Heading north

Well, sunrise on Tuesday in Orkney will be 0401 hrs and sunset 2220 hrs. I have spent the day cleaning in a slightly feckless way, recycling paper, trying to pack and work out the logistics of taking 23kg on one plane but only 15kg on the Islander. Solution: the boat, I can get to the ferry after 7am with plenty of time to reach the airport. Then meet the ferry when it arrives mid-afternoon. It leaves Kirkwall at 1030 but goes to North Ronaldsay first. Tomorrow to Lancaster via the dump and the university library ... entrain Monday, meet a friend in Edinburgh, fly to Kirkwall, overnight stay. Unfortunately, from the point of view of convenience, I have to do some external examining later in June, a quick dash to Norfolk and back to receive friends. There is much to do down here but I need a change and a chance to orient myself towards future writing tasks.

Walking through the shopping mall, two very young women with prams, both smoking hard, sad, but they look cool and it gives one a certain poise, alas. Thinks. Do I leave my Bose, hidden in Birkenhead or do I send it up by post?