a little while ago I came to wonder if my work at the Sable Cure was, in fact, done. It's seen me through a couple of works that have been important for me and that are now complete or very near complete. I should probably vanish that draft work. the title was the genesis of one of those things.

does it have a life beyond that?  that last couple of weeks I've been journalling in a different way, just keeping lists of what I'm achieving each day. I've not been idle. I've also moved back to keeping a large-format art-paper journal. I didn't know how I missed it. I had begun to compromise with smaller and smaller notebooks people had given me - from moleskines down to A5 size - and these never had any weight or significance or imaginative spread for me. now I have room again.

I may need to feel the feeling of closing, then opening.

still on constant painkillers for these ribs, two weeks later. would like that to stop!

Queen of the Universe Parish

The Turnip Princess

went for a bike ride this late-afternoon and once I got round the corner I fell off it. I don't know how - just - suddenly out of control, had to propel myself over the front of the bike, landed on elbows, knees, solar plexus. glasses, phone, wallet, bike, bike lights all over the road, heaving for breath with the air ducts closed. crawled up the gutter off the road till breath returned, hauled stuff off the road, conscious the whole time about - was anything going to be run over? and was anybody watching? no one saw, though a couple who had seen me set off then came around the corner. she wavered, seeing me sitting on footpath with stuff, knew I had come off, I could see the pause even without glasses. I smiled, yes-I'm-perfectly-fine, picked up phone to call N.

now dazed, grazed and sore but had homemade minestrone for dinner and an icecream.

this afternoon I read through some letters S had lodged with me, I'm not sure why she did that and I didn't read them in her life. I remember once we went for a long beach walk and ended up walking around some treacherous high rocks - I think we were trapped by the tide. she was bold and I was a little wussy, without appropriate shoes. I ended up covered in mud from clinging to the ground as we went over and down. she was walking in front of me and at one point overbalanced towards the plummet down to the sea - caught herself, barely. there was nothing I could have done and she would have died. 'That would have been a comedy end, after everything' I said. that seemed flat, iron-tasting, unpleasant.

Changeable lizard

"Mouhot has collected in Siam one of those fine variations of colours, which, however, appear to be infinite."

Flying dragon

" Usually, males will mark two or three trees as their own, and one to three female Flying Dragons will live in each tree. When the male Flying Dragon meets another animal, he may extend his dewlap partially or fully, extend his wings partially or fully, perform a combination of dewlap or wing extension, or bob his body up and down. If he meets a female, he may circle her."

Skink

"As a general rule, the longer the digits, the more arboreal the species is likely to be. A biological ratio can determine the ecological niche of a given skink species. The Scincidae ecological niche index is a ratio based on anterior foot length at the junction of the ulna/radius-carpal bones to the longest digit divided by the snout-to-vent length.<sup>[1]

Water monitor</sup>

"In Thailand, the local word for a water monitor "hia" (Thai: เหี้ย) is used as an insulting word for bad and evil things including bad persons. The word is also thought to bring bad luck, so some people prefer to call the animals 'ตัวเงินตัวทอง' - which means 'silver and gold' in Thai - to avoid the jinx."

Red-tailed racer

"It feeds almost exclusively on birds, bird eggs and bats. It catches them in mid-air while hanging amongst branches."