under another sun

A much-needed calm day, both feeling a bit tired. Slow breakfast, and a food shop (I always enjoy food shopping with Lorraine), Lorraine did some gardening, I went to the gym to atone for the last two evenings. Then studio. I am exploring in sketches what I am now beginning to write about. It accesses a different part of my brain -- which I should not find surprising after decades of image plus copy advertising, I don't really understand. I seem to learn the same things over and over throughout my life. I have a vague idea of doing a hybrid project, if I can get my art standard high enough. Spoke to Mum and arranged to see her in Hampstead next Tuesday. Arranged a haircut for Monday as it's all gone into clown mode. Air fried chicken tonight, with delicious beans I picked from the garden among the veg. Football tonight. An interesting game between France and Paraguay, who played with callous gamesmanship and thuggishness, and confined their beating to 1-0 because of it. France,...

A pinch and a punch for the start of the month. Romy has been marvellous and sent me a tax form, plus an outline letter to the California tax people to complete. This is brilliant. I also used Chat GPT to investigate mum's US widow's pension, and got lots of useful advice, although it also said we'd done all the right things so far, say what you like about AI but it is bloody useful in such circumstances. Spoke to Mum about it all. Gym again today, and pressed on with editing my long interview with Will Harris, which seems to be taking ages. Succumbed to the torture of watching England, we started to watch just after England were already one goal down to the Democratic Republic of Congo, who played really well. England ragged and as ever going through patches of appearing never to have been formally introduced to each other. But Harry Kane scored two goals late in the second half to save the day. Then went to play about in the studio with Lorraine afterwards. Lorraine happi...

A day at home...  I did a bit more editing of the short story.  Lorraine surged purposefully outside to do gardening, I cleaned the pond filter and thinned the pond weed. Only two goldfish remain now, as the unknown predator has been at work again. These two survivors look chubby and healthy though. Later in the afternoon, studio time. Me trying and failing to come up with visual art ideas, but spending a lot of time thinking happily about them, and Lorraine playing with clay, making small clay fish. I made one too. All highly enjoyable. Thank God Lorraine and I have a new TV obsession: Babylon 5. The first episode was risibly bad, so we almost stopped watching it there and then. But I looked up some old reviews of it, and it is well thought of. Now we are enjoying its ever more complex plot, and dated visuals and attitudes. Spoke to the Tobster this evening, and discussing his visit over in the summer. And after talking with him about the Guardian's list of the best 100 novel...

Final edit on the Kansas story underway. Still finalising the proper title, worked on it all morning.  Spoke to Mum, getting ready to dye her hair. She's saved thousands over her lifetime doing her own hair. A light lunch with Lorraine, then to the gym for a cautious beginning again workout. Between 2-3 am seems to be a sweet spot, sans schoolboys clotting up the machines while studying their phones. My new bone conduction headphones worked a treat. Now I can trundle on the cross trainer and comfortably listen to a podcast.    Lorraine and I mooched down to the bottom of the garden to our 'studio' where Lorraine did pot trimming and I did some much about with visual ideas. This was very pleasing. I melted away to make a curry from chicken, chickpeas and mushrooms. We passed on the pub tonight. I was out yesterday, and Lorraine and I are out tomorrow night instead. A note from SJB wondering if I would introduce her and Tess Jolly at a reading they are doing in Brighton in ...

I was up very early for some reason. I am feeling far more positive than I've felt in a long while. I decided that 2026 officially started on May 1st. Took Lorraine a cup of tea and we planned our day. Soon we were surging purposefully into the garage, reclaiming the space to create our studio. We made real progress, and took a carload of stuff to recycling at the end of the day. I am beginning to become excited by the possibilities of that space.   A roast chicken this evening, episodes of Foundation, and all well. A gorgeous clematis flower in our garden.

A quiet day to ourselves. Felt the urge for a housework frenzy which felt morally cleansing. In the afternoon we repaired to the studio, where we used one of the little breathing heaters, and Lorraine did some painting of her pottery pieces, including little holly shaped leaves, and I did some scribbling quite literally. Indoors again, and we cooked a chicken and roast, and watched a film called Finch, with Tom Hanks, which was a cosy kind of dystopian film. Not much cop, but Hanks is always watchable. Also enjoyed Chelsea holding Arsenal to a draw, despite having one of their players sent off. Below earlier Lorraine made a squash soup. The colour of the peelings was like sunshine on a chopping board.     

Woke up at fiveish and then couldn't get back to sleep, so got up and worked on my new poem for a while. Lorraine's personal trainer Caroline had to cancel due to her dog needing to be taken to the vet, so we had a relaxed breakfast.  Decided the poem might be the sort of thing to enter the lottery of the National Poetry Competition and is part of my time and memory collection.  Later I asked Chat GPT about my feet. I learnt a new word today: overpronation, when your foot rolls inwards more than average, which mine do and I discover, however, that there are plenty of shoes for people with feet like mine. As I am walking two hours a day or more on top of just mooching about, it seems sensible to invest in more comfortable trainers.  Went for my walk for a couple of hours, listening to 1970s BBC recordings of Jeeves stories. An enjoyable lurk in Seaford Cemetery. Home, and Lorraine finishing off some bags she had made on her sewing machine for Beth. A light lunch, and Beth ...

A Sundayish start to the morning, another heatwave day. Slow and luxuriating over breakfast. Listening to a voice note that Mike sent us, he has a great voice for radio or podcasts. A happy day to spend together mainly lurking in the Studio, me sorting through years of scribbles and taking ages sorting out my cache of coloured pencils. Found little line drawings of a room in Kingsbury, a room in Leamington I lived in for a year, and the fireplace when I lived in Kew, and lots of mostly unsuccessful watercolour daubs made on holiday. Lorraine sat opposite me and made a few little finger pots, and we listened to CDs on our old CD player and felt like we had escaped from the world.  Lunch on the patio, and spoke to Mum, before she went around to the neighbours next door. A mischief of magpies was making a good deal of noise at one point from Joy and Jim’s roof. There were eight of them. Lorraine happily gardening. I have been watching a documentary series on BBC called Couples Therapy...

Lorraine and I got up late. I did some editing this morning, and for the first time this year sent out a couple of poems and did a final brush down of Gordon Road. As Paul Valéry said, 'A poem is never finished, only abandoned'. I am more than ready now to leave it in a basket and sprint off. In the afternoon, which was very hot, Lorraine and I did some more stuff in the studio, Lorraine working on her pinch pot, and me trying to charcoal her while moving. Not so great. But we sat there listening to a classical music CD and sipping tea, and feeling pleased with ourselves.  A bit of gardening today too. Pulled up the garlic bulbs which lorraine wove together to dry. Also many beetroots and some radishes. The cucumbers are going gangbusters too, we're already had about six or seven of them. And the seagull barely screamed at me today, and didn't dive at me once. We keep an eye on each other, and it definitely crossed his mind to have a go when I was bringing the washing i...

Feeling a bit meh due to the shingles jab I think. My arm is the most painful it has ever been after a jab, Really hot and inflamed and my whole upper arm is sensitive to touch. A blood test this morning, but was in and out in two flicks of a vampire's cloak. Otherwise a bit of ineffectual writing this morning. Just not on it today. Lorraine and I managed to make a bit of progress in the garage and we scooted off to the tip again with a load of drawers and broken bits of cupboards and so on. Could easily have just slept this afternoon, but really needed to have achieved something. And we did. Lorraine and I to The Old Boot Inn this evening. We met Steve, Andy, Chris, back from Dubai, brought his friend Julie, a warm friendly Irish woman who within minutes was reciting W.B.Yeats for the win. Also Debbie, who I am getting to know and finding very nice.  Friday's revolving cast of rebooters is great.  Ate a fish pie there, with too many peas.