Tuesday, March 24, 2009

747 Days later...

Hello? HELLO?

This poem seemed appropriate, given my absence from the blogging stage for such a silly amount of time. The final line but one reminds me of Larkin's "Something is pushing them to the side of their own lives" ... real life often gets in the way... 

I guess that would be a decent excuse for my absence. In reality, however, I'm just really lazy...



In Your Absence by Judith Harris

Not yet summer,
but unseasonable heat
pries open the cherry tree.

It stands there stupefied,
in its sham, pink frills,
dense with early blooming.

Then, as afternoon cools
into more furtive winds,
I look up to see
a blizzard of petals
rushing the sky.

It is only April.
I can’t stop my own life
from hurrying by.
The moon, already pacing.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Susie's Birthday!


It was Susie's Birthday today! We went out for a fine Italian with everyone else... Actually, I'm still waiting for Dessert!

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Sara


This is Sara - she'll kick my ass when she sees this... Ben took the picture this evening when they both came over for my world-renowned chilli and a movie. We watched the wonderful Little Miss Sunshine - a truly breathtaking piece of film-making... Sara, I'm sorry about the pic - blame your boyfriend...!

Friday, March 02, 2007

Living Room


Just messing about with my new phone - sending blog entries directly from the living room! Crazy!

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Snow-phoria

I am pleased to report that it's possible to have an "It's good to be alive and I really appreciate the great things in my life" moment without it being some kind of religious epiphany. Today I experienced Snow-phoria!! (Medication free)

I discovered (after an uncharacteristically positively mood-ed week) that snow brings the best out of people - although I suppose I can only speak for myself. Wearing my sparkly pink wellies, gloves and scarf, I set out into the snow. I meandered down a residential street full of Christmas card houses and confused cats, the crunch of fresh snow under my feet. "What a great opportunity" I thought to myself. "I'm not working so I can get up at 10, have a cup of coffee, check my emails and go for a walk in the snow. How lucky am I?" Infused with positivity, my walk became more blissful with each step. How rare it is to have a moment in your life where everything is literally perfect. No deity was attempting to address me through the snow, blackmailing me into thanking it for my perfect moment.

I kept walking down the idyllic street. A tree inconveniently unloaded a branch full of snow onto my head. Instead of swearing at the tree, I grinned like a crazy fool and kept walking.

The huge park at the top of the road is pretty, but bland. The snow had transformed it into a scene out of a Disney movie. Mums and Dads, seemingly with no jobs to go to, frolicked in the snow with their kids, building snowmen. The kids wore multi-coloured scarves and hats and mittens. Schoolgirls wearing flat shoes and skinny scarves threw dainty snowballs at each other. I waxed lyrical to myself about how beautiful it all was and took a picture of snowman wearing an actual scarf and hat.

After coffee, I wondered into a designer clothes shop. The sales girl complemented me on my pink wellies. "Thanks" I said. "They were only 8 quid!" She looked at me, stunned for a second that anything could cost 8 quid. She probably doesn't expect change from a tenner when she gets her skinny latte in the morning.

As I stroll home down the same street that had been responsible for inducing my Snow-phoria earlier, I hear a drill screaming against concrete. A car revs its engine and a baby squalls. The snow has started to melt away and I have to zig-zag across the street in search of fresh, untrodden snow to crunch. As I reach my front door, it starts to rain. The snow will be gone for good soon. I feel sad for the first time today. Then I remember how good I felt before, when everything was absolutely perfect. The snow-phoria hasn't completely gone away...

Monday, December 25, 2006

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Exciting... if anyfing!

Anyone with even the most remote interest in the world of console gaming, will be aware that, recently, there has been a flurry of activity on the world's stage. Playstation and Nintendo have both released their new gaming systems, making the phrase "next-gen" finally obsolete.

The three major-hitters, Microsoft, Playstation and Nintendo, are now locked in mortal combat for the lion's share of gamer's souls! Bigger games, better graphics, more intuitive interaction mechanisms... the future looks bright for the console gamer this Christmas!

Tomorrow (8th December) sees the European launch of the Nintendo Wii (pronounced "wee" - I know...!). This is an exciting day for me, as I have had a pre-order in place for this console since the beginning of October! Should all go well, by this time tomorrow, I will have in my hands a modern technological marvel - the wireless wii remote (or "wiimote" - I said, I KNOW...!). This is what Nintendo are staking their entire future on - a controller that 'reads' it's position in a 3D space and can sense the tiniest movement and replicate it on-screen.

Easily the most fun of all the current-gen consoles, the Nintendo looks set to make (more) videogame history. Focusing on fun, rather than complex graphics and multimedia interaction, the tiny Wii (steady, vicar...!) has already garnered praise from an industry ripe for reinvigoration. Blessed with a straightforward launch (unline Sony's disastrous PS3 debacle) and a smoothly-rolling production line, Nintendo seem to have it in the bag already!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a sick day to prepare for. Strepsils at the ready, cough syrup in place... GO!!

*cough*