under another sun

A slow and cheery start to the day. Lorraine out to do a spot of shopping. I sent off a couple of poetry manuscripts, and listened to a wee bit more of The Exorcist. Early evening, Lorraine and I walked down to The Station Hotel pub the other side of Preston Park Station, where we met Sarah and  JD , Dawn, Steve Geliot and a few other friends and relatives of Sarah and JD who are moving permanently up to London next week. A cheery little group some of whom had been Lorraine's former neighbours. I had fun socialising, a chat with a young guy in the record business called Richard, who I really liked. A bit of drama as we began to leave, as Dawn's handbag had disappeared, but it turned out that a couple had moved tables to be away from our group as they were eating, had mistakenly picked it up. Lorraine and I stopped off at Chilli Pickle on the way home, L having a wee starter while I sensibly opted for a chicken dhansak. Home and a bit of Match of the Day, which sent Lorra...

A slower start this morning. Eventually I slipped off and bought some chewy brown bread, and started breakfast. This was our official bread day. I had weighed myself yesterday and have lost a bit of weight which is good, despite not trying too hard. After brunch Lorraine and I drove off to Waitrose to buy some reassuringly bourgeois and slimming food, including squid. While there, we bumped into Sarah and JD. Spoke to JD, looking perfectly French in a stripy jumper and bright blue trousers, about Macron and the French elections, our elections and about Brexit, while the ladies were discussing other matters. Home and then into the garden, where Lorraine and I worked steadily for a few hours, while the cats charged about. Indoors to find Cactus, next door's ginger tom, had invaded our house while we had the back door open. Our cats utterly useless. It weaselled its way into Beth's room and hid, then bolted for freedom. Then Lorraine did stuff for school, and I caught up with bl...

Lorraine and I went to Southease (where First Matie had lived for a spell) to look at some of the picturesque village's open gardens. It catalysed a yearning for an English Country Garden, maybe with chickens and lots of flowers. I never felt a desire for a row of onions before, but today I felt it powerfully. A row of onions that you had manfully planted into the soil yourself and then, months later, sink your teeth into later seems a noble thing. Enjoyed lurking in the village. Had a light snack there of a delicious flapjack, a cup of tea and a plastic cup of home made ginger beer. A lovely time drifting about between clouds of rose scent, and colourful bedding plants. The South Downs nearby providing a lovely backdrop. Then to Sarah and JD's for a civilised little garden party, with sushi, entire rounds of cheese, and impressive cakes to celebrate Sarah's birthday. She works in banking and is having a bloody time of it at work at the moment. I asked her what she thou...

The cringe before the storm Sending off listings and press releases for our launch concert. All beginning to happen now, the introverted sub-personality hidden inside me is cringing already about the preening and prancing about I will be subjecting it to. To the gym for more manful striving. In the evening to The Dyke Tavern, which used to be an unwelcoming hole best avoided, but is now quite pleasant. Met Lorraine and Dawn there, and some of Lorraine's ex-neighbours, including JD and Sarah, Angie and Patrick, Nicky and David, James, Dan and Steve Geliot. Steve and JD collaborated on the large inflatable spaceship featured in this blog in 2010. Otherwise, Lorraine and I had much fun giggling with Dawn. Lorraine and I treated ourselves to a hot curry, and my favourite waiter told us that he had encountered my blog.

Playtime Had a nice mooch through Brighton with Anton today. Dropped into the drum shop on Trafalgar street and chatted to the owner and timidly tapped all kinds of drums and percussion instruments. Then up to the guitar shop where there were some splendid guitars. I was gloating over several but tore myself away before I did something rash. Then we mooched on through record stores where Anton pursued his vinyl fixation, and was searching for something new and exciting to listen to. We didn't find anything, but it was fun anyway. We drank hot chocolate in Red Roaster. The chocolate there is so thick it is like some kind of runny mousse. Or at least a mule deer. Back home in the afternoon for a snooze and then did a couple of hours work on the dratted hogsite, before zooming off to Lorraine's in the cold, after scoring some beers and sorbets. Lorraine lives in a street where many of the neighbours are friends, and her pals Sarah and JD put on a curry night, where all the guests ...