Calliope... the kitten in the twitten
A nice shot of the mad faced weasel today with a leaf in her mouth.
Posts
A different day Decided to get a grip today. And I am feeling a great deal more positive. Plus I got good feedback from my client on the big job I'm doing, and I am delivering well before my deadlines so everyone's pleased. Decided to take myself to the gym, and do something even if it was only five minutes. Sat in the changing room for ten minutes trying every lock combination known to man on my combination lock. Eventually I stumbled on it and was able to lock my keys, phone etc. away. Then I remembered I needed my towel. Mysteriously, the same combination wouldn't work to open it. Another ten minutes trying that combination, and many others, while being given advice by various gentlemen. Eventually I realised you had to turn all the barrels in the same direction before the combination lock registered the code. Sigh. It's the numbers. Meaningless things. Managed to do a fair amount in the gym and felt much better for it - although pretty knackered. Quite a relaxed af...
Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man Shakespeare, King John, Act3 scene 4 God I'm bored. Days alone typing wads of copy, and having no energy at all due to stupid prostatitis, antibiotic horse pills etc. I loathe myself when I'm like this. And when I'm not feeling bored, I am feeling frustrated with being so run down that I can't go to the gym. Getting fatter by the hour. First lot of erection copy sent off this morning. Spent the rest of the day getting my grey matter around the next tranche of ailments. Spoke on the phone to Lorraine and my mum. Explained in some detail to both how bored I was. There was an hour when I wasn't bored. I broke off for a walk down to a sea. It was smooth. Then I bought an egg cup. And returned home to talk to my kitten. I installed the new magnetic catflap, which only involved 2-3 bouts of swearing. Calliope hates it. In the evening prepared an entry for the Poetry Business Competition - for...
No life for a hypochondriac Started the day watching this brilliant music video by Grace Jones, which Toby had sent me overnight. Simple but stunning visually. And musically pretty excellent too. As one of the 12 year old commentators said: Grace eats Madonna for breakfast. Otherwise, left feeling that this is no life for a hypochondriac. Manacled to desk, slogging hour after hour on copy which encourages men to go to the doctor. And touches not only on erection problems but a whole world of other conditions too. These considerations broken only by a solitary call from Beth who was setting up her aquarium. Emerged blinking into the outside world at 4:30 for some air and some shopping. Cooked a good old fashioned spag bol tonight, with loads of garlic and fresh herbs, and Parmesan. Lorraine came around, after going to her backcracker. I fed her and heard about a day of abominable meetings. We sat on the sofa in a braindead but companionable way, while Calliope flung herself at us from v...
Men dying like the leaves Up at 6:30 again thanks to the kitten, then an early start. More erection copy. Only a few more days this before I can get onto glaucoma. Remembrance day today. Lots of stuff on the radio and TV about the first world war, and the Spanish flu pandemic afterwards which one expert was saying killed 50 million people globally. Picked up my copy of The lost voices of World War 1 edited by Tim Cross. This had been given me by World War II poet Victor West who was a friend of mine but is now dead. The 11th hour always makes me think of Wilfred Owen's parents getting the dreaded telegram as the bells for armistice rang out in Shrewsbury, or one of my all time favourite poets Edward Thomas, when asked by a friend having enlisted in the Artists rifles at the age of 37 what he was fighting for, picked up a handful of soil and crumbled it between his fingers, saying "literally, for this." All that nobility lost, a generation of poets, for what seems today ...
A moanday Woken by the kitten dancing about my head at 6:30. Why has it decided that 6:30 is the time we get up in our house and not 7:00 is a mystery. Anyway the good news is that I was working by 7:30 with, rather gallingly, Calliope dozing next to my laptop. Today was a proper Moanday. I felt dull and cooped up. Writing about erection problems next to a window dripping with grey rain. Being paid is of course splendid so I kept thinking about the money. At one point dived out into the spitty rain to go to the back cracker. Then off to buy rooibos (redbush) tea, which Lorraine introduced me to the other day. It's caffeine free and tastes very nice. And it's claimed it has health benefits including (I just learned) soothing prostatitis. This is good news as I have had prostatitis for several weeks. And am taking antibiotics for it. Prostatitis is rubbish, and makes you feel tired all the time. But far worse than prostatitis, however, is hearing myself constantly moaning about m...
Sofa loafing A blustery day as Lorraine and I walked to her house. I went with her, Beth and Mark, in a special advisory capacity, to buy an aquarium. For it is Beth's birthday later this month. A different fish shop this time, full of schoals of familiar tetras and guppies. As I gloated over the tanks, I felt the desire to set up an aquarium grow strong in me again. Then to Pet's Corner to buy a magnetic cat flap for Calliope, so that she can dive in unmolested but enraged hordes of chasing moggies will be barred. Also purchased a little gold coloured tag which I had engraved with her name and my phone number. Sadly however the fetching green fish-skeleton collar Beth had spotted was too big for her weasel neck, but she will grow into it. Lorraine and I went to the Sussex Yeoman (a spit away from my house) for an nice Sunday evening meal. I had roast pork with lots of red cabbage and apple sauce, and as we talked I watched the pub sign for the Battle of Trafalgar (the pub oppo...
Baghdad in Brighton The cheque was in the post, which was nice. Lorraine and I randomly walked into two exhibitions of photography called Why Mister, Why? and Baghdad Calling by Geert Van Kesteren at the Lighthouse in Brighton. Why Mister, Why? was a series of photographs, often stark and frightening of things like religious events that were attacked, or body bags and other traumas of war. Baghdad Calling however was a collection of amateur and professional photographs of life inside Baghdad taken by people who are in exile. The quality of these were very variable some being taken on mobile phones, or inexpertly framed. Because of this, however, they conveyed the reality of Baghdad life in a moving and unfiltered way. They were presented digitally on a big screen with snatches of recorded interviews being played at the same time and we both found ourselves transfixed by it. Then, slightly gloomed out, off to the library where we bumped into Dawn writing an essay about women's dan...
A year today It has been exactly a year since I began my new life as a freelance writer. My quality of life has soared: I feel in control of my destiny, and above all I have been free to devote time to writing things I find important. The year has gone by in a flash and, happily, I have survived. Almost all the work I have been given has been through friends. I was having a chat with Anton the other day and saying how important networking was. He said something to the effect that you can network all you like, but what is really important is reputation. And I think that is right. I have two aims for next year. The first is to add to my stable of clients, and second push on with my own projects and see if I can translate lots of hard work into a successful outcomes.
The fate of discarded concepts Up early to write about erection problems for my pharmaceutical client. It is a weird PK fact that I have written on this subject extensively, including a thought piece in European Pharmaceutical Executive some years ago. Even in this short time - thanks to Viagra - the taboo which prevented men from talking about this problem is rapidly losing its force. At some point I decided to pop out for a well overdue haircut. Near the barber's I bumped into Ken not long back from holiday. He seemed very cheery that he has won a new chunk of his transliteration work - "not bad for almost 78!" After my haircut walking past Anna and Anton's house and Anna walked out with Oskar, who was crying loudly due to being denied cake. I walked with them towards Klaudia's school for a bit, with Oskar taking the exact same route that Klaudia does over a particular wall, before I returned home and got back to work. Phoned Reuben's agency again, after Reu...
Superpowers Working hard today on stuff for my pharma client. Went out with Anton in the evening to play a game of pool. And it was as if I had been replaced by an alien as I have never played worse. But a nice chat in the Eddy with Anton nevertheless. He was, for some reason, obsessing about superpowers and the rubbishness of those possessed by Spider Man.
A new start for the US Floating about feeling smiley today, partially because of US election. It is important to everyone of course, but I was even more interested this year because of knowing the US much better than I did, having been there a lot in recent years. Lots of work. Up at 7 to finish FB work and send it through before official day started. Then onto my leafy Surrey pharma work. Reading through all that needs to be done (about 100 web pages by the looks of it) and chatting to Jamie who will be my point of contact. Also had chats with Anton, and with Mum. Also a kitten teleconference with their cat (still un-named though Mason has helpfully suggested fuzz-nuts and dip stick) listening to Calliope purring on my shoulder. Talked to Mas about US election which he has mixed feelings about having identified with McCain. I think John McCain to his immense credit, showed his true colours in the way he took his defeat: with enormous dignity, and a message of unity. In the evening Lo...
Gobama! A busy day... Woke at 6:30 with Calliope standing on my face. Then off to the quack's first thing for checkup. While zooming off to London, spoke to Mex who is still juggling career options, and Bob who is still wondering if moving to Salisbury was a such a good idea after all. Worked with two art directors, Betsy and Erica who, being American, were exceedingly cheery at the prospect of an Obama victory, as is almost every sentient being on the planet. Erica sporting a top with a stars and stripes on it, and Betsy doing various cheerleader type dances, and even a cartwheel. High spirited ladies both. We all worked fairly late, and then had I a fast and cheeky beer with the FB and Erica in the Distillers before the call of the seagull grew strong in me. The FB made me laugh describing his Frenchified heating habits to Erica: "I'll eat anything I can beat at chess". Spoke to Sophie whose mother is in hospital, and who is having a tricky time with her assistant i...
Pharma in the country No rest for the wicked. Off first thing this morning to a hard to reach location deep in lovely leafy Surrey for a business meeting, to talk about websites and what will be for me a big writing project for a pharmaceutical company. Was picked up in a taxi at Redhill station by a talkative and somewhat sweary Pakistani driver who had just returned from a month at home. I asked him about what things were like there at the moment. He said little about it, but he was extremely anti-US and thought that the new election wouldn't make any difference to its foreign policy. Meanwhile we drove through roads lined dripping with autumn gold. Lovely. The meeting was fine, and over pretty quickly. Nice folks from the pharma company, and the people from an internet company saying Very Obvious Things Very Seriously. And I said a few Very Obvious Things back, and everyone happy. Equally talkative lady drove me back to the station telling me all about Mexico. She never left her...
Ninja daisy Breakfast with Ash and Phil, and later Aimee. Having cleverly avoided drinking myself into oblivion the night before, I actually felt fairly fresh this morning as we ate breakfast overlooking the mountain to the south of Westport that kept losing its head in clouds. I want to go back there one day. Wanted to pop out for a breath of air. Aimee in lively capering fashion decided to turn into a bit of a scramble around the perimeter of the grounds. She did this clutching a flower, which she called the Ninja daisy, which she used to compel me to follow her. After this adventure, off to pack and meet up with everyone before we went off to the beach under the cloud shrouded mountain. Was stunningly beautiful, with the sun spotlighting bits every now and then. The sky changes so rapidly everything looks different all the time. Makes me think of W.B. Yeats. The west of Ireland is a magical place. Then the long trip home. A drive through the countryside to Knock airport, where we at...
Marcella's wedding Up early feeling rather fragile after the lively night last night. A big full breakfast overlooking the mountains and Westport. A beautiful scene. Decided that a walk was the best cure, so went for a wander around Westport with Aimee and Ash, who were on a mission to buy tights. We mooched about in the lovely little town, enjoying the little river that runs through it. About twenty people had brought rams into town in small trailers, and there was some ram trading going on, which was interesting to see. Chiefly took the form of folks leaning over trailers earnestly. Then back to the hotel to get suited and booted. Marcella had sent me a note to remind me to wear a suit at couple of months ago, which was nice of her. A reputation for "creativity" precedes me. The wedding itself was at St Mary's in town. It was a really nice wedding. Marcella crying with joy when she walked down the aisle with her dad. Everyone very pleased to see her married. As we l...
Friday night in Matt Molloy's Off to Ireland for Marcella and Adrian's wedding. A long journey from Brighton to Stanstead, but I met Aimee - who was over from Dubai for the wedding- on the Stanstead Express. After making it past oddly obnoxious security people met Phil, Ash and Paula. Once onboard I grabbed a window seat for, as everyone knows, my duty to is keep the plane aloft through sheer will power. Despite this, found time for a heart to heart with Paula. Landed in Knock airport after flying over beautiful Irish countryside, which seemed to have lots of lakes and is much emptier than England. We all shared the hire of a car and Phil drove us the lovely Knockranny House Hotel which was about an hour away. Lovely hotel, with a big welcoming fire in the lobby, and gorgeous views of mountains and down into Westport. After a cheeky 40 minutes sleep, we met more pals and got into a cab which took us down into town. This is the second time I've been here, the last time was ...
Up to the smoke again Up early to finish some work on diabetes. Then, after missing my train through a ticket machine failure, up to the smoke again, the train passing through sidings whitened with freakish October snow. Picked up a copy of On Track with my articles in it. Working on my laptop in the train. To Glamoursmith and the French Bloke who was somewhat stressed with various work decisions. I discovered that the stuff I've been working on, is still a bit off target. So we drafted in The Gnome to help in some strange cross agency agreement, and The FB the Gnome and I went to lunch in The Distillers. Generally braindead this afternoon which didn't help my work with Tfhe Gnome. Worked late and then went to the work's bar for a quick drink and chat about the work with the FB and an earnest woman from New York. Benny the barman was there too, who I'd not seen for a long time and insisted on joining us to chat. Victoria station. Missed the train by 15 seconds. The joy...
Working on diabetes Hard at work today on the diabetes stuff. The source material I've been given is very technical and my job is to put the common touch to it, guv'nor while trying to not get too hypochondriac. Confirmed too that I will be doing some work for a pharmaceutical client next Monday. Was also asked to do some more interviewing on sustainable subjects for On Track. So the wolf is backing away from the door. It's Marcella's wedding in Westport on the West of Ireland this weekend. It is going to be great fun, and a chance to catch up with many old muckers. I will have to see if any of my suits fit. Naturally though, given that I have lots of work to do, as well as a trip abroad, I have a sore throat, and am dragging myself through each day feeling leaden and horrid. But I dare say a glass or two of Guiness can only prove a therapy. Went very briefly to the gym, but felt a bit too wussy to do much. I arrived during a fire alarm which forcing folks outside in ...