The long wait for the plumber ...

... still continues, sadly. He was supposed to ring first thing this morning to sort out a time to pop by and fix our ongoing lack of hot water problem. By the time 10am came, I decided to ring him instead as I'd been up 4 hours by then and "first thing" was really a distant memory for us all. He was very sweet and said he'd ring back as soon as he had a space in his day but he was very busy. So I resigned myself to a quiet day in waiting. Which meant I rang Marian to cancel our tentative golf arrangement and get her up to speed with the ongoing domestic traumas. We won't be able to meet up again till new year, sigh - Lordy how quickly the wretched beast of Christmas comes upon us.

The plumber astonishingly did then pop by at 11am but only to say that he'd lost our phone number and decided to come by and see how we were on his way to Brighton on a job. So at least he does still exist in the real world, which is nice to know. While we were chatting, the neighbour then came up as he was having trouble with operating our dehumidifier. There's not a lot I can do about it, really, as I'm a technical virgin, and I must admit to being rather unwilling to get heavily involved as said neighbour is always much more prickly to deal with if Lord H isn't here and tends to get me on edge if I stay too long. I'm not entirely sure he likes women that much, and he appears to be more comfortable dealing with another man - I think it's a generational thing, to be honest. I'll send Lord H back into the fray when he returns. It's the safer option for us all. Anyway, the plumber took our number again and went off, saying he'd ring tonight and either come round tonight or "first thing tomorrow". Ah well, back to the waiting room then ...

Still, I've managed to add another 1000 words to Hallsfoot's Battle, which brings me to 66,000 words, hurrah. And I at least know where the Third Gathandrian Legend is going. Didn't have a clue till I started writing it, but it's come to me now, thank the Lord. Its connection with the mind-executioner himself is taking me in unexpected directions too, which is nice. For once, I might know roughly what I'm supposed to be writing when I next tackle it. Now there's a first.

I've also finished what I think is the first pass through my short story about bees. It turned out to be shorter than I originally anticipated but I think it works. The final version might be longer, but we'll see. I've given it over to the wonderful and talented Nik Perring for his special red pen treatment (thanks, Nik!) and will wait with interest to hear what he says.

Speaking of stories, I've finished Elizabeth Baines' short story collection, Balancing on the Edge of the World. A very high standard of writing indeed and I enjoyed it very much. The themes are the relationship between people and the power they hold (or the lack of it) - very human tales indeed. Particular favourites are Condensed Metaphysics (jazzy, edgy and strong), Holding Hands (a powerful tale of family dynamics and frailty - though she should have ended it 3 paragraphs earlier as the end line actually appears at the close of the 4th paragraph in from the finish, to my mind), Into the Night (a great erotic encounter which might or might not turn out to be more) and Condundrum (a wry look at child-rearing through the generations). I'd definitely read more Baines.

And here's this morning's meditation poem:

Meditation 26

You cannot bear
too much light.

Cover your mind
in the shadow

of the rock
and wait

for your skin
to hum with warmth

feeling the kiss
of the sun

as the best of me
passes by.


Actually, I'm thinking about bringing out another book of poems next year and am making initial enquiries about printers to go with - it feels like it might be a good time for it but I'm taking it slowly. It's something to plan for anyway. And Lord knows that at this terribly depressing (sorry, but I do think so) time of year, I need something to convince me that next year will be worth it. Thank God for the holiday, but roll on spring.

Today's nice things:

1. Writing more of Hallsfoot
2. Poetry
3. Thinking about another poetry book
4. Short stories.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website - an expert in the art of waiting ...