under another sun

Up early and made several amends on the stuff I was doing for mes amis in Paris, and then sent this off as a pdf to Val. Then I nipped down to Preston Park Station and made off to Kew Bridge to see my dentist.  Amanda messaging me from NZ for the inside skinny on the Nintendo Switch games that Lorraine likes, as she has just got one too. Quite busy on the way up. I read poems from Finished Creatures, and the latest PN Review on the train for a while, but just felt like rubbernecking out of the window. I arrived a bit early at Kew Bridge so was able to sit by the river, and look at the flotillas of Canada geese and other riverside delights. A beautiful day. Sauntered up to the dentist's office and Lucinda herself opened the door and told me to go straight in, even though I was early. No nasty surprises, which is what you want, and just a bit of scraping and polishing. As I was leaving I told Lucinda how much I appreciated how calm she made me feel over the years. I have not had a mo...

Up to London, the trains all delayed or cancelled but managed to make it just in time. A man of Indian appearance with strange metal Jewellery walking angrily along the length of the tube train (one of those new ones that have no walls between the cars) barking to someone (possibly imaginary) on his phone, using the word Hitler at one point, pausing by me with a bulgy rucksack, make me feel apprehensive in a way I never have on the tube before. A day's work in Turnham Green with Dave the art director, to design a folder, then off to Stanmore to be  collected by Mum and Mas to go to the Wetherspoons for a bite and a pint. Mum doing some kind of art business with the loud-voiced one-armed man. Mason asking about the Chad trip and so on. Then home to have a fiddle with Mason's new phone and programme in some addresses. Supposed to be a simple phone. It may be simple, but intuitive and user friendly it ain't. Some of Mum's apple crumble then an early night for me. Facet...

Last day. Missed the train, was late. No problem though as I spent the majority of the day in the cold corner of the office waiting for tiny amendments and going to a couple of meetings. The job I was working on has been finished, with a lovely job done by Ana the Mexican illustrator. They asked me to work there again, but warned me their group is changing its policy towards freelancers so that you have to be a limited company. I spoke to a former colleague there who said that she thought most agencies were going to go that way now. Looks like I will have to become one then. Out at lunchtime and bought an organic chunk of spinach tortilla to gnaw on, and lurked about in Waterstones.  Being in a big bookshop is a calming experience, despite the unbelievably penetrating voice of an eastern European woman in a headscarf whose pitch is outside the shop. She calls out Hello! How are you! Big Issue!  in a way that there is no part of the big store, even on the third floor, where y...

Life. Death. Hammersmith London again. Bumped into Reuben in Victoria and we had a chat walking through the station. Discussed the redundancies hitting creative agencies. Thankfully, his agency seems to be okay. Walking through the graveyard to the agency I delighted in a few crowds of little crocuses here and there. The gleeful beginnings of the year. Reaching Fulham Palace Road by the hospital I saw a team of dark funeral horses with black plumes. Surreal in the shabby street. The patient horses like death waiting in the wings. The circle of life in Hammersmith. Into another day of MS concepts and a bit of wounds thrown in for good measure. Went for a late lunch with Betsy and the CD and head of art, who are both likeable guys, to the OSP. This is an old agency haunt and so feels like yet another time warp. I've had nightmares where in the dream I am back at University and doing my course all over again, except this time I fail it. It's messing with my head being back working...

A were gull in Brighton Busy day. Went to the quack, cancelled dentist, booked Alf the plumber, went to the chiropractor (just for the craic), scored a new security light, and then worked on atrocious website referencing for six hours straight, broken only by a call from Bob. Outside, it poured steadily. Just before I was due to set off on my various morning missions I heard a strange clunk, which also had the cat looking wild eyed. On leaving I found broken pieces of a coconut by my gate; the white flesh odd in the puddles. It could only have been a monstrous were gull seizing a pier coconut to head inland to shie the Twitten. The news of the fires in Australia is horrible. The fire moved so fast, and some of it said to be set by arsonists. Off to the station this evening to buy at ticket to travel to London for the next week. The ticket office man looked shifty, and I said, "you're compensating for something." And he said, "what?" and I said, "my travel...

Trains and tubes and interviews Up before the throats of sparrows could thaw, and got the early train into London. Another terrible journey meant I arrived no earlier at the office. I worked hard till 3, chipping in with lines and concepts. Betsy coming up with some lovely visual stuff. If I had my own agency I would hire her instantly. Then at 3pm, off to Merton Civic Centre. A ghastly tube ride there, at Waterloo I asked a member of staff why there were no Morden trains and he told me to keep waiting. As I began to grow late I discovered that you had to travel to the next stop and cross the platform before you could get the right train. Argh. Fortunately I was only five minutes late to interview Sarah Tanburn, Merton's Director of Environment and Regeneration in an empty fairtrade cafe across the road from the Civic Centre. Yusuf the photographer for On Track, who I'd not met before, taking shots as we talked. Sarah, and her colleague Bronwen were pleasant people, and Sarah w...

Soul sapped Working on Multiple Sclerosis with Betsy, and the creative directors at the agency I'm working with. Once or twice, I had to remind myself that in this scenario I am a freelancer and that wearing so many hats can be tricky. Travelling home, I arrived at a completely doomed Victoria station. Some kind of massive points failure. Crowds of people crammed onto trains which never left the station. No information, and everyone stressed and angry - or even crying. I managed to laugh about it, so was okay. Eventually I had to go to another station, and got a slow and delayed train home, arriving at a tired 10:00pm. Listening however to The Secret Scripture and rather enjoying this. Thank God for audiobooks. It has been a miserable week's travel, and it's only wednesday.

Commuters and a crapaud Is there anything more British than moaning about commuting? Moaning being a great national pastime, and with millions of people commuting every day it gives us all great scope. And the worst thing about moaning is you have to do it. For example I had to stand all the way from Brighton to London this morning, and had to get a two more trains before reaching Putney. London of course still paralysed by the tube strike in the morning. My ticket did not open the barrier at Putney, but a man behind me put his ticket in without thinking, so I could surge to freedom, as the barrier snapped behind me barring his exit. I did him a favour, however, because I gave him something extra to moan about. Then a 40 minute walk to reach the office. The day draggy but I began to feel a bit livelier than I felt for about a week, and could think a bit straighter. A momentary diversion caused at work by about ten girls dressed as Can-can dancers arranging themselves in a circle on the...