Today in bullet points:
- Witnessed: a man in a smart suit, mid-forties, looking extremely uncomfortable and uncertain, holding a piece of blue A4 paper in front of his chest so that people could read it:
Chichester Masonic Hall – open today
Which goes to show what a secretive organisation they are, as I didn’t even know there was a Masonic Hall in Chichester.
Related: a Masonic blog. - Witnessed: in Waterstone’s bookshop, a man (clearly not staff) walking around the store and carefully straightening each pile of books, and then playing a short "tune" by beating out a rhythm on the tops and sides of the piles. OCD? Tourettes?
- Chichester was alive today (pun intended) as artists prepared for the Chi Alive street theatre day. Looked interesting, but I couldn’t stop as I was determined to get to Brighton
- Rail chaos this morning due to a suspicious fatality on the line at Havant – apparently there had been no trains for five hours. I caught a train that was running nearly 90 minutes late.
- Brighton was absolutely full of people. It’s such a fascinating and cosmopolitan place, with people of every type that you could imagine, and a few that you couldn’t. But I still don’t think I could live there – it’s too large and anonymous, and I like the fact that walking around Chichester, I’m bound to bump into someone I know. I prefer to keep Brighton as a special treat, a place to visit, savour and return to another day.
- Today’s shopping: four CDs (Quantic [my first Q – yay!], The Caretaker, Plaid and a Ninja Cuts compilation), greetings cards, a gift for sis-not-in-law, another for Sarah, new shot glasses, some paperbacks (watch the current reading list over the next couple of weeks), a bath mat, some Lush products and, at last, a new light for my kitchen – a triple spot array, which should look a lot nicer than the current ugly-but-effective fluorescent tube.
- Today’s frustration: inadequate banking hours – even in Brighton, the Barclays branch closes at 12.30. Why??
- Today’s highlight: a very relaxing lunch in the Bamboo Bar in North Laine, enjoying good food and beer on a sun-drenched balcony overlooking the crowded street below.
- I must have been radiating contentment on the way home – two attractive women sat opposite me on the train, and both struck up (light) conversation totally unprompted. Which was nice.
A good day.