under another sun

A nice breakfast, and speaking to Mum,  L off to Eastbourne to see the Wizard of Oz with Beth and Enzo, in a production done by Beth's theatrical pals. The show greatly enjoyed, and Beth got to introduce Enzo to lots of friends. I made off to Brighton, and spent the afternoon with Anton playing dominoes and catching up on events since February, when we saw each other last. Wheelbarrow loads of news, and some of it difficult such as his Uncle John being seriously ill.  Anton's few days away in Spain with Camino very stressful due to worrying about the family, surviving the downsizing at work and so on. Thankfully my godbairns Klaudia and Oskar doing well. Also during the course of the afternoon learned about Anton's new craze, which is a sort of leather writing folder, and going to sit in quiet corners of pubs writing thoughtful and intriguing letters to Camino.  We met in the garden of the Battle of Trafalgar. This old favourite of ours, now a ghost ship under new owners....

Still feeling a bit sluggish, but up fairly early and fiddling about with some of my writing with a view to sending off some poems before the end of the month. Chatting with Mum too. Lorraine on the epic job of repotting the bazillion indoor plants in the kitchen. A stormy day, with high winds and rain.  In the afternoon, I caught the train to Brighton. The sea, seen over The Salts, full of big white waves, which crashed on the shore. The lighthouse at Newhaven as ever, dramatic with big waves breaking on it. To Brighton then, and I met Anton in The Evening Star. Seems ages since I saw him last, had a few beers,  lots of chat, and a few games of bones. His work has been draining to say the least. I told him about the funeral and so on. It's good to have a beer about such things. Despite its reputation as a 'sausage bar' (a bar that blokes go to and not women) we had to leave as there was a noisy hen party on the table next door. Then to the Batty, which has a new owner. The...

Fewer 'must-dos'. I spent much of the morning happily about the dusty business of placing books in my bookcase, two sides one broadly about philosophy, history, Guernsey, religion and a shelf for my must read pile. The other mainly poetry, with a bit of literary theory and stuff.  Otherwise a bit of straightening out. Then a brief doze with Lorraine before zooming off to Brighton. A flash of light shopping, and then up to the Batty to meet Anton for a cheeky beer. Lots to catch up on. Anton finally stopped slogging today, and is numbed and tired. Chatting about stuff, a bit light on laughs. Stav's funeral next month and so on. However we soon cheered up, Lorraine drinking her first quarter of a pint in one gulp as usual, just because that is the best taste of all. And we played a three-way game of bones.  Anton had to leave and cook for Anne, and Lorraine and I took a chance and ate in the Batty. As it is under new ownership, I had a delicious Caribbean chicken curry served...

Up late, and a hearty breakfast. Called Mum for a cheery chat. Lorraine and I mooching about in Seaford to pop into The Crypt to see an exhibition of works by folks in the Seaford Art club. A fairly decent standard. We spoke to Palo Almond who seems a lovely smily woman, whose work we like.  Kissed Lorraine and walked through the churchyard to head to the station. Had one of those moments of unexpected happiness. I like living here.  To Brighton to meet Anton for a cheeky afternoon beer. I worked at some poems on train and then scuttled through the rain to the Battle of Trafalgar where there was a bizarrely dressed stag do, lots of spangly cowboy stuff, including a beefy guy in a black hat who towered over me at the bar.  Anton arrived, but it was noisy due to noisy boys, so we sauntered in the rain down to the Evening Star, where I went unmolested, enjoyed good beer and played several games of highly contested bones with Anton, played on a bakelite made in the USSR in 1...

 Lorraine and I off on the train to Brighton at lunchtime. Walked down through town to meet Penny and Steve in Mowgli, a restaurant with good quality Indian street food. We had things like bhel puri and gunpowder chicken, and home lamb curry, sat on seats with ropes for backs. Some seemed to be actual swings. A savage price for beer, but luckily I only had the smallest bottle of  Cobra I'd ever seen. Interested by Steve telling us about the paper he is delivering in Japan about synthetic rubies discovered in a sunken ship called the SS Persia -- sunk without warning by a dastardly U-boat in the Mediterranean in 1915.  After lunch, and fond farewells, Lorraine and I walked up towards the station, through the back alleys and my old Twitten, Camden Terrace. We went to the Batty, where we met Anton for a bitterly contested three-way game of bones, and a few beers. The Batty on the brink of change, the regulars fear for it.  Lorraine and I sloped home to cheese on toast. ...

Nastily cold day. Woken by Calliope and Brian offensively early. Up and let Chris in at 8:30 to continue replacing the boiler and water tank and so on. Then I spent hours in my nest editing my most recent interview for Planet Poetry, and cringing around the heater. Chris and I left at about the same time. I met Steve at the station and we caught the train to Brighton, now at last upgraded and with on board toilets as if it were the 21st century or something, where we went to the Battle of Trafalgar where the beermonsters were assembling for the first time in many months. A full complement, with Nick, Richard and Claudius too. Claudius now living in Senegal most of the time -- although back for a few weeks. He really likes it in Dakar which is an up and coming place, and is taking French lessons. Richard was on excellent form, looking happier and healthier that for some time, and was just starting a few weeks vacation. Nick, always cheery, telling us among other things about the wonders...

Lorraine and I doing a bit of planting in the front garden, two rose bushes, pyrocantha (orange glow) and a chaenomeles aka the Japanese quince. This done, along with a spot of business admin, I kissed Mrs Kenny goodbye and trained off to Brighton to meet Anton, walk over the hill down to the sea at Hove and play boules in the stiff chilly wind, which was great fun. Anton still frenzied at work, and had to break off a couple of times to send emails. We played three games of boules. Anton won the first two easily, but I managed to last to save face.  Then in search of warmth and a pub. Several of them, even on a Friday afternoon, not open till four. We had a bite to eat in The Hampton, and then walked back to Anton's to drop off the boules. Ambled past a few closed pubs, until we popped into the Batty, which was open and very full with dutch people. The Batty was serving Brains SA on tap, a beer from Cardiff that my old mate Simon used to go on about when we were at university. I dr...

Recording bits with Robin and spending a few hours editing the podcast into final shape, and then taking a small but significant first step on getting my accounts ready. Lorraine working from home first thing. Viewing bookings for our open house pouring in today. Long chat with Mum, and then off in the evening down to The Batty to meet up with Anton, returned from a brief business trip to Spain and sporting an excellent Guernsey jumper he had bought from Le Tricolour on the island. Just lurked about very local pubs gossiping. At one point drifting into the Evening Star where I had a nice pint of stout, despite still being barred from entry and The Lord Nelson, where we had a pint of pilsner made by fine local brewer Harveys. Surprisingly, the pilsner was an affront to the tastebuds, but we struggled one down nevertheless before leaving for home.  Fond farewells with Anton, then I jumped on a bus and was able to watch a bit of Masterchef on TV with Lorraine, before we sloped off to ...

Off this morning to see Stacy and get my hair cut. A new person working there now, in the side room, a woman who was cutting the hair of a lustily screaming child. Women standing about behind Stacy's chair chair gossiping as if they owned the place. A far cry from the brand of stilted masculine chitchat that is the norm there. Some eye rolling going on among the more established barbers. All quite funny.  A little bit of writing, and recorded a video of myself reading Snow on the Hillfort , and Sahel Sunset , for the Irish magazine, Channel for the launch its sixth issue. Took me a while to remember how to make a video, but it went okay. Home and a spot of jet washing the decking and Lorraine and I doing bits of gardening. The vets phoning with the results of Calliope's blood test, she has hyperthyroidism. Difficult even contemplating life without my furry little daemon. Luckily, there are treatments but they are expensive.  Spoke to Mum who said she had been a bit depressed. ...

Had planned something of an idle Friday, but first had to finish some work for mes amis in Paris, which took a bit longer than I'd hoped. Val came back and said it was perfect as usual, which made it all good. No NDI or contract from new agency by the end of the day, so Keith and I not sure what's happening next week. All agencies are the same on stuff like this. Otherwise I read and thought about all the things I could be writing and reading if I had any energy or will power. Sometimes the amount that needs to be read, and the amount that I should be doing.   Lorraine home early and I bought her a bar of chocolate and left her snuggled on the sofa, and then went out for a drink with Anton, meeting in the Batty, merrily busy, and then to the French Horn before returning to his house to eat some of his excellent pizzas and listen to tunes and putting the world to rights. Lurched home after midnight, top hat somewhat askew due to aquavit at the end of the night, which was a bit ...

A pre-dawn message from mes amis in France wanting me to do a smidge of work. When I couldn't find a quick fix, I gave up. Off to see Stacy this morning for a haircut. Almost an hour. The last ten minutes is given to cutting stray hairs invisible to the the eyes of muggle non-barbers. Back via Sainsbury's. Lorraine quite a bit brighter, although still coughing. I decided to bump my jolly with Bob next week in London. My estimation is that Omicron is passing like wildfire through the population. I would be very surprised if lockdowns don't start just after Christmas. Lorraine only gets her booster on Wednesday, and will be going back -- gradually -- to work, but I don't want to share crowded train germs with her.  Calliope split Sam's lip by head-butting his face in the night. It's a sign of affection.  Met Anton late afternoon. He looks remarkably well considering his probable TIA. He is on medications and going through further tests. Anyway good to see him and ...

Up early with Lorraine for an epic house tidy. As two young ladies, aka the dusty dolls, came by to give our house a deep clean. Annoying to-ing and fro-ing with the agency, who now want me to work for the following two weeks, thus effectively ending my holiday with Lorraine this week. I have to accept, but very reluctantly.  Jade off to have the massage that Lorraine had sorted out for her, and then Lorraine and I nipped into town on a bus, did a spot of shopping. Lorraine to meet Beth and Jade, and I mooched up to see Anton, who had a holiday. We decided on a game of boules, so sauntered down to the sea for another close game, which I won for the first time. Then we returning to the Batty for a beer in the beer garden.  The sun had come out, and Anton told me about his trip to Norfolk to buy tailor made clothes that will be sent to him in October.  Then off to The Foundry pub, as Anton's researches had revealed a new chef there. We had another beer and a light snack of ...

Lorraine and I chatting in bed this morning, having tea and breakfast and discussing how we need to make more of the weekends again now that Lorraine is more on top of her weekends and has not worked on Sundays as standard any more. We resolved to go to the Sea Life Centre aquarium down by the pier today, and took photos of ourself so we could pick up passes. By the time we got there however, we were too late, as in January the last admittance is at 3 o'clock. Instead we went for a stroll on the pier, and were rewarded with the sight of murmurations of starlings as the sun began to slide towards setting. From there we made our way, via a brief stop at the Evening Star where some Brighton footie fans were just whetting their post match whistles after a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa. We fell into conversation with one of them briefly before we set off up the hill for an evening with Anton and Ann and (intermittently) Oskar eating Anton's excellent pizzas. Lovely time there as ...

A bit more in focus revisited the story, The Merger , I wrote on holiday in Sicily, and also the What You Look For story I wrote shortly before I left. I sent What You Look For to Matthew Rees at Horla with fingers crossed. I also started working on the cover for Magnificent Grace. Lorraine working at home today. I got busy with the water pressure cleaner on the decking, and took off most of a year's worth of grime and guano. This is the closest I came to working with power tools, and it made me feel like a man.    In the evening we walked off to meet Anton in the Batty, where he handed over a Sherlock Holmes game for L and I to play. We had a bite to eat there, and generally caught up on gossip. Anton having the massive pain of having to sort out the identity theft that happened a few weeks ago, people buying stuff in Brighton. He is off on a short holiday with the bairns next week.  We left the Batty which is in its final weeks before the new owners take ov...

Shopping today with Lorraine. I bought some gym shoes that didn't bite my ankles, and some teeshirts. Into Specsavers to pick up Lorraine's new specs, chosen by a computer to suit her face shape. We also went into Marks and Sparks for about an hour, trying on things like teeshirt bras. We chatted to the woman at the till about lightning, and I showed her my lightning app. Lorraine out with Dawn going up to Bermondsey to see Sarah and JD's new home. I went to the gym, walking through the park where there were dozens of police gathered to monitor a pro cannabis 'protestival'. There was a bit of music, and several stalls selling cannabis oil and so on. Later I read, several people had their weed confiscated, and there were two arrests. It all seemed a bit heavy handed to me. and texted Anton who invited me to go around to his house and we sat about in his garden shooting the breeze as he barbecued some bratwurst, which we had with sauerkraut and mustard. Then out...

Back to my own work today, editing the children's book and still finding various imperfections. Made off to the gym in the afternoon, which was sweltering as the air con is being repaired. I overheated, and was happy to step back into the breeze outside. Met Anton at six in The Batty, and having exercised all day and eaten little, I was able to imbibe many of the day's calories in a sparkling, lagery form. I have read that The Battle of Trafalgar is going to be refurbished, and the interior changed under new hands soon. This will be a great shame as the Batty, once the nearest pub to my front door in the Twitten, reminds me of first coming to Brighton. Not seen Anton for some time, as he had been away with work in Hungary, and then on a few days walking break. He was full of excitement about a Sherlock Holmes style game he had been playing. We drifted to a few other pubs, dropping in at The Caxton and the Sun and Moon and Stars and The Foundry before going our own ways. Wal...

New Year's Eve. Lorraine much brighter than I have seen her of late, which was lucky as she had a meeting in Middle Street with Catherine. I walked into town to meet her afterwards, and we had a quiet coffee and made plans for the coming year. The buzz phrase is Iron Discipline . And both of us laughing about this but making plans to get more of a grip in 2019. From there we called around on Anton, still nursing his cold, and spoke to my Godbairns who both seemed in good form, Klaudia sporting the converse shoes we had bought her, and Oskar thanking us nicely for his present too. Anton, Lorraine and I then sauntered gingerly down to the emptyish Batty for a beer or two, and a good chat. Nice to be in the Battle of Trafalgar again. I am very fond of this pub, and very fond of Anton. And lovely to be out with Lorraine too, for the first time since before Christmas. Home by bus, and then later we bused to Hove where we went around to Rosie and Innis's place, where Beth and Joh...

Up early and working on some words for Helen for the opera. Then I donned my walking gear and walked down to Brighton Station to meet Anton. It was a cool but sunny day, perfect for walking.  Lots of police about at Brighton Station, as some idiot had tried to set off a improvised bomb on a train at Parsons Green in west London. Anton saying he felt in better shape than ever, and bounded off like a young gazelle at Balcombe.  We did a circular route, through the lovely lanes then across country fields and through a few farms to the Ardingly reservoir.  Anton shared his lunch with me there, as I mysteriously hadn't brought any food. We walked around it and then back up into Balcombe. A lovely walk, and a perfect day for walking, although we had to skirt the edge of a field full of noisy cattle. Anton let me go ahead as a decoy, then sprinted past me with some alacrity to safety. Ardingly reservoir quite full, and with signs about poisonous blue green algae in the water...

Pressed on with the cow diseases but had milked my brain of all possible ideas by mid afternoon, brain frazzled but having done some decent work. Sat out in the garden late afternoon under the lilac tree where I disturbed the fox, and tried unsuccessfully to think about poetry. Although I glanced again at the Your name here book by John Ashbery, and found I still liked the poems I'd liked yesterday. Spoke to Sonia again today, who was again laughing about Greeks, saying that if they made an allegiance with Russia, they'd have to pay the money back. Very welcome when Lorraine returned home, and we I walked down through the park, and made off to The Batty with the idea of sitting in the sun garden. But we sat indoors instead, as this was crammed. Here we discussing lots of stuff with her to do with my business, and writing and so on. She is tremendously good to talk to about things and has a knack for tree/wood discernment. Then where we met Beth, fresh outta Eastbourne, and...

Ankle a good deal less painful today, thank God. Made a new poster for Beth's show Les Belles-soeurs at the Rose Theatre next month. Lorraine working on work reports for several hours. We broke off this afternoon and loped to The Batty where we met Matt and John. I drank judicious, purine-light gin and slimline tonic,which apart from a solitary can of beer on the train home after my reading last week, was my first drink since Friday 13th. The good news is that I seem to be losing weight. For as well as miserablist near-teetotalism, I am eating the same slimming grub as Lorraine. Lorraine has lost over a stone and a half so far. She has a graph and the trajectory is relentlessly downward over the last five or six weeks. There is less Lorraine than there was and her clothes are loose on her. Great to see Matt and John, and I felt as if I were reentering society a bit having lost the last couple of weekends to various ailements.We sat out in the beer garden and gossiped several ho...