Sunday

I know - another break. It wasn’t intentional - but I’ve had an awful lot on recently. Working hard on multiple projects and working nights in the bar - I’m pretty worn out and spend my free time staring at a film without taking it in, or just sleeping. Like this weekend -just sleeping all day.

I still have a terrible short term memory so if I don’t get it written down straight away - it’s usually gone or impossibly fuzzy.

I’ll die my best to remember the last few weeks.

Lost my temper after a client repeatedly too the piss by asking me to do difficult, high profile work for no money. So I’ve burnt my bridges there. And I’m pleased about it.

The weather has been great, only just starting to cool down a bit now that it’s October, but still clear and sunny all the time - very little rain at all.

A few people around me have had very bad news - including a colleague whose close friends 13 year old son fell from a balcony by accident and died last week - it’s impossible to rationalise things like that.

I’m planning on buying some new running shoes and starting to run again now that I’ve lost a bit of weight and the cycling is going well - I’d rather run at night when it’s dark and I just need to up my stamina levels a bit - I’m OK from the waist down but could do with a bit more help in the lungs.

I’ve been getting stomach cramps - which I suspect probably has more to do with my mattress than

anything else - I really need a new one - but I’m not really in a position to pay for it right now.

The Turner prize entries are far worse this year that ever before, they are pretty terrible. I think probably the Turner should become Bi-Annual now - close friends who are artists themselves decry the crassness of it, and how it seems to be and club for an ever decreasingly small circle of in-crowd artists.

I was in London during the week - met a couple of clients - and came straight back to Hastings. London on a Monday seemed strangely empty - and as I’ve mentioned before - almost totally white. Additionally - being at the junctions of Charring Cross road and Oxford street Tottenham art road is now really strange - it’s a vast open area with new buildings and huge gaps where older buildings used to be - all the familiar signs are gone. Centrepoint is being turned into luxury flats - which kinda ruins it’s new aspect at the centre of London. There are still small blocks of shabby social housing directly behind. I wonder how they are going to hide them?

I have made a slow-cooked vegetarian sausage casserole for later - it looks a bit grim, really.

I still haven’t been able to sort out the electrics downstairs or the bay window or the garden fences - I’m being careful with every penny and work is too volatile - I have other bills on the horizon too - including the homes and contents insurance that’s due next week and I have to find money for from thin air.

On the political scene - my morbid fear of Trump winning in the US is growing and everything here on both sides fills me with dread. I’ve had to mute almost all my friends on Facebook for fear of them talking about politics, and generally talking rubbish. I’m also amazed by the number of quite intelligent people I know who seriously believe in conspiracy theories.

I’m avoiding going out at the moment, partly because I can’t afford it and partly because most people I know drink too much and it’s something I’d rather avoid.

This year, for the first time in years - I actually remembered my sisters birthday and got her a card.

A neighbour up the road from me has totally remodelled their mid 50’s detached house in a new England style over the space of 2 weeks - it’s becoming a common theme here - lots of plastic wood effect shuttering and pastel colours - the new ‘fake half timber’ - they have done a good job and the new roof is nice, but they seem determined not to put up any curtains - early in the morning I’ve caught his near naked wife drop to the floor to hide as I walk past with the dogs. They have a massive TV the size of a small car on one wall of the front room - it’s like a cinema.

I need a shave later - in truth, I still look much healthier now that I’m ‘off’ dairy - and feel it too - I’ll just have to try and make sure I fill any gaps in my diet.

Seriously - not much else has happened, just work, dog walking and sleep - I still feel quite detached from things outside all of that. I have a few things coming up that will potentially make life more interesting - I’ll keep you posted.