Browsing foxed paperbacks on the slopes of Jade Mountain ...

A gaudy web of Christmas decorations hung from the ceiling of The Country Pantry - Richard said that his full English would get him ready for the gym - 

I soon finished my scrambled egg on toast - I'd slept fitfully the night before, as though clinging to a raft - I drank my Americano - 

The red haired waitress lugged a sack of potatoes towards the back of the kitchen - her waist was encircled by a golden belt - 

Richard told me more about his gym appointment - Chloe will be showing me the weights he said - 

I pictured Chloe, adjusting the settings on a gleaming machine - 

Richard made his way back to the house to seek out gym shorts - I paid a visit to the second hand bookshop next door - 

I snuffed the air of this small cave of foxed paper backs - I recognized the voice of the man from Adelphi Books - there he was, in a niche of Everyman editions, exchanging trade secrets with proprietor - 

As for me, I was beguiled by the covers of the Science Fantasy paperbacks - strange creatures crossed scarlet wastelands - brawny swordsmen faced terrible dangers - a winged woman readied herself for flight - 

10.30

1 December 2014

The Country Pantry

Jade Mountain Books

Albert Road

Southsea