Not a moment too soon, brilliant sunshine and the arrival of the architect for a weekend visit dispelled a three-day jaded trough. About to succumb to, not SAD, seasonal Autumnal Disorder, but maybe LAL, Lack of Air and Light. I think I'd just come to the end of whatever stocks I had of melatonin, seratonin, Vitamin D or whatever other chemicals the body gets from exposure to daylight. It is no good just working round the clock and never getting outside. A bit of letting up, company and fresh air fills the days as if they were troughs of jade from which we drank with pleasure. Quite a different matter, just by repositioning the words, did you notice? The weight of the winter's long darkness cocoons one into introspection. Germans don't seem to like bright lights. They sit in darkened rooms or cafes, with candlelight. If I switch on an overhead light in the journalists office so that I can see the keyboard to send an email, there are shrieks of dismay. "No, not sympathetic atmosphere. Uncosy!" I have a feeling that I need force to pull the paintings out of the rough, poetic darkness.
