With my professional package expuired on my LJ account and not finding a way to pay for a renewal due to the site being in Russia- and thus making payments by Visa or Mastermind being blocked - means I may have to come here permanently.

Oh well, just one of these things we have to put up with.

I have spoken to my bro - coming42 - every day and decided to have four days down there in Brighton from Monday 14th, as I think the change will be good and it will help him through this grieving process.

Meanwhile, I have visits to Canterbury and London before I go down to the south coast as well as a second train expedition tomorrow. After yesterday I need a new vibe.

I also hope that bro can regain his enthusiasm to read books again after the passing of his wife.

I may need to bring earphones and an mp3 player. I cannot stand Classic FM aLL day lol!!

Most of the day was dry and a little warmer than the weekend. Today I did a couple of mystery shop visits in Strood and Maidstone. The latter being a coffee and cake visit.

For dinner, I had a chicken and bacon pasta dish.

I know that my bro misses me already, so I hope to stay in Brighton for a few days next week after I have done all the work that I must do this week. He seems so lost as to what to do, he has lost his interest in television and, maybe reading as well, and simply listens to Classic FM. He needs some focus and perhaps I may be able to help there.

I arrived home at three in the afternoon. Had a very good journey up from Brighton with just one pit stop to have a tasty, chargrilled chicken with chips at Spoons in Maidstone.

I spoke to my bro when I arrived in my flat to see how h was and what was the itinerary of the day. I will call him after work tomorrow.

Friday, I have four visits that include two charity shops. One in Sittingbourne and one in Strood in Medway. Then I have a Lindt chocolate store visit to do at Bluewater and finally a mobile phone store in Sheerness.
I know I hate to leave him alone but at some stage like all widowers he will have to get use to it. You know, I have decided – if he does not mind - to visit him once a month after this awful time because firstly he is my brother and we both love music food and stuff. Plus, he is my big brother, and I must strong to be there for him.

Well, that was an interesting day. I had to pop into town to post an LP I sold on Discogs, and on my walk-up West Street I met Amanda outside the Refinery coffee shop. So, I had a coffee with her and a chat. I then looked around the market, perusing some charity shops, before heading towards my local pub. Ewart arrived around 2.30 pm and I gave him five Bob Dylan CDs from the haul from Tony yesterday.

Whilst we were in the pub, Amanda arrived and I had a quick chat with her, before continuing my rapturous and enveloping discussion with Ewart about music, culture, and politics. I gave Amanda my phone number for a possible meet up mid-week forthcoming.

Four pints later we departed our separate ways. Dinner was cheesy pasta with garlic.

2022 has not been a good year for the Sumner clan. Bro had to be rushed into clinical care due to excruciating leg pain. The stress cannot be good for him leading to this situation. Ros is still in intensive care. And who is looking after the cat, Riley?

I cannot help but worry, so I do need to do these two visits to keep my mind off it. I have jobs in Gravesend and Bluewater to do. That will keep me occupied.

Don’t you just hate it when somebody pedantic wants to fuss up on the difference between ale and beer? Technically, they are correct in the sense that ale does not have alcohol-free versions. I do not give an arse on the fine minutiae between the words. I just hate nonalcoholic beer. So there!

So, talking of the golden substance known as craft ale, my local pub now has Leffe Blonde on tap. This is a richly delicious 6.6 % ABV craft ale that I suppose is more of a lager than a beer. The difference is in the fermentation process. At least, it gives the punter a further choice.

Last night I watched all my current quiz shows on the telly; Only Connect, Univesity Challenge, and Mastermind plus Counterpoint on the radio. I find it's a great way to stimulate the old brain cells. I then read a while before falling asleep. I was already in bed by then.

It was a slightly warmer day than yesterday. But the main factor is that it was much sunnier. I walked into town to get some flypaper that traps them in a gooey death. The shop that sells them was closed but I could swear they are normally open on a Sunday. Oh well, | I will get it tomorrow when I see Ewart at my local.

So, I walk into town today and pop into my local pub first. Just with ten minutes of drinking my pint that damn woman who helped me off 5the ground the day before New Year's Eve walked into the pub and accosted me for not giving her twenty pounds for the damage of her iPhone sc5reen which she said was forty-five quid and could I go halves. I do not remember damaging her phone and asking her to come round on the Tuesday after the new year. She sounded very distraught because apparently, she need some photos from her phone for the funeral of her auntie or something. I tried to deflect he and having finished my pint walked fastly down the road but as she had a bike so I could escape. In th3e end, I thought the only way to get rid of the vixen is to give her the twenty she demanded.

I really could do without this hassle. I am ow doubting whether it was teenagers who took my twenty quid from my wallet when I FELL DOWN OR IF IT WAS HER that evening.

I must admit, I did not expect to be twenty quid lighter today. If she ever comes back it will be considered stalking in my estimation, and the police will know about it.

As usual, if you want to donate use the PayPal address -
jazzbodave@outlook.com

So, after that altercation, I felt the only thing I could do is go home with a can of beer from the newsagents.

Less wind around so whilst it was cold it felt much milder today. Did not do much except pop into town to get some provisions in. Listened to some music and read a bit.

That was it.

I did find today a little frustrating due to the fact of the wet weather we have been having lately.
At one instantaneous moment today, I felt overwhelmed by boredom, and that rarely happens to me, so despite the weather, I had to pop out to my local store. In fact, a couple of ciders made me feel quite calm and collected afterwards. We all can get stir crazy if we do not go outside on a regular basis. Of course, there are some professions where this is impossible, such as being in a submarine or in a shuttle in outer space.

Another factor that has irked me is the fact that due to Xmas Day and Boxing Day being on a Saturday and Sunday we now have two public holidays – today and tomorrow, and that means I have no bus routes to town or towards Maidstone and Sittingbourne due to no services on public holidays. Wednesday will be the first normal day again.

Anyway, today I had the curry I was going to have on Xmas day. It matured in the slow cooker for a day and all the juices macerated into this smooth and very hot spicy flavour. Boy, it had a kick to it! Thank goodness I had cold cider on hand.

Today I watched a documentary on the history and making of West Side Story, composed by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. I am not into musicals as such but this one is a particular classic in my opinion.

I have been catching up with the Christmas University Challenge which has the elder alumni rather than the students. Anyway, I did as well as the majority of the alumni and even better in places and particularly on the music questions. I felt immensely proud of my broad knowledge gained over many years.