afterwards, but discovered I'd not brought boxers with me so went commando to Starbucks and worked there drinking a coffee and thinking about the use of sex in advertising while trying not to chafe myself. Lorraine back on the 5 and 2 diet, so we had steamed veggies, fish and rice. This would have been fine but Lorraine insists on watching the Great British Bake Off which has me craving cakes and breads.

Slightly unfocused this morning, and spent some time working on the wrong file. However, eventually made some progress on the book during the day. Lorraine working at home this morning too before heading off to a meeting. I made off to the gym, then to Starbucks where I worked for another couple of hours, despite the attentions of an infernal hell-child banging the back of my chair. Also wrote to Helen in Germany. She and her daughter Katy have translated my Heidegger poem, to be exhibited at the Heidegger Archive to help celebrate the 125th anniversary of the great man's birth. Amazingly kind. Another gorgeous day however. Home for a light salad supper, before Lorraine and I went off to The Eddy, which has now reverting to an earlier name of The Edinburgh (it will always be the Eddy to me), to watch the latest incarnation of The Shakespeare Trio: The Shakespeare Heptet. This evening's configuration included Richard of course, plus Steve Cartwright plucking a banjo, Claudiu...

Another phew what a scorcher kind of day in Brighton. I sauntered off to the gym late this morning after a fairly robust writing start to the day. A hot and sweaty business, but any feelings of virtue swiftly erased by glimpsing myself waddling out in sumoesque glory from the showers afterwards. Bah. Thence to Starbucks to drink tea, where I wrote for a while longer despite the presence of a young American woman with the one of the most window-rattlingly loud speaking voices I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. Even several tables away, with my earphones in, I could barely hear myself think. If you were on a sinking ship, however, she would be exactly the sort of person you would want alongside you on the tilting deck as the lifeboat approaches in the dark. Thence to Sainsburys where I met Lorraine and we sped home armed with salady bits. Some of which we ate when we got home. More work in the afternoon, a brief chat with Mum and then I prepared more salad-based repasts i...

Up early feeling curiously determined. I had a dream that I had at last been given a brief for a long delayed job, and felt relieved that at last I could get on with it.  Lorraine, up even earlier, bringing me the Godsend of a cup of tea in bed before I sprang into action. Worked on the book for an hour or so, then into the outside world in the beautiful weather to the Twitten where I met a series of three estate agents to let them pitch to me and discuss the value of the property. All rather good salesmen too. One fell down the stairs and was rather shaken, but apart from this quite pleased to have got the ball rolling. All somewhat time consuming. From there, off to the gym, for another workout. I am feeling determined to get in shape. Something about this hot weather just makes me want to drink lager, however and I managed not to. Instead I was pleased to sweat off some of the inordinate amount of food and booze I'd had at the weekend. Thence to Starbucks where I did some wo...