under another sun

Calliope sleeping on or around me all night.  Lorraine and I up early and eating our healthy seeds, berries, nuts and live yogurt etc. for breakfast with glee. Lorraine off to the doctor's first thing. Then to her personal trainer. I lurked at home, catching up on this blog and gradually getting my act together, Calliope insisting on sitting on my lap all the time. In the afternoon Lorraine and I took Brian who had a poorly paw off to Top Cats in Patcham. Another drive in teeming rain. He had a painful sore claw that was digging into his pad, and becoming infected. We came away with his paws sorted out, nails removed (with some blood) and antibiotics and painkillers to administer. A nice vet called Henry. I am always amazed at how a good vet can handle an animal without them freaking out. Brian was already much perkier by the time we got home. And it wasn't as eyewateringly expensive as we had feared.  Had my reading in Lewes confirmed for Thursday 11th January,  in the J...

Monday, and up and moving. Downstairs for another nice breakfast -- the owner chatting to us. A lovely woman. Then after paying we mooched our gear into the car, and then went to see Matt in Acorn & Pip  where Reuben works. It's a toyshop, with excellent educational toys, sells clothes, and has some tables for coffee and teas. Reuben's boss stopped to chat too. A lovely bloke. Said cheerio to Reuben, then Matt walked us to our car. It had been brilliant to see them both. Off then driving up across the high hills and down into valleys, including the one where the filmed Last of the Summer Wine, until we made it onto the M1 after being rerouted due to an accident. A fairly miraculous journey home, with few slow bits, and even the hideous M25 behaved itself. The time went fairly quickly, we did a crossword, listened to music, and so on. We were home in Seaford at about ten past four, but drove to Morrisons first to get a bit of shopping in.  Having spent five hours at the whe...

A nice English Breakfast and coffee, then off to meet Matt and Phoebe to go for a walk. We also went to his house, crossing the little river, where a heron was standing immobile in the water, and climbing up a hundred steps. His house is on the Manchester Road. The front of the house is close to the road, but view from the back windows is all of the treetops of the wooded hillside we climbed. Then along the Manchester road, and cut down to walk by the side of the canal, to the next little town called Marsden. Apparently it is where  Simon Armitage our current poet laureate was born. An inspiring valley surrounded by high moors. We had a good canal side walk in the bracing Yorkshire rain, and ended up having a cheeky cup of coffee in a cafe before catching a bus back to Slaithwaite.  Here we went straight to Hillside Harmonies, where Reuben had been holding the fort, to meet old pals of Lorraine's Lesley and Jeremy, who live in a town not too far away called Diggle where we sta...

Up and had a decent breakfast in the Beefeater, and then faffed about getting ready. Then at noon we set off, stopping off at immense shopping centres in Warrington and St Helens, as Lorraine was in search of something which proved unobtainable.  Then to Yorkshire, where people speak their minds, to Slaithwaite not far from Huddersfield. We drove on the M62, which went over windy hill, near Denshaw, apparently the highest point of any motorway in England. Some breathtaking countryside as we neared Slaithwaite, descending steeply down narrow roads of a valley from the high ground, with some amazing views. We parked up near our bed and breakfast, and carried all our stuff into a perfectly pleasant room. The owner Mike et us in and showed us to our room, and his wife, when we met her later was welcoming and friendly.  Slaithwaite is one of those places pronounced very confusingly. Locals pronounce it Sla-wit, and our hostess at the BnB pronounced it Slath-wait (which Matt told us...

So up and a cheeky poached egg breakfast with Sue and John. Fond farewells, with Whiskey the dog springing about squeaking its toy, which John said made the sound of a bitten rat, we left Bromyard. Lorraine drove for half an hour to see Lorraine's lovely cousin Maxine, where we were warmly welcomed, and spent a couple of hours sipping coffee, nibbling on fruitcake while her dog, Zippy contentedly gnawed a large bone under the coffee table. Heard about Tay and Emilia -- now studying away from home and doing well. Simon was working in Liverpool today, but Maxine was on a day off from work, so I think she was pleased to have some visitors.   Fond squeezes goodbye with Maxine, then we drove mostly along the A5 road through some absolutely beautiful Autumn countryside on either side of the Welsh border. The Shropshire hills, which I had never seen. They were stunningly beautiful. The tiring bit, for Lorraine, was that as we were driving, partly through Wales, then towards Merseyside, I...

Woke up in At Sue and John's in Bromyard. Whiskey the dog bouncing excitably about the place. Luckily she did not attempt to steal my watch again, as she did the last time we were together. After a lovely breakfast John drove us to see Hereford Cathedral.  Some rather glorious glass in the place -- one fairly contemporary piece, blue, but with splinters of red, celebrating the SAS, based nearby. Who Dares Wins, their motto, nearby. I didn't have enough time to view them in great detail, but had a sense of loveliness. Red and blue always pop in glass, but I love windows when the use green, which is rarer.  We visited the Chained library, the combination of ancient tomes and chains, was visually fascinating, and was filed away in my head to be used in a horror story. The Mappa Mundi , which I learned all about from an old friend Fraser who tried a children's story about it, was fascinating. Before you got to see it, there were replicas, one translated into English, and so on....

Set off to Sue and John's around midday, after a good deal of faffing around and packing a month's worth of clothes etc for our few day trip. The drive there requiring lots of focus, loads of rain and surface water.  On the M25 at one point a small car sprayed our windscreen so much we could not see out of it at all for a couple of seconds. The further west we went, however, the weather improved. Lorraine, as ever, a trusty driver and got us to Bromyard in Herefordshire safely.  Happy to see Sue and John. They had just got back from a vacation that day, but even so Sue had rustled up a veggie Lasagna for us all to eat. John saying he was pleased that Chelsea had beaten Spurs the other day -- and that the poem I had written for Sue about her dad had gone down well. A very cheery evening catching up on all the news John slipping me a couple of bottles of the excellent Butty Bach  to enjoy. Told Sue that we refer to her as Benchmark Sue, as she is so organised and clean and ...

A weird motivation bypass, despite getting up early to write, but after a while ran out of steam and started editing an interview. Lorraine getting ready to go off to see Pat and Maureen. Shortly after she set up, she turned around and came home again, as she was feeling queasy and off colour. She had a gold sofa day.  I went for a nice walk along the seafront. The heavy trucks were redistributing gravel over the beach, which is used to protect the town from flooding. Quite a spectacular sight. I'm not one for machines, but there was something quite stirring about the big trucks making great grooves in the beach pebbles with their wheels as they went about their Sisyphean task of moving stones from one end of the beach to the other.  Home again and sat with Lorraine reading, but then fell asleep.  Below redistributing stones on the beach. Oddly fascinating. And one of those stop and stare moments that I suddenly feel more able to do.

A nice morning, not having to spring out of bed. After breakfast a chat with Mum (who was visiting the Welsh neighbours later today with Mas) Lorraine and I  went for cobweb blower along the the beach. Gorgeous colours, the sea greenish and clouds hurrying across the sky. Beth and James came around this afternoon, and hung out. Nice to see them, and had a very relaxed time, though they are both knackered from work and having to deal with the house move stuff. James cycled over via Eastbourne, the last bit against the wind. Everyone excited by the prospect of them moving to Seaford.  A fair amount of the food grown in our garden. Lovely leeks and excellent parsnips plus Lorraine made a fab celeriac puree.  After Betty and James left, Adele and Patrick popped in, with a card and present for me -- a framed picture with the words WHAT COMES NEXT WILL BE MARVELLOUS -- which I love. (And rather timely after getting a poetry rejection just beforehand). Patrick gave Lorraine an i...

Off to Brighton this morning, rain dodging to the station and up Museli mountain to Cathrine and Tanya's house to celebrate Catherine's birthday with them and Guy and Tim. Great to see Tim looking well after a difficult health year. Such wonderful conversations with these folks.  Talking to Tanya about EM Delafield, who she would like to write about, and her current indexing job is for a book on Schopenhauer, talking to Guy about interior and textile design and family, having deep conversations with Catherine and Tim about life in general. All good. A few glasses of bubbly there, and we  walked into town to go to Petit Pois. Love this restaurant, and always good food. Lorraine and I both had vegan food, toothsome  mushroomy and leeky main courses which we shared. Then, as is tradition, off to Brass Monkey, the ice cream place, where we sat outside under the awnings having ice cream and coffee and watching the rain. On East Street Lorraine saw a 12X (the fast bus to Seafor...

To London with Lorraine to one of my favourite watering holes, The Salisbury on St Martin's Lane, where we met Adele and Patrick, had a bite to eat and a couple of drinks, and popped around the corner to Windham's Theatre to see King Lear, with Kenneth Branagh as the King. Also of interest to us was Dylan, who had been in some of my plays and was an old pal of Betty's and Lorraine, was The King of France, and doubled up on a few other roles.  We four had a splendid time. The play was cut to two hours, and was a bit rushed so that  why people were busy killing each other at the end was all a bit thrown away. Still it was a wonderful spectacle, to see in the west end the stage and sound design were top notch. It helped too, that the four of us had spent an evening reading it aloud together recently. Like the Crane brothers in Frasier, there is nothing better than seeing something excellent, then picking at it afterwards. The stage presence Dylan seemed to have been born with ...

The satellite dish clumping about on the roof like a wounded pterodactyl overnight. When we woke up this morning, we realised our roof was ominously quiet. I mooched out into the garden, to check things like the glasshouse, and saw the dish had blown clean off. Lorraine used the street WhatsApp and contacted Joy and Jim on one side, and David on the other to see if had landed anywhere. I checked long unmetalled service road behind the houses, but there was nothing. It had all gone a bit Clarke Gable, and was gone with the wind. Meanwhile I learned later that Richard and Jane's home had been flooded from the apartment upstairs, and he sent pictures of a deep pool outside the front door. Luckily the insurers are paying for them to live elsewhere, in a luxury holiday apartment.  Talking of lost things, rather pleased this morning hopping on the scales to see I had lost another 2kg. Since I have started this Zoe thing, thanks to Lorraine, slowly and steadily I have shed about 8kg (17lb...

Lying in bed typing this at ten to midnight listening to Storm Ciarán with very high winds. Looked out at our palm trees seething in the wind. It is already hitting Guernsey with winds of 95mph, and the intensity is coming this way. We are due 85 mph winds in the early hours. There is a satellite dish on the roof which is crashing about and has come loose, but there is nothing to be done about it now. I wonder what damage it is doing, and if it will remain attached. Quite something to be so close to the coast with nothing much between us and the elements. Absolutely wild outside -- possibly the worst storm since the '87 hurricane, and it's going to get worse before it gets better. In other news, I woke up at seven and was writing by seven thirty. Polished the poem of yesterday into something rather good I think, did the blurb for the new episode and received an email from Steve Foote of Blue Ormer in Guernsey, after I sent him a note yesterday about organising my Guernsey poems...

Rainy and stormy Tuesday. And an unghoulish halloween, although our neighbour Stephanie's grandchildren from across the way arrived (by prior agreement) trick or treating. I leave Lorraine to do this sort of thing. Lorraine out to her gym, and also having a Covid jab. I had a much better day, focused on writing this morning, and managed to get a few poems sent off, as well as doing a bit of editing on the latest podcast episode.  Thoughts also in Guernsey for a time and I'm hoping to re-collect all my Guernsey poems, with the several others that have been published about the island since the emergence of A Guernsey Double .  Nipped out after lunch for a stroll along by the sea, in an interlude when it wasn't raining. Watching one of the big earth movers, clanking up and down, levelling the shingle to protect the beach.  Home and a carpenter called Andy was here, to discuss a few jobs. Including sorting out my study, which would be amazing.  In the news, the Covid inq...

Up early and trying to get started on some writing, hoping to send poems off for various deadlines.  I failed completely despite my best efforts, with lots of interruptions this morning.  A walk in the afternoon, however, made me feel less frustrated. The sea is therapy.   Calliope, who had a nasty turn yesterday, constantly with me, sleeping on my desk. I am worried about her. My back, however, is still slowly improving. Lorraine went off to see Pat and Maureen taking Pat for a blood test, and going to the garden centre for lunch. She returned late, but safely. The weather is making things unpredictable. Only able to read and watch the unrelenting horror in Gaza and Israel now and then. So much disgusting blood lust. Such an impossibly complicated geopolitical situation. 

Raining most of the day. A good chat with Mum this morning. Lorraine and I were due to go out tonight, but our friends cancelled through illness first thing. We were happy pottering about together, me painting the bathroom cupboard in the garage while Lorraine tidied the space up, and we removed another from the study wall. I cooked this evening.  Very worried about Calliope, who was walking back into the kitchen from outside, then stopped and howled horribly just outside the back door. She has done this once before. I brought her in, and she was panting and distressed. I thought she might die. However, she slept most of the evening, and seemed improved. Last time she did this, she was fine shortly after. But it upset me.

In the evening Lorraine drove us to Brian and Yvonne's house. A cheery meal and a few drinks, with Marley the dog bringing me something to throw for her. Brian, who had not been drinking for weeks for charity, had a few drinks. He also gave us a skull bottle full of cider he had made in his shed. I believe it is quite pokey. Lorraine said we would give it back, full of sloe gin.

Today, ten years ago, Lorraine and I got married. Cards, and Lorraine had got me a little heart, and some heart shaped lebkuchen. We slipped off this afternoon to wander about in Alfriston which is a lovely village not far from us nestled in the downs. Also we walked down to the church and the White Bridge over the river where two swans were swanning about.  Mooched about looking at a good art shops, and lurking in the Much Ado bookshop when the rain started, as it had done when we went there with Toby recently.   Home again, and a much needed rest of my slowly and steadily improving back, before heading around the corner to an Italian restaurant called Ginos. Turns out this was a really nice place, which had been recommended to us. We put aside our Zoe approved foods, and had salad, prawns in hot sauce, and two delicious pizzas, very much home made style. Yum. Anyway, definitely the happiest ten years of my life thanks to Lorraine. Below Alfriston village green and its churc...

Back steadily improving and I am able to get dressed in the morning without Lorraine having to put my socks on and so on. Trying on shirts again instead of teeshirts, and very noticeable now that my shirts are all loose. This zoe change of diet thing is really helping me get trimmer, even when I am creeping around the house like Igor. Lorraine out this morning, and went to see Beth and James. I did a recording session with Robin, and had a little prep to do beforehand. It's great to have such a good poetry ally. In the afternoon, I zoomed to Brighton, reading Charlotte's brilliant new pamphlet Cargo, on the train, and bought a card to give to  Lorraine tomorrow. Nice to be out in the world again, if a tad gingerly. Then met up with my school friends Peter and Mark in The Nelson on Trafalgar Street. Drank lots, popped into a tapas place for some tapas, and then repaired to the Great Eastern. I first met those two in September 1971, which is rather a long time ago. Mark and Peter...

Now able to stand vertically for up to twenty minutes at a go. And walk about a bit with very few outbreaks of Tourettes. My shark mentality means if progress, even tiny progress, is being made I am happy. Standstill quickly leaves me suffocating and despondent. Although I learn only certain sharks needing to move to breathe. I did see photos of sharks dozing in cave once. But whale sharks, great whites and makos, for example, would die if they stopped.   Watching Lorraine hefting things about in the houses was difficult, and she kept telling me off for trying to help. The bedroom is looking straighter now, and I was able to help in small ways. Makes me very happy to see Lorraine cheerfully thinking about stuff in the house.  Mum off with Mason to the Waggon and Horses. Mason had got huffy with someone there, and for a while felt like boycotting the place. Luckily this seems to have passed, and they off to meet Robert. Meanwhile Anton has returned from a brief sojourn in Spain...