Sunday

Winds battering the house all night, big damp patches everywhere - pretty depressing. Had a nasty hailstorm yesterday with the kind of squally wind you see on bad Hollywood movies from the 1940's. Pretty bored with it all now. One of the nicer houses on Canute Road went on the market this week - and yesterday I saw that all the windows have been propped and braced and you can see that the bay windows are failing and about to fall. I feel really sorry for them.

Had a conversation with the insurance company yesterday - the woman was really nice and very sympathetic - they are sending an assessor to view the damage and told me to pull down any ceilings that were a danger - but I have spoken to a couple of people and they say that their claims have been refused due to 'poor maintenance' - despite six weeks of constant battering, I might not get anything - told her I really wasn't bothered about the internal damage - just need to get both roofs fixed. Still waiting for the guy to call - apparently they are 'very busy'. No shit. I'm starting to stress about it really badly - partly because the autistic side of me absolutely hates having strangers in the house - I already know I'm going to handle it really badly.

Finally got round to watching the Steve McQueen film 'Hunger' last night - I'd been putting it off for a couple of years - I knew it was pretty brutal - and at about the 30 min mark I was about to turn off - but I'm glad I stuck with it, very impressive piece of film making and very balanced and nuanced. Great performances all round - generally films made by 'artists' are shite - but this was exceptional. I doubt that I could watch it again. That's a compliment, in a way. I didn't understand the hunger strikes at the time when I was a kid, and I don't understand them now, but it's not about explaining in the traditional cinematic sense. A great film - but approach with caution and some self examination.

Had a break from the daily grind and popped over to a friends house for an hour in the early evening - she has a wood burner and a nice house - a welcome break.

I have 3 days this week to produce a really difficult piece of artwork - the client is abroad so I'm on my own - it will need quite a bit of concentration - I'll need an early start tomorrow.