Social Delinquency For Beginners

The sivethness of time

2006-06-29T15:01:00.000Z

I am very conscious that I have not put finger to keyboard for ages but there is a reason – I have finally found out what it means to be an agent:

You spend so much time at work or at the theatre that you forget what the rest of your life means.

Not that I am complaining – I am having a whale of a time but Carl thinks that I have abandoned him and so do some of my friends.

Mamma Mia twice last week, Avenue Q, Fuerzabruta and Life Of Galileo tonight; Titus at The Globe Sat and a new musical in Croydon Sunday so all go go go!

Notices for Avenue Q are reasonable – the right wing press hated it (surprise surprise), but I am pretty certain that this is one show that is pretty much critic-proof…time will tell…

Fuerzabruta was pretty astonishing – although slightly flat in places. The only show that had me on the verge of a panic attack for 60mins – needs to be seen!

Be back shortly

Bx

Finally

2006-04-13T21:15:00.000Z

I have finally put some thoughts about my trip down - hooray!!!

The long and the short of it? South Africa was amazing. Arrived after a particularly mind-numbing flight (but how brilliant are the entertainment systems on Virgin Atlantic???) and was wizzed straight to Mum’s cottage, where we relaxed for a bit and caught up until it was time to book into our hotel – a rather plain affair about 15 minutes drive from my Mum’s. Got in the driving seat for the first time in about 6 years and was surprised at how good it felt. Seems that driving is a bit like riding a bike – once you learn, you never forget…

Next day we had a full day in Johannesburg and I wanted to show Carl Sandton City – a HUGE shopping centre in the posh part of town that I pretty much grew up in – my Mum would leave me there all day during school holidays and we would spend the day ducking in and out of films, sometimes seeing four in a day – perhaps this is where my obsession with cinema began. Sandton City had changed a lot in the 6 years that I was away (as had everything – I constantly felt like a stranger in my own town in Johannesburg – a very odd feeling) and seemed to be a boutique shopping centre for the extremely rich. Boring really. Had lunch in Sandton Square where there is the most hideous sculpture of Nelson Mandela and then back to Mum’s for prawn dinner – yumbo!

Next morning Carl and I left early to drive east to Mpumalanga and to Malelane, where we were staying to be near to the Kruger National Park. Drive was great – fantastic to be on the open road and great to be driving again. We stayed in a fantastic place about 2 kms from the park gates and decided to leave the park to the next day. The following morning we were up early and we were in the park by 6am spotting animals. Saw pretty much everything, even a rather pissed off bull elephant who decided to mock-charge the car. After 7.5 hours driving around, we had pretty much had enough and retired to the guest cottages for a swim in the lovely salt-water swimming pool. In 38 degree heat, it was a necessity! The next night had a fantastic meal at the Malelane Sun hotel – a fantastic place RIGHT on the Crocodile River. There is nothing quite like eating a fantastic meal while you hear the elephants and lions on the other side of the river – magic!

Back to JHB the next day and another night with my Mum and Sister. Next morning super early we were off again, this time driving to Natal and to Belito Bay, where Val (almost like my second Mum – I left home at 15 and moved in with her and her family – long story). Fantastic drive – as soon as you veer down onto the lowveld, the scenery changes and becomes dramatic and beautiful – I shed a tear or two, not realising how I had missed Africa…

Arrived 7 hours later into 40 degree heat with 90 percent humidity – it literally knocked you backwards. Val and PJ had a Braai (BBQ) that night and it was wonderful to catch up and tell stories about long ago. It is amazing that with some people you can pick up exactly where you left off, no matter how long it has been since you last saw them. Val is that type of person. I admire her spirit and her refusal to let the stresses and strains of life in SA get to her - an amazing woman. Swam in the sea the next day – I was as happy as can be. I have always had a strong affinity with the sea and there is nothing quite like the sea in Natal – warm, rough and unforgiving. Carl flew his kites whilst swimming and drew quite a crowd as I watched – proud. Aaaah! That night was our last, so took Val and PJ to a restaurant on the sea – lovely meal with a waiter who could not have been more than 18 serving us wicked cocktails. Val got pissed and had to be lifted into the car whilst Carl and I giggled. A great night.

Day after that C and I were back in the car driving to Durban airport to get a flight to Port Elizabeth – something that was not in our original plans, but had been suggested by Johann. It made total sense in light with the amount of driving we both had to do in the coming days so flew and landed, picked up another hire car and we were on our final journey Cape Town-wards. First day we stopped in a number of places, the måçost dramatic being Storm’s River mouth which is a famous estuary and a stunning part of the world. Saw our first Dassies, a kind of rodenty type thing that I had been talking to Carl about at length. Then onto Knysna. We stayed at a gay guest house that was beautiful and very friendly, apart from a pair of over-amorous guests who seemed to think that two young boys from London were easy pickings. Not so! Ha ha!! Carl and I had a highlight meal at a restaurant on the Knysna heads and ate delicious fish whilst watching the sun go down and hearing the waves crash about 6 foot from us. One of our best meals and evenings!

Next morning bright and early we were off to Cape Town – about a 7 hour drive. It was a tough one with parts of the little Karoo and hours of flat, boring landscape. Finally we enterd Cape Town and saw the impressive shadow of Table Mountain and we both felt that we had reached civilisation.

I wont go into too much detail about Cape Town – needless to say, it is a magical, sublime city and one that everybody should visit. It has all the best of Africa and all the best of Europe and contains so much energy, spirit and enthusiasm, it is difficult to leave. Met up with some friends, relaxed on the beach, flew kites and ate in the best restaurants, it was the perfect end to a perfect holiday and we are both desperate to find ways to spend some more time there….

Needless to say, it has been difficult to return to London, but with so much still here for both of us, it seems silly to contemplate moving. One day perhaps, but for now both of us are here and will attempt to make the most of it whilst we are.

Pics from the trip can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/barnaby/sets/72057594074762729/

The 9 Albums I want to be buried with

2006-04-13T15:09:00.000Z

The End Is The Beginning

2006-04-12T09:07:00.000Z

Well, back to blogging. I guess the big news of the moment is that my website, which I have been running and editing, www.highangle.co.uk, is no longer. I decided to pack it in a few weeks ago after thinking long and hard about it whilst in South Africa. It was taking up so much of my time that I was neglecting other things that I wanted to do and, as the demands of this job increase, it is going to become less and less feasible to keep it updated and to a standard that we all demand. It was a hard decision and I will, no doubt, feel a hole in my life for a bit, but one that I intend to fill with all sorts of random things….I really feel the need to resurrect my piece on Matthew Barney that I researched for a while a few years back. Seems the time to do it as he is riding the crest of the wave with Drawing Restraint 9 (a whole new pile of contradictions that I am still waiting to see thanks to unimaginative film distributors and gallery curators in this country!)

Talking of video art, went to the Tate Britain last weekend to see the Triennial exhibition. Sadly to say, if that is the best of British contemporary work, then things were worse than I thought…Very little made an impact I am afraid apart from a genius video installation by Phil Collins (no, not that one) called They Shoot Horses which showed a 24 hour dance marathon in the occupied city of Ramallah. I was touched and moved by it and I highly recommend going just for that – oh, and the Chris Ofili installation which is totally incredible and brought back all sorts of questions that I have been pondering since being in SA…Worth a visit!

Shakespeare's good innit!

2006-03-31T09:35:00.000Z

Went to see the ETT’s Hamlet last night – we have a client in it. I had forgotten how brilliant the play is. Remember studying it at school and being totally hypnotised by the language. One quote that I love, and may just sum up the last few months (this may be inaccurate – apologies to the purists):

"When sorrows come, they come not as silent slaves, but as battalions.”

Genius!

I Miss This

2006-03-28T09:01:00.000Z

Sitting in grey London, I find myself thinking about this place - somewhere that is so close yet so far away. Perhaps the meaning of life is to forget all earthly belongings and live on the beach, collecting shells, making little loo-roll holder things with them and eating fish fresh from the sea?

Bed and Breakfast

2006-03-27T10:21:00.000Z

Was in Lymington for a wedding this weekend and stayed in your typical Bed and Breakfast - quite an experience...if the patterns don't kill you, the greasy breakfast will!
Actually - it was good fun and the beds were comfortable, so what more can you ask for?

(not so) celebrity (not so) haiku - after JennyJ

2006-03-24T09:56:00.000Z

Betty Boothroyd
Splendid in purple astrokan
Fag hanging from lips

I'm back!

2006-03-23T13:34:00.000Z

After three weeks in heaven and a few dodgy weeks in hell after the holiday, I am finally ready to pick up the proverbial blogging pen. Expect more very soon!

Given Up

2006-01-18T14:09:00.000Z

Tristam WAY too much for my busy brain so have moved onto Capote's In Cold Blood - a book that I have always wanted to read but have never got around to. It is chilling, beautifully written and startlingly brutal. I can see why there was such a hoohar about it when it was first published. Never realised that Harper Lee and Capote were so close. A rumour has it that Capote wrote most of Mockingbird, perhaps explaining why Lee has not published a novel since...I have no idea if this is true, but I prefer to believe that Lee wrote the book - one of my absolute favorites.

Back to Brokeback - was interested that Ang Lee only referenced THE LAST PICTURE SHOW in relation to his film so grabbed it, dusted it off and gave it another watch last night. It certainly has a wonderfully realised sense of the Mid-West and of small town mentality, but also, in the characters of Sam The Lion and Lois Farrow, a deep and powerful melancholy and regret that is familiar in the character of Ennis in Brokeback. Where the two cowboys had the mountain, Sam and Lois had the lake where fish don't swim and where he continues to return to until his death.

Interesting.

Floored!

2006-01-18T14:05:00.000Z

Went to see Brokeback Mountain on Saturday with Erica. Was not really prepared for what it would do to me. As I seem to spend most of my time analysing movies, I tend not to get emotionally attached to them that often. Well, this all changed when, after 45 minutes I was in a heap of snot and tears, a heap which just got bigger the more the film progressed. By the end, I could not get out of my seat and felt that I had just been touched by something too powerful, too painful and too wonderful for words. The film is still inside me, clawing for attention and I find myself blankly staring into space having a “brokeback” moment, contemplating love and the impossibility of happiness in an intolerant society. An important, vital, exceptional film that transcends sexuality and speaks to us all, it is a wonderful, but (for me at any rate) an exceptionally painful experience that I am not sure I will ever fully recover from.

Carl has not seen it and was a bit puzzled by the normal stoic me in floods of tears whist peeling potatoes for dinner...

Candles and Cake!!

2006-01-11T13:31:00.000Z

It happens every January – my birthday! I always tend to keep quiet about it – I have no idea why – I guess I expect people to remember. Most years, people don’t and I get crabby about the fact, even though I never seem to make it obvious. This year (it was yesterday) everyone remembered and I have never been spoilt so much with cards and presents! I felt like a king for the day. Started off with a MOUNTAIN from Carl’s Mum, then work and a number of really lovely things from Emma (including a pain au chocolat from Patisserie Paul - yum) and then Carl took me out after work and bought me a lovely carbon fibre cycling helmet. We then met up with James, his brother, who gave me a groovy mini-tripod, a foot pump for really hard tyres and a cycle computer! Then off to sushi at Itsu on Wardour Street (celebrity spotting – Tom Yorke from Radiohead was eating behind us with one his dodgy eye shut) and home feeling full, spoilt and content! And all this on top of lovely cards, voucher for Amazon from Steve and a jumper from Carl.

I really am going to try and enjoy my birthday more from now on…

Oh – and the birthday challenge for this year is to read Tristram Shandy – I have started it and it is surprisingly readable (and very funny!)

Oh – and off tonight to a preview of A BITTERSWEET LIFE – the new Korean film from Ji-woon Kim, the director of A TALE OF TWO SISTERS – the fun continues!

Two ends of a pantomime cow

2006-01-02T10:57:00.000Z

So it is all over for another year and we now head straight into 2006. Christmas never really happened for Carl and I – on Christmas morning, mid present giving, Carl rushed to the loo and was violently sick for about an hour – I have never seen anything like it – real Linda Blair moment. About an hour later, I was feeling rather poorly and had to rush to put the other end in the bowl. We were like the two ends to a pantomime cow!

Both of us were very ill for the whole day and didn’t really get any solid food in our mouths until about the 28th. We therefore missed the whole of Christmas lunch and spend about 4 days either asleep or lying prostrate on the sofa watching movies. Good thing about this is that it forced us to take some time out and recover; bad thing is that by the time we got better all turkey was long gone! Boo hoo!
Never mind – there is always next year!

Watched a HEAP of movies though that I have been saving up on the hard disk recorder – original King Kong, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, Minority Report (which gets more brilliant every time I see it), I Walked With A Zombie, Mildred Pierce (genius), Bringing Up Baby (hilarious), Finding Neverland (surprisingly moving), Rules Of Attraction (rubbish but worth it for Ian Somerhalder in his pants), Sphere (awful), Les Diabolique (still creepy), Cat People (original) and a stack more – I have become a real couch potato! Anyway – ready to attack the world again tomorrow when work begins. Have also spent a lot of time planning out trip to South Africa and it is pretty much done – hotels in Johannesburg booked, cars booked, guest house in Cape Town (luxury for £25 a night each – check it out here), bush safari booked (nearly) here and Bed and Breakfast booked in Knysna. It is a mission this travelling stuff but I am sure that it will be worth it!

Happy New Year!

Christmas Day (nearly)

2005-12-24T11:33:00.000Z

Only one more sleep to go and no matter how cynical I get about the "business" of Christmas, the sight of a big box wrapped in brightly-coloured paper and with my name on it melts any cynicism and makes me feel 11 again.
Merry Christmas all!

Contemplation on a death (stolen from Arcade Fire)

2005-12-23T20:31:00.000Z

Something
Filled Up
My Heart
With Nothing

Someone told me not to cry

Now That
I'm Older
My Heart's
Colder
And I
See that its a lie

My father is here but not here

2005-12-21T10:10:00.000Z

My father is here but not here
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

Just found this old photo in a really old copy of Crime And Punishment that I was digging out to skim before I wrote my review of Match Point. My Father is bottom left, and looks a lot like me...more that I ever thought really. It is surprise moments like this that make the distance between you and your parents no distance at all, and the links between you, your past and your future become explicit and terrifying...

I want to ask him about this photo; about who his friends at school were and what he got up to in the hallowed halls of boarding school but I am too late. He took the stories to the grave and all I have left are random images that I have to make up narratives for.

Dream

2005-12-16T15:03:00.000Z

Last night I dreamed that the London Eye fell into the Thames and I had to pluck everyone out of the pods before they drowned. There were bodies everywhere.

I was traumatised when I woke up.

Probably too many cheese and biscuits at the Oxford and Cambridge club last night...(I am not a member - I just like to fight the enemy from within)

Almost Bah Humbug

2005-12-15T12:16:00.000Z

Seems that the madness has already begun! Out last night (a nice dinner in Browns with Helen and her Dad), out tonight with my uncle and out tomorrow night with Carl and his work colleagues. There seems little time to put up the tree, grab drinks with loved ones and friends, do the shopping, bake a ham (well, I am actually going to cook it in Coca Cola – it sounds bizarre but is delicious) and welcome the mother-in-law to a clean and tidy house!

WHY DO WE DO IT TO OURSELVES??

Seems to me that the fundamental idea of Christmas has been ploughed under a mountain of consumer goods. Oxford Street (I work just off it and can see it out of my window) is a sea of people rabidly spending money. Seems obscene but yet I am still pressured into buying presents that will be forgotten in a few days for people that I care for.

Yes, I am enjoying eating nice food and spending some time away from work and with Carl and his family, but it all seems excessive to me.

Maybe I should just concentrate on trying to book our holiday to South Africa in Feb. Flights are nearly booked - eeeeeeeeeeeeek!

Poem Number 37

2005-12-09T22:06:00.000Z

My eyes have been filled
With projections on tables
Facing a direction that I’m scared of

Your image flashes
Across the red-rippled curtain
Of my flushed features

And lingers

Longer than forever

I tempt you
Within the fireglow incandescence of my barbapapa nightlight

Believing the lies I repeat

You etched yourself
Effort upon gorgeous effort
On my memory

With every waking second

You
In return
Flash your fancy smile
Walk away
After soiling the nightsheets
And my baby blue nightdress

Adorno on a Friday night??????

2005-12-09T21:41:00.000Z

On a lighter note that the last post, went to see Rob Lowe in A Few Good Men last night – a client is in it and it is soon coming to an end.

Very disappointed – it was an entertaining evening but never really burned the flesh off the issue of corruption in the American forces. All a bit shallow if you ask me. Rob Lowe looked like he would rather be elsewhere and the rest of the cast (bar our client and Jack Ellis) were pretty poor I think.

Interestingly, I went for a drink afterwards with our client and we had a very interesting conversation. Why is there no valid, deep and relevant artistic response to the war in Iraq? Are we really in a situation where the financial overrides the political? Very possibly. The American response (Or, to coin Jonathan Rosenbaum, the American creative response that we know of) is shallow, didactic and mellifluous. Is there room in mainstream art for serious criticism or is serious criticism just in the realm of the avant-garde and underground? My, what a sad state of affairs it is if this is true….

Daniel HG and the other actors out there – the situation we are in at the moment is in your hands – it is up to you what you do with it.

Political empowerment only seems to last a few minutes or hours these days – just as us who were on the massive anti-war march three years ago marched in the cold, then turned on our heels and carried on with our comfortable lives; so those in the US mid-west who were shocked by Fahrenheit 9-11 voted Republican….what the fuck is wrong with us all???? I include myself in this – the complexities (or mere trifles from a more objective POV) of my daily life seem to override completely the more fundamental questions of our age – almost to the point of numbness.

The creative response to traumatic events is at the forefront of my mind. I think it was Theodore Adorno who once said, “After Auschwitz, there can be no poetry” I take Tony Harrison’s view when he responded to say, “After Auschwitz, there can only be poetry”

Aaah geez – sorry – I said this would be lighter – I lied.

PS: What is it with the movie Sideways - I really expected it to be good - its pap!

No Pain No Gain???

2005-12-09T21:26:00.000Z

I have literally just finished one of the hardest things that I have ever done.

Ignore that I have not written for a while!

Being a new company, Emma and I got it into our stupid heads that delivering Christmas hampers to all of the casting directors and other people that we have had contact with over the year would be a good idea. Emma sourced the hampers from Selfridges – two tins of lovely biscuits, some coffee and some chocolate, all presented in a nice Selfridges box – about 40cm x 20cm. The list came to 146 people and I really thought that it was going to be possible to deliver all of them by hand in a week, thereby meeting all of them face to face and giving them a nice present – hopefully securing our clients’ future for the next couple of years….

I started last Thursday in the west end and finished central London on Friday afternoon. Little did I know (until I had compiled a very organised spreadsheet by postcode) that most CD’s work from home and home could be anywhere from Tulse Hill to Neasden. The last week has been an endless routine of carrying 8 hampers, stopping off in South London, travelling for an hour, dropping another off in North London, travelling for another hour, dropping one off in Teddington and then a few more in Shepherd’s Bush and then back to the office to collect the next lot – you get the idea. HELL!!!

I did not think that it was humanly possible to be this tired and ache this much. I hurt – from the balls of my feet to the tips of my hair…

I just hope that some fruit will come from it..

Movies

2005-11-23T11:58:00.000Z

Just a day until Carl comes back from Japan – he has been out there again doing out a night club with huge jellyfish and anemones. I have been keeping myself busy, however. Out last night with Johann to see The Beat That My Heart Skipped – very good. I did not understand Erica’s observation that it was implausible and that Romain Duris’s performance was OTT – I thought that he gave a wonderfully focussed (albeit slightly mannered) performance that was totally believable. The whole story of the character attempting to break out his Father’s shadow is a powerful (and probably very common) thing. It was dealt with sensitively and subtly. I highly recommend it.

So a good movie run the last few days, Harry Potter was surprisingly good and this…also watched Oceans 12 on DVD and I really enjoyed it – I thought that it was a mile better than the first – I know that I am in a minority of one – it got terrible reviews. I just thought that it was a better movie - more rounded, more intricate and more detailed. Call me stupid…

For a fantasy night of rumpy pumpy

2005-11-22T12:31:00.000Z

James Purefoy from ROME
or
Sawyer from LOST???

or just both at the same time!!

Lemme hear you say FREAK!

2005-11-21T17:12:00.000Z

Went to a client’s cabaret – or tribute to Kander and Ebb - last night at the sweet little Jermyn Street Theatre. All good – I nearly did not extricate myself from the sofa and central heating but managed to make it there on time (and glad that I did). Performance was wonderful but what is it with creepy people who hang around theatres? When I was hanging around outside waiting for Emma, my colleague, to arrive, I noticed a rather large woman with two bottles of water strapped to her waist standing by the front door waving people in – I assumed that she worked there and did not think much about it…until I realised that I was to be sitting next to her. She did not work there – she was a groupie of sorts (to the music, the theatre? I didn’t get in to it.) She attempted to force me into conversation a few times – unsuccessfully, but managed to claw her way into a conversation that Emma and I were having about one particular song in the first half called “The Grass Is Always Greener.” It was then that we discovered she was one member of a large singing group that sung songs to other music – when she started talking about them singing The Goons’ Ying Tong Song to Air On A G-String I completely lost the plot….

Confessions Of An Ageing Fag Hag

2005-11-17T10:53:00.000Z

I know that it has been ages since I have blogged – I guess that hectic work, social schedule and an early winter cold has sapped my energy and blogging enthusiasm.

I feel that I must, however, reply to the lovely Johann and his unswerving praise for the new Madonna album. I did as he said and downloaded a sneaky copy to listen to (well the sneaky download bit was my idea), but I guess that she does not need my money and I will delete it anyway…

The long and the short of it is that I am not impressed – I have never been much of a fan – in fact, I believe her to be the flea that sits on the shell of a tortoise as it carries her across the river. In this case, the tortoise is none other than magical electro-meister Stuart Price a.k.a Jacque Le Cont from Les Rythym Digitale – a spectacularly talented young man who was responsible for the best DJ set that I have ever seen… Confessions of a Dancefloor has all the spirituality of a card shop in Croydon and all the originality of a baked potato (with butter, but no cheese or beans.) In short, it is an overlong, dated and flat advert for kabbalism that is the message we were all waiting for – Madge has finally lost the plot.

Complete with samples from two gay favourites – Abba and Donna Summer, the album is clearly aimed at the gay market – of course, all of you know that all gay men like to dress in slinky clothes, take drugs and dance the night away so this is perfect for our shallow lives. Madge manages to conform to every possible stereotype of an ageing fag hag – even producing a few dance tracks that sound like they belong in a San Francisco club 15 years ago. Retro, Madge, is only cool if it is backed up with irony or substance – you have neither.

Rant over.

Psycho

2005-11-07T14:27:00.000Z

IMG_0028.JPG
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

Thanks to everyone who came up with suggestions for the party - this was my costume - scary enough for ya???

A nice bus story

2005-10-27T16:32:00.000Z

After posting so many negative stories about being on a London bus, I thought I would share a positive one! Coming home the other night, there was a little girl and her mum - both of them spoke Italian. At one point, a seat towards the front of the bendy bus became vacant and the little girl sat down. She was carrying a bright blue baloon that she had obviously been given whilst out shopping with her mum. At first, she tentatively batted the baloon at the person sitting opposite her, who duly batted it back. Thus began a 10 minute game between the two until the little girl got braver and started batting the baloon further and further. Without exception, the baloon was always batted back to her by the occupants of the bus. This carried on for at least twenty minutes, with most people smiling widely as they hit the baloon back into the little girl's direction.....lovely!

Barnaby Needs and Barnaby Wants..

2005-10-27T16:20:00.000Z

The results of posting "Barnaby needs" into Google:

Barnaby needs to find out information from a variety of books. (accurate as always)
Barnaby needs all his wits about him as he investigates a string
of deaths at a local New Age commune. (umm....yeeees)
Barnaby needs help. He came to a swift conclusion after the double
murder was discovered. (The conclusion was I was a crap detective)

The results of posting "Barnaby Wants" into Google:

Barnaby wants a piece of Hordichuk (huh???)
Barnaby wants to learn how to swim, but gets swept out into the sea (oh no!!)
Barnaby wants to visit a number of places in Dublin. The user has to take him
there by clicking on the compass direction arrow (ooh, what fun!)
Barnaby wants to evict poor Widow Peep from her giant shoe (it's OK - she paid the back rent)
Barnaby wants Mary for himself, so he kidnaps Tom, setting off a
series of comic chases, searches, and double-crosses! (It's a lie - I really wanted Tom! Mary came along to cook and wash)
Barnaby wants no part of this one and he lets Harvey swing away with eight or nine punches that may of landed before the linesmen stepped in (ha ha - me and contact sport??)
Barnaby wants Mary's factory, not Mary herself (darn right!)
Barnaby wants to take over Toyland (yup - especially the large, fleshy coloured suburb!)

Holiday!!!

2005-10-25T16:41:00.000Z

After 10 years (nearly) of being together, Carl and I have agreed to go on our first proper holiday together. I am going to take him back to the homeland and we are off to South Africa on the 10th of February. Hooray! Looks like he will come over for two weeks, then I will fly back to Johannesburg and spend a final week with my mum and sister which may be torture but it has to be done!
Carl wants to see the animals, so we will go to a game reserve for a few nights, then off to Natal (beautiful) to see soem friends on the south coast and then drive or fly to Cape Town to spend the final week together in the sun and seeing the sites around the city - there are many.
I cannot wait! We shoul dbe able to book our flights soon and then it is a question of working out what we are going to do and when.....

Weekend!

2005-10-21T16:06:00.000Z

Hooray! It has been a long week....

Bus Stories

2005-10-20T11:14:00.000Z

On the bus this morning - yesterday's flight through the air has left me with a painful knee...I saw:

A very young girl with a school uniform on (tie loose around her neck) in a large MPV with a significantly older gentleman - they were not related - believe me. I wonder if she turned tricks behind the bike shed to satisfy her crack craving?

A young father put his daughter (she could have been no older than 5) on the bus herself. He did ask her if she was sure she knew where to get off - I guess that is something.

A group of school children being escorted onto the bus by a rather camp teacher who cruised me all the way to Piccadilly...

I love London.

Question

2005-10-20T11:12:00.000Z

Is it a sign of age that one sacrifices aspects of one's own identity or beliefs for others? Or is it a sign of weakness?

Monkey

2005-10-19T16:48:00.000Z

Monkey
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

Another pic of the zoo trip - not sure what the animal behind the glass thought of this - terrifying!

Dangerous!

2005-10-19T16:46:00.000Z

Dangerous!
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

Just remembered that I have not posted any photos of London Zoo. Jenny told me off for not taking enough animal pictures, well, hopefully this will do. To be honest, the animals depressed me - I thought that they all looked miserable and mentally disturbed from living in such small enclosures and having people stare at them all day.

The zoo is meant to make you happy, but I left a bit sad...

Poo!

2005-10-19T16:39:00.000Z

There I was thinking that I had mastered the art of riding with cleats and I bloody well fell off again today. This was the most serious so far due to the fact that I was sandwiched between numerous London Taxis - things that feel a bit like tanks when you are beside them on a bike! Some idiot driving a white van came out of a side road and straight into my path with no warning whatsoever and I went flying - all he did was wave a small "sorry" before speeding off again. I am fine - bruised knee and a bit of a scrape on the other knee but I guess just makes you think about the whole cycling in London thing.

I am NOT going to let this beat me though and I am just as determined to continue on my bike although I think that I will need to take a break tomorrow - off to the National Portrait Gallery to see a client in a show thingy and I feel that the wine will be flowing. It promises to be a night of luvvies - what fun!

Strange Slips Of Paper

2005-10-12T15:48:00.000Z

I found this whilst cleaning out my wallet. It reads: " Things matter more when they are written on order slips. Like David Lynch got divorced and found he had to write to his highschool sweetheart on a slip of paper like this long and this high."
I have absolutely no recollection of writing this - it is my handwriting but is a total mystery - I don't even know what it means!

Sugar Cube Mountain

2005-10-11T16:11:00.000Z

Embankment - Tate Modern, London
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

Popped into the Tate Modern on the way home from screenings today to see the new Rachel Whiteread installation in the turbine hall. I was expecting something spectacular (and theoretically interesting). What I got was a massive space filled with the negative space of suitcases that looked like sugar cubes. Boring boring boring and just like her work in the past. Very lazy piece I think. Neither visually or intellectually exciting. I wish that she had really thought BIG and done something truly wonderful - I like her stuff. House was one of the most moving pieces I have ever seen but I guess this piece shows that she is a woman of one idea, and she seems to endlessly recycle the idea again and again. Once you have gotten past the name of the piece - Embankment - and how it relates to the location of the Tate and to the suitcases' form as barrier then there is little to engage with (apart from the irregularities in each cast - something that she has been banging on about in work that she has produced forever). So what if it harks back to minimalism and a critique of modern, soulless production but doesn't thanks to the very human marks left on the surfaces of the suitcases - it just isn't clever or interesting anymore...

Carl's new hair

2005-10-10T18:34:00.000Z

IMG_9820.JPG
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

Kind of Elvis meets Manga....

Deep into London Film Festival press screenings - Steve Martin's Shopgirl (average) and a French film Riviera (claustrophobic) today, Jake Gylenhaal at 10am tomorrow - who could ask for more???
Updates as they happen - check out www.highangle.co.uk for reviews...
Bx

Zoo!

2005-10-07T16:47:00.000Z

Well weekend fast approaching and Carl and I are being good Uncles this weekend and looking after his brother’s fiancée’s son Harry – who is 11 and a joy. I think now that his brother and Dinah, his fiancée have set a date, they think that Carl and I can be brought out for Harry-sitting duties. Carl, being a big kid anyway, is looking forward to it. I am too in a strange kind of way – I think we are planning to do London Zoo on Saturday and I kind of like the idea of doing that with an 11 year old child. Having absolutely no desire to have one of my own – I guess that it is nice to rent somebody else’s every now and then – and it gives them a break and time to do adult things that can sometimes be interrupted by children!

Halloween

2005-10-03T15:49:00.000Z

Killer Bunny
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

OK - so what am I going to go to the Halloween party as? This was my costume last year - Carl and I made these mad masks and went as Killer Bunnies - great fun! We have a reputation to keep so the ideas need to be top notch! Carl has already decided that he is going as that scary white-faced eating monster from Spirited Away but I am at a loss...

Another Dream

2005-10-03T10:09:00.000Z

I won an Oscar in my dream last night – all flowers and cards to the usual address…

Dream Interpretation

2005-09-30T11:25:00.000Z

The Lovely Michelle's visual interpretation of my dream - they obviously do no t have enough to do at the BBC!

Dreams

2005-09-29T09:12:00.000Z

Last night I dreamed that I was having dinner with Helen Mirren – she was charming, but we were in a restaurant that had toilets for seats and were pooing as we were eating – this seemed totally acceptable and others were doing it around us…

Not as strange as the one about the white whale in the public pool that had the face of Bonny Prince Billy and razor-sharp teeth like the clown in Steven King’s It. That one is still freaking me out daily….

Would you like fries with your pressed flesh?

2005-09-29T09:01:00.000Z

What is it with personal space issues in London. I like to think of myself as un-English, in the fact that I am not too reserved about personal space and physical contact – perhaps the open spaces of South Africa have given me a different attitude about the space around you that is yours – there is, after all, a lot more to go around!

On the bus this morning (packed!!!!) managed to get a seat and a slim, rather dapper looking gentleman sat next to me. “Phew” thought I – not a MASSIVE Iceland-shopping mother of five who speaks too loudly on her mobile phone, Elizabeth Duke jewellery jangling….No sooner had I had the thought when the man shifted up a good 10 inches onto my side of the seat. Now, I am not sure if he was trying to press as much flesh as possible – I saw no discernable rise in his groin area – but he was pretty much ramming me into the window (in a purely non-sexual way of course). What the hell is it with this? I think this is the worst type of passive aggression and bloody rude to boot. Having watched a fascination programme on the evil box last night about Operation Trident and gun crime in the Capital, I was terrified of saying anything, should he produce a sawn-off shotgun from his trousers and blast me in the noggin with it!

Sometimes I hate London (but not often enough for it to count!)

Joanna Newsom would be proud...

2005-09-29T08:54:00.000Z

Went to the fruit seller on Oxford Street this morning on the way to work (I got the bus in as I am out with Nick tonight and it normally turns into an alcoholic marathon) and bought:

A Peach
A Plum
A Pear

They did not have any sprouts or beans so I was unable to draw up a chart as to their differences and similarities.

London Open House

2005-09-23T12:11:00.000Z

Oranges
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

Again, as below, this is a half-finished children's visitor centre called Inside The Cell...They are still looking for 1.5million to finish it - if I had it spare, they would eb welcome to it.

London Open House

2005-09-23T12:10:00.000Z

Cloud Pod
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

Will Alsop's bizarre pods for the Inst. Of Cellular and Molecular Science

London Open House

2005-09-23T12:09:00.000Z

Burton land
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

Institute of Cellular and Molecular Science - Whitechapel, London

Beezaaar

2005-09-23T12:06:00.000Z

I have just called a production company in Germany to chase an invoice and their hold music was Monty Python's Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life - threw me for a minute....

Micromoments

2005-09-19T11:07:00.000Z

On the bus this morning passing the protester guy that has been there for years. He never changes, his protest, however, seems to grow by the day. Signs reading “BLAIR – LIAR” and “UK CRIMINALS OF WAR” peppered with violent pictures of the war in Iraq etc. As we passed, I noticed a tour bus that was obviously in London for the day, packed to the rafters with old dears. They, predictably, were pointing at the protest, mouths agape. I managed to catch an old ladies eye and she smiled at me, waving her head disapprovingly at the same time – she misjudged my sympathies but it was an odd moment of connection…

Also this morning on the bus, the man in front of me had a virgin-white pillow feature stuck in his hair – I am sure that he didn’t wash this morning.

Again this morning, a woman on the bus stared maniacally at a mother and baby that came onto the bus. I wondered if there was a tragic story behind her unswerving gaze.

Cleat Diary 2

2005-09-14T13:24:00.000Z

I promise to stop going on about bicycles, but I just thought that I would let you all know (the three nuns and an orange that read this) that I managed to get to work this morning fine – and quite enjoyed the ride… Seems I am getting used to the cleats already!

Cleat Diary

2005-09-13T10:27:00.000Z

Well, finally bit the bullet and decided to replace my traditional pedals with cleats and fancy shoes that clip directly to the pedals. I was a little nervous about using them – they are pretty difficult to get used to but, I have been assured, are the best thing around once you have managed to rewrite your muscle memory to clip out of them before you slam on the brakes.

I started out in the kitchen, one hand on the counter, practicing getting in and out of them and then went onto the street – we live on a quiet street – the perfect place should something happen. Well, managed to get into them fine, did a U-turn, slammed on the brakes, could no get out of them and hit the pavement on my wrist – hard. Bloody painful but nothing broken. Confidence bruised, I left them until Sunday, when I went to the local park and had another go. Much better this time, no accidents and finally felt myself getting the hang of them.

A little nervous at the prospect of cycling to work on them but needed to just get it out of the way! So set off yesterday morning and was absolutely fine! Until some idiot on a bike came straight for me on the mall, I wobbled and again went straight over onto the same wrist. Hobbled to the office in pain, but again, nothing broken and confidence and pride injured more than anything else…Ride home was absolutely fine and (hopefully) the beginning of the beginning. They certainly make it easier and are the way to go – all serious London cyclists use them as do most couriers…it is just a question of practice! On the bus today to let my wounds heal but I will be back on the bike tomorrow…

Update

2005-09-09T12:24:00.000Z

UPDATE

Apparently comment spam is pretty common – sorry guys but I have switched on that annoying word verification thingy every time that you want to comment…

Me Me Meme

2005-09-09T11:47:00.000Z

1. When you look at yourself in the mirror, what's the first thing you look at?
The grey hairs that are sprouting out of both left and right sides of my head and the horse-hair nose hairs that make my life a misery.

2. How much cash do you have on you right now?
About £5 and some coppers – enough to buy myself a salad and sandwich for lunch.

3. What's a word that rhymes with "TEST"?
Pest

4. Favourite plant?
Monkey Puzzle Tree (does that count?)

5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?
Linda Miney – the woman who runs these market research things that I go to for extra cash.

6. What is your main ring tone on your phone?
A subtle ping ping-a-ling ping-a-ling-a-ling

7. What shirt are you wearing?
One culled from the Selfridges sale – its kinda camouflage but looks like have spilt coffee all the way down myself (or taken part in filthy sexual activites)

8. Do you "label" yourself?
I try not to, but inevitably I do – on a daily basis.

9. Name brand of your shoes currently wearing?
£4.99 flip flops from Muji – the summer essentials and the best bargain out there.

10. Do you prefer a bright or dark room?
A dark room I guess – Carl and I are always critisised for our mood lighting – and known for buying lights that give off no light so dark and moody does it.

11. What did you have for breakfast?
Tea and a bowl of Holland and Barrett crunchy bran muesli

12. Since question 12 is weirdly missing, make some shit up.
My brain is missing, and I am incapable of making shit up!

13. What were you doing at midnight last night?
Drinking wine on the sofa with my loved one

14. What did your last text message you received on your cell phone say?
”Will do. On way home now, have had a good day”

15. Do you ever click on "Pop Ups" or Banners?
Never

16. What's an expression that you say a lot?
I overuse the phrase “What can you do”

17. Who told you they loved you last?
Carl – last night

18. Last furry thing you touched?
My pussy

19. How many hours a week do you work?
40 – no more, no less

20. How many rolls of film do you need to get developed?
2 I think – plus one in the Lomo

21. Favourite age you have been so far?
32 – the age that I am now – the older I get, the more I feel comfortable with myself and my skinny frame.

22. Your worst enemy?
She knows who she is

23. What is your current desk top picture?
Rather boring but the standard Mac OS X one – it is quicker to load…

24. What was the last thing you said to someone?
”Doctor Who is filmed in Wales”

25. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to go back in time and fix all your mistakes which would you choose?
A million bucks – I would be able to sort out all of my financial mistakes and still have change.

Friday and the sun is shining

2005-09-09T09:11:00.000Z

F F F Fridaaaay! At last – the end of another week (geez, that sounds like I am wishing my life away) and a weekend with Carl – which is rare! Off tonight to Johann’s moving in slash birthday party – I am looking forward to sneaking around his sock drawer…Helping my friend Erica move her lodger in on Saturday – I think that there will be flat-pack furniture to put together – oh dear! Ikea stuff has never been my forte so fingers crossed I don’t hammer in the pegs too hard and go straight through the veneer (as I have done in the past) or get it totally wrong and then lose bits that I never find again (which has also happened!) Sunday possibly going to see Last Days but it seems like a movie to fall asleep to after a busy weekend – perhaps I will go and see The Sun – I loved Mother and Son so much…but then Sokurov can also be very sleepy-inducing…the one in the Hermitage museum nearly slipped me into a coma for life. Whatever happens it will be nice to have a few days with the big C…he has promised to be home before me today – lets see! He did not come home at all on Wednesday night – he worked 36 hours straight on 5 massive chandeliers for the Dead Can Dance American tour. Cool job but exhausting! He is now in full swing with the Balrog for Lord Of The Rings musical which is scheduled to open in Toronto in December. Maybe I will see him for Christmas…

Antony

2005-09-07T10:25:00.000Z

Well, Antony and the Johnsons have won the Mercury Music Prize – quite bizarre I think for an album that is about transexualism and childhood trauma and also bizarre for a guy who is still very much part of the New York Underground. All I can hope for is that they keep very close to their avant-garde roots and don’t sell out – I have a feeling that they won’t, but the day I hear “The Lake” played over an advert for Centerparks Adventure Holidays is the day that I will personally go to NYC and throttle him.

The Mind Plays Tricks

2005-09-06T16:45:00.000Z

Now that I see it, my reflection looked nothing like it.....

Weird!

2005-09-02T11:51:00.000Z

As I was sitting on the loo this morning, with the sunlight streaming into the bathroom from the window behind me, I realised that my shadow in the large white door-knob looked exactly the same as the cover of Alice Walker’s The Colour Purple – make of that what you may!

DAMN its hot!

2005-08-31T13:40:00.000Z

Hotter than Georgia Asphalt
Hotter than Kansas in August
Hotter than a snake's ass
Hotter than the Devil's pee hole
Hotter than a burning hedgehog
Hotter than Anthony Perkins in knitwear (in Kansas in August)
It is HHHOOOTTT!!!!!!

How to feel like a stalker in three easy lessons

2005-08-30T19:26:00.000Z

I recently got introduced to this site, a kind of music community and one that tracks what you have been listening to in itunes and finds similar people in the community who like the same stuff as you. I duly joined up and carried on listening, thinking it was pretty cool that I could look at my statistics page and track which other people in the world like the bands I liked. In particular, I found one guy who seemed to have identical taste in music as I had, so, in the spirit of good neighborliness and friendliness, I marked him as a friend.
WELL!
I got an email yesterday from him asking if her knew me and, if not, why I had marked him as such, saying that he found it "creepy".. Now, those of you who know me know that I am not a scary stalker, but I was made to feel like one and it completely ruined my evening and I have been thinking of it all day.
Is not the idea of such site to meet other like-minded people? My only crime was to make the first move...

Maybe I am sick

2005-08-30T19:11:00.000Z

Maybe I am totally depraved, but there is no man sexier than Anthony Perkins in Psycho - OK, you would have to lock up the kitchen knives when he cam over, but NOBODY wore knitwear better and there is no better specimen of the thin and tortured soul alive or dead. Jenny gave me a biog of his for lending her the tent and I have been cooing over the photos since then. What a tragic life of in-the-clostness he led. As I stare at the picture in my study of him and a stuffed owl (a still from Psycho), I imagine what it must have been like living that life in Hollywood at that time - very difficult I suspect.

I think it is tragic that most people remember him as a person who, first and foremost, was one of the first very public victims of AIDS (after Rock Hudson and Liberace, I can't think of anyone else) when what I remember is a blazing light of the big screen; an actor with talent, subtlety and grace the likes that we will never see again.

Day and night in London

2005-08-21T09:24:00.000Z

Greenwich With Sky Scars
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

Busy day with Jo here. Off to town on the trusty number 12 bus. Bumped into Helen at the bus stop - she was also heading into town so rode together. Went to have a good old look around Selfridges, nearly found a watch (and a man who was trying to sell it to us) and loads of ideas for Carl! Lunch in Carluccios Cafe in St Christopher's Place - still one of the nicest hidden-away places in London - great for people watching! Then off to the Kite Store and then home for 10 minutes before rushing to Greenwich park to catch an open air production of Midsummer Night's Dream. A guy we are thinking of taking on was in it and was great. Very simple production - shows you, when the writing is like that and the performances are strong, you need none of the special effects etc that clutter the play...Off now to Carl's brother for lunch...more later...

A thought

2005-08-19T20:31:00.000Z

Outlaw

2005-08-18T09:06:00.000Z

The mother-in-law arrives on Friday evening so better get cleaning! The flat, due to a combination of me not having any energy and Carl not having any time, looks like a bomb has hit it. Apparently, according to a friend, it is not that bad - perhaps cleanliness really is next to gayness after all!
On a lighter note, I saw a teeny squirrel this morning on the way to work sitting ontop of a bin gnawing on a nut. Where did he find it??? I am sure that there are no peanut tress in Burgess Park, just off the Elephant and Castle roundabout.... Please tell me it WAS a nut, not the rotting toenail of a tramp or other, unspeakable part of a body...
On a techie but cool note, Jenny has introduced me to THIS site which is a music community that tracks what you have been listening to on itunes and publishes it on the web, allowing you to match your music tastes to other people's and listen to their collection. COOOL! For those of you that are interested, THIS is my profile - you can check out what I have been listening to.

Horniman

2005-08-15T11:56:00.000Z

Went to the Horniman Museum this weekend with Helen - what an odd place it is. Tucked into parkland on the outskirts of Lordship Lane, it houses Mr Horniman's collection. As far as I can work out, he was a mad-as-hatter Victorian who (in the spirit of the time) collected loads of mad shit. The central hall of the museum contains thousands of stuffed animals and is fascinating...
Other weekend highlights included a trip on Sat night to Shinky Shonky - a club in town that is run by the delectable Boogaloo Stu and was a complete blast - the only place I have ever heard The Smith's This Charming Man mixed straight into Kylie's I Just Can't Get You Out Of My Head - an indication of the evening if there ever was one.... I am , however, still suffering from the effects of getting to bed at gone 3 and being woken up by another Horniman at 7 yesterday morning!!
See the rest of the Horniman (the museum!!!) pictures here.

We rowed up here

2005-08-10T11:14:00.000Z

Wye Valley 4
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

Believe it or not, we did an 8 mile row up the Wye River. I discovered that I am CRAP at rowing - we went into the bank on a number of occasions, and we saw a lovely family on the river, singing Old Man River - IN HARMONY as they passed us. I thought that it was rather sweet until Steve suggested that they were a little bit too close to a religious cult for comfort. I wonder if they all sleep in the same bed and share a toothbrush?

Raglan Castle

2005-08-10T11:12:00.000Z

Raglan
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

One of the highlights of the trip for me - a magical place. I could see myself in tights and garters with one of those cone things with flowing net on my head....

Underground Water

2005-08-10T11:11:00.000Z

Underground Water
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

A nice pic I thought - about the only one that I got the extended exposure just right! This is Clearwell by the way...They have a HUGE cavern in which they hold parties - great venue but a bugger if you want to pop out for a fag.

Leatherface's Workshop

2005-08-10T11:10:00.000Z

Leatherface's Workshop
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

Steve and I bumped into Leatherface in Clearwell Caves - he is well, trying to develop a new polymer to make sure that human skin bonds to his face better. This is his workshop - all the bits and pieces seemed a bit rusty to me - I don't think that he is getting much action!

Weeeeee!

2005-08-10T11:08:00.000Z

Weeeeee!
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

Me on a tyre swing in the bluebell forest - I think I may have broken it - oh well, the kids who were going to have a spin can go back to their crack pipes..

Indeed!

2005-08-10T11:07:00.001Z

Indeed!
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

What more can I say - the world's supply of lubricants are decreasing...

What Kind Of Dog Is This????

2005-08-10T11:07:00.000Z

What Kind Of Dog Is This????
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

A mad dog that we saw whilst on Yat Rock. There were three of these - they are Italian whatchamacalits - apparently very good at telling bedtime stories. They were used in ancient China to produce bristles for hairbrushes. Now they are plugged into the wall and produce a pleasant room-deodorising aroma.

The Wye Valley

2005-08-10T11:05:00.000Z

Wye Valley 2
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

OK - in the absence of a blog about my recent holiday, I am going to let the pictures do the talking for once. It was great, just long enough to clear the urban cobwebs from teh head. For a more detailed account of the few days, visit Steve's blog - he has a blow by blow account...

Powered by Yellow!

2005-07-25T18:54:00.000Z

God – another don’t know how long since I have blogged – I guess that the daily grind has ground me down just that little bit too far in the last week or so. Thank Jehova that I am off next week and off into the Forest Of Dean with Steve for a few days – even if we are away for only three nights, it will be wonderful to be away from the horror of the big city. My feelings have nothing to do with the obvious, just that I have had enough of concrete and could really do with a few days in the green – if it sorted out Dan’s head, it certainly will help mine a tad.

Work is fine – found out on Friday that our lovely 65 year-old client has landed a leading role in the new trilogy to be produced by Lars Von Trier and directed by three different directors (two of them Scottish). Seeing as I am a HUGE VT fan and wrote a massive paper on him at college, I am as happy as a cat with two dicks! Emma has even promised a group trip to Cannes to see it in competition (if it gets that far) – har har!

OK weekend – Friday went to our local to see some friends I had not seen in 6 months- boy time flies! Carl was too ensconced in work to come. Sat spent the entire day in the cinema – lovely! Saw 3Iron (very good) and Silver City (not as good as I had hoped it would be – I am and always have been a HUGE Sayles fan and have very high hopes for his new stuff – this one kinda didn’t deliver – totally, at any rate.) Sunday off to Shepherd’s Bush for lunch with Bic, my lovely NZ friend. We all got thoroughly sick of Profiteroles!! Last night sat down with C and watch Exorcist – The Beginning. It was SHITE! Made me pine for Linda B and her witty remarks – “your Mother knits socks in helllllll” – you gotta love her! Remember Hell Night – damn near scared me to death when I saw it first at the age of about 10 – terrible on retrospect but I loved that shit when I was younger – the scarier, gorier and heinously violent the better. I think that I am STILL traumatised from seeing Last House On The Left at the age of 11 and Carrie when I was slightly older. In fact, I think I showed Carrie at my 12th birthday party and remember a lot of parents not being very impressed – ha ha.

Anyhoo – off to the forest next week, nothing else matters!

Oh – I bought a new jacket for cycling – picture attached. It is so bright in low light that it looks like it has an internal power source! It even has nifty zips under the arms for ventilation – hooray! And no, Johann, it does not have stripes (a certain South African friend of mine – clue: name starts with J and ends with ohann – has found out my nickname at school and now thinks I should be wearing yellow and black stripes….)

Again???!!!

2005-07-21T14:09:00.000Z

Seems that there have been a series of small explosions on the London tube network, and one on a bus in Hackney. I can't believe it. All safe. More later.

Bookworm

2005-07-21T10:53:00.000Z

Help! I need a good book to read and have no inspiration at all. For your information, I don't like Harry Potter and would like to avoid (or burn) anything that has a "Richard and Judy bookclub" sticker on the front of it!
Any suggestions??? Trying to read VS Naipal and not having much luck!
Thanks muchly

Evil Weed

2005-07-18T15:52:00.000Z

Well, knackered at the end of last week – seems that cycling 70 miles a week and working fulltime is exhausting! Determined to cycle all five days and did it – Mondays are hard, Tues – Thurs are fine and Fridays are a REAL mission! I am definitely getting fitter and have noticed a slight loss of body fat and a definite firming of the buttocks and legs – hooray!

Weekend was a pick and mix affair. Friday night I met Carl and his colleagues Sophie and Helen on their way to Bar Story for cocktails. Popped in with them for a quick lemonade and then shot home to prepare dinner. It was Erica’s birthday last week and I promised her a lovely meal – well, a meal anyway! I did a HUGE salad nicoise and some delicious apricot things on puff pastry with ice-cream for dessert. Had a lovely bottle of wine and Erica bought a yum bottle of Prosecco so were all a bit hammered by midnight. Carl rolled in about half an hour after Erica arrived, VERY worse for wear and then sandblasted the toilet later – that boy cannot hold his alcohol!

Saturday I got up relatively early, no hangover, and went to the gym for an hour or two. Then off to Decathlon (a really cheap sports warehouse in Surrey Quays with C) to buy some cycling shorts and then home to attack the ivy in the back garden. This thing had not been touched for about 20 years and was completely smothering the back wall of the garden. WHAT A MISSION!!!! Some of the roots were thicker than my arm and it took a combination of Carl (on top of the wall with MASSIVE clippers), me with a saw and Mr Patel from next door also with a saw and a ladder to get it off. Four hours later it was safely bagged up in 20 bags and ready for the tip! Phew. Sat night spent with C recovering! Sunday up early to see a preview of the new Emma Thompson film Nanny McPhee – very good (even thought the screening was rammed full of screaming kids – I thought that C was going to have a wobbly) and then to Wagamama for lunch and a bit of shopping afterwards. Back home to take evil weed to the tip and then home to collapse and watch Windtalker (bag of shite if there ever was one!) Almost glad it is the week again! I SERIOUSLY need a holiday! Looking forward to getting away in a few weeks time!

Journal 13/06/1992 - Earls Court, London

2005-07-15T23:03:00.000Z

So here I sit, alone with the thought of companionship later on in the day. As I sit and watch my spoilt rags go round and round with a rhythm all of their own, thoughts pervade my (until now) unbreakable defence, I dream of sheep and the permanent wish for happiness – bar the strings that come from the territory. I know that it is out there: people have found it. I just need to keep my head for long enough to find it for myself.

Who knows when this will be. It could be days, years, or centuries of eternal bliss in solitude. On the other hand, somebody whom I already know could bring it as a present. This would probably be the best option as the formalities of familiarness have (I hope) already settled into place.

Let me say a bit about the purpose of this book….I toyed with the idea for ages and decided on a sunny day in England, to go ahead with my plan and compose a diary of thoughts to keep to myself. I have so many thoughts, images, faces and voices swimming in my head that I have to take them one step further to understand them. Cursed be the day when I use this book as a casual pad of fucks and their dogs. I embalm this book with ink and my soul…tbc

Amazing!

2005-07-14T11:28:00.000Z

Observed the two minutes silence today for the vicims of the bombs last week and I must say that I was proud to be a Londoner. Shortly before the twelve o'clock strike, teams (we are talking tens of thousands) of people were moving towards Oxford Street, determined to stand fast against what happened on the 7th. As Big Ben struck, the entire street switched off - buses, taxis and cars switched their engines off and everyone stood in solemn silence for the duration. Extraordinary sight indeed. All the length and breadth of the normally busy street was silent and still. Have to say that I shed a tear.

I think that people are having a difficult time sub-consciously about this whole thing. To be frank, it has barely been out of my thoughts for the last week (I actually cannot believe that it has only been 7 days - it feels like a lifetime) and I have been having some pretty weird and violent dreams since the event - I guess my mind's way of sorting through it all and trying to make sense of the carnage - as if that is possible.

I was interested to hear that after 9/11, visit to psychiatrsts rocketed. In London, so far, sales of bicycles have increased 4-fold. I guess that people are not that keen to return to public transport after all.

I still think that it is amazing how fast London has absorbed the shock of what has happened and the speed at which peoples' anger has been replaced by a determined will to carry on as normal. The unified stand against terror today on the streets was a moving testament to London's refusal to bow under the random and unspeakable acts of last week and an opportunity to reflect on those lost, those injured and those bereaved.

Orange Squish

2005-07-13T09:27:00.000Z

Felt very odd in the lights of recent events to be sitting in a research house last night discussing the pros and cons of new fizzy orange juice - quite strange indeed.

Weekend

2005-07-11T15:45:00.000Z

Pyro 3
Originally uploaded by 6722Kane.

Was in Brighton all weekend flying kites which was nice. Saturday was mild and overcast, Saturday night was getting horribly drunk in the outdoors with BBQ and friends (the best kind of nights I find) and Sunday searingly hot! I am now brown as a berry, relaxed from a weekend out of London and rearing to go! London is pretty much back to normal today - the traffic was the same as it ever is and drivers are swearing at eachother as normal. Amazing!

Bombs

2005-07-08T09:30:00.000Z

A black day for London indeed. Got up as normal and decided I was too tired to cycle to work and so got on a trusty number 12 bus to town. Got into the centre without any problems and wondered why there were so many people on Oxford Street. Walked the 400 metres or so to the office, noticed that Oxford Circus and Bond Street tube were closed – nothing unusual in London. The first time I realised that something was wrong was when my friend Natalie called to ask if I was OK. Then the penny dropped and it was straight up to the office to turn on the television. Being situated RIGHT on top of Bond Street tube station, I have to admit that I was nervous. Emma and I sat tight for most of the morning and then decided to head off home (this was about 2.30). Had to walk as far as Elephant and Castle on streets that were packed with people walking every which way – it was surreal. Managed to get on a bus at Elephant and was home at last.

I hate to say this, but an attack like this was inevitable. We have said this a million times alone and with friends, but nothing quite prepares you for the strange out-of-bodyness of it all when it happens. The immediate rush to make sure that loved one were OK, followed by the numerous calls (local and international) making sure that I was not caught in it and then the close call stories – Jenny’s being the most frightening – all add up to some bizarre feeling that none of this is real – it was very odd indeed.

Much respect to the emergency services who truly did an incredible job. We always complain about the NHS and public services in this country and then this happens and we all realise just how bloody lucky we are to have such care for free. One of the last bastions of socialism in this country, free medical care is something that should be cherished.

London seems relatively back to normal today – people on the streets may be slightly more sombre than normal, but we are going about our daily lives, determined not to let this disrupt our ingrained routines – an example of the tough stiff upper lip if there ever was one!

I’m a bit shell-shocked but relieved that those I love and care for are OK and my heart goes out to anyone affected directly. A more digested and focussed blog soon – my emotions are all over the place.

Bombs in London

2005-07-07T11:16:00.000Z

I'm OK. At work - the one day I decided to take the bus. Hop eeveryone else in London is safe.
Bx

Thetans Thetans everywhere

2005-07-05T14:37:00.000Z

So went to see Tom Cruise in War Of The Worlds last night. When Spielberg is good, he is fantastic, when he is bad, he is totally pedestrian. Thought that the film was both – moments of brilliance, moments of complete boredom coupled with many post 9/11 references (and even a few allusions to the Holocaust). On top of this, TC as a blue collar train operator with a love of fast cars and dislike of his kids…..hmmmmmmm, I don’t think so. Off to see a preview of Sally Potter’s Yes tonight with Jenny – hopefully that will be better.

I am not a minority!

2005-07-03T14:44:00.000Z

Strange weekend in London. Not only did Live8 happen – quite possibly the biggest gig that London has ever seen, but it was also the weekend of the annual Gay Pride celebrations. Never been the type of person who feels that gayness should be celebrated any more than straightness (surely the struggle for liberation was all about inclusion rather than excluding anyone straight from your festivities), I normally give it a wide berth. This year, however, Steve and I decided to pop along to Trafalgar Square to see what was going on. Not only had Live8 pissed all over Gay Pride’s picnic (metaphorically of course – no one is suggesting that Bob is a watersports fan), but there seemed precious little going down in the square – apart from a Lesbian band playing the theme tune to Superman – bizarre I thought. Anyway, before Dykes With Bykes or the One Legged Gay Man’s Single Parent Chorus arrived we made our move to Leicester Square where “Drag Idol” was happening – imagine my excitement. Again, nothing significant apart from a rather large man in black screeching at the top of his lungs (was that a rendition of a song from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers perhaps) and not a drag queen in sight. So much for “We’re here, were queer, get used to it” – God, protest was so much more fun 10 years ago! I remember taking part in a sit-down protest outside Number 10 Downing Street in the days when Outrage! were still a force to be considered. OK – I was a pretty poor protester – I legged it into Westminster tube as soon as the cops arrived, but I think that I did my bit. Nowadays, gay rights seem passé and uninteresting. I have all the rights that I need and can comfortably live my life without discrimination. I know that in London things are better and more liberal, but bugger off and have your march somewhere else. Next week Blonde Pride (no bottle jobs permitted) and the week after that The Celebration Of Circumcision (COC) – whatever next?

A post at last!

2005-06-25T08:47:00.000Z

I know, I know! My blogging muscles have been limp recently – I blame the rush of blood to my legs due to cycling – not enough left for my fingers which tappity tap across this white keyboard faster than light!

Cycling is going well – have finally got a route to work and back again (what is it with one way streets in London) and am finally enjoying myself (even if my ¾ inch wheels are slightly worrying still – I keep imagining myself disappearing down a storm drain!) So route to work takes in Burgess Park (really not one of London’s top spots but the junkies seem to like it), Kennington, Albert Embankment, Lambeth Bridge, Horseferry Road, Horseguards, St. James’ Park (lovely) and Mayfair. 35mins on average – a full 10 mins better than Mr fucked-up train and tube who I have waved goodbye (well, actually I flipped him a bird when his back was turned).

I have even had my first puncture and performed my first bit of maintenance – well, inner-tube changing. I have obviously lost my knack as I ruined one with a self-adhesive patch that I did not apply properly and over-inflated another, just jumping clear of the pin like valve shooting across the kitchen and denting the cupboard. Thankfully me and Morgan were clear – it could have been bloody!

Apart from that (god this must be so boring to read), London has been like the armpit of a filthy tramp the last couple of days. Even a vicious downpour last night does not seem to have cleared the air. Ho Hum! Off to walk with Helen and Andy today to Hampstead to see the MASSIVE table and chair that has been built there and then lunch in the Gourmet Burger Kitchen highly recommended by Johann. Pics, of course, will be posted sometime tomorrow.

Oh – one find – buy it: Bright Eyes (one bloke I think) released two albums on the same day a few months ago – Digital Ash For A Digital Urn and Wide Awake It’s Morning (my fave) – brilliant, heartbreaking stuff.

Goodnight chickens and may your battery beds be comfy.

Colour education

2005-06-21T11:17:00.000Z

OK - cycling is going well, but I would like to tell my fellow Londoners (especially those down Oxford Street) that a little red man on a lamppost means STOP and a little green one means GO! If you don't obey this simplest of rules, you are likely to get a mouthful of aluminium and and eyeful of me!!!

Also, went to a preview last night of a film called The Descent - it is probably the most terrifying thing I have ever seen in my entire life - horrible! I spent the entire 112 minutes with my finger jammed knuckle-deep into my ears - maybe that is whay I am picking up Radio Free Europe on my molars....

I came, I cycled, I sweated my knackers off...

2005-06-20T14:09:00.000Z

...but it was great - more later.

Git on yer bike and riiiiiiiide!

2005-06-19T18:24:00.000Z

I have done it - bugger London Underground and bloody bollocks mainline train people - I am cycling to work now. I have bought the gorgeous aluminium-framed hybrid above and will think of you all on sweaty buses and tubes as I wizz past! More travel stories coming up after tomorrow's virgin journey - gulp!

Human Shrapnel

2005-06-18T10:18:00.000Z

Well, popped to Central last night – a sticky underpant affair – to see Daniel’s show. At last! Firstly, as Daniel suggests in his blog, it was mighty odd seeing a person whom you seemingly know so much about but have never met in the flesh but it was great to put a (very tall) frame to the blog-voice!

The show – well, I loved it! It is a refreshing change after the kind of thing that I have been seeing recently to feel that your bollocks have been well and truly kicked-in when you leave a theatre. Daniel (god this sounds so weird knowing that he is going to read it) inhabits his character completely and the journey is a difficult one for both audience and performer – when I met him afterwards he was dripping with the sweat of 30 mins (or so) of effort. Two things were completely obvious to me afterwards: 1. Daniel understood and empathised with his character, probably as they grew up in similar places; 2. His passion for the issues at hand was such that only total immersion would do. And that is what you got.

In our world of Ken Loach and “Shameless” style drama and comedy, it is very easy to fall into the trap of parodying that particularly Northern, particularly working-class experience in a way that would make the barbs of the dialogue blunt. I am very pleased to say that Human Shrapnel avoids whitewash stereotyping and forces the blood-and-bone character from the physical space into a space far more contemplative and theoretical. His experience is, to a lesser or more focussed degree, all of our experience in this mad post-war world. With images that stick in your mind - a 10 year old boy sipping pop and reading comics under his Mother's body that is swinging from light fitting being one that I can't seem to shift - it is no easy ride, but, considering the subject matter, how can it be?

My one criticism is something positive and (as I found out afterwards, something that was far from Dan’s mind) – I wanted to know more about him. I wanted the piece to be longer and more detailed but, perhaps, this would focus the issues in the play to the character himself and would make difficult any attempts to apply his condition of thinking onto others….

Well, there we go – I came, I saw, I was kicked in the teeth! Good luck for your final performance – may there be viscera flying and air be full of disgust, shock and apprehension.

Poem

2005-06-16T13:46:00.000Z

Eyes locked over heaving carriage

His suit was shiny
Like shark skin
His fingers dirty
From the red-topped newspaper by his side
On his arm a faded silver watch
And identity bracelet
Just in case
He forgot his own name
Whilst he was giving himself
A knock-off Cartier hand-job

Work Vs Life

2005-06-16T09:09:00.000Z

So those of you waiting for a review of Dan’s opus, work got in the way yesterday and I was unable to get away from the madhouse in time – sorry Daniel! I am going to endeavour to get there on Friday night and hope it all went splendidly!

Pigeons in jumpers

2005-06-15T12:16:00.000Z

OK, so the excitement of esoteric films and strange musical goings on is over and I can concentrate again. Looking out of my London office window it is grey – as grey as a dead pigeon in a grey jumper. Miserable! Where is the London Summer I ask myself and then remind myself that we never have a proper Summer in this city – just a few sweltering days of sun cream and sunburn that suffices. Ho bloody hum is what I say – being an African by nurture (but not necessarily by nature) I enjoy the sun in small doses – it warms the blood and makes you horny!

Anyway, after a weekend in Liverpool flying kites (Daniel, you would have loved New Brighton – FILLED with characters who were from some strange contemporary Dickens novel) I am back in London and trying to get my head around the week that is, and was, and will be. BUSY this week for some reason – I guess all of the casting directors are back from their half-term hols with kids and desperate to get stuck into something juicy. All good for the actors though!

Off tonight to see Daniel’s showcase and looking forward to it I am (Johann, I seem to have picked up your Yoda-speak for some reason.) It will be good to meet the man who has caused so much controversy (he he) in person, although I hear that he is struggling to stay awake (his last blog post had almost as many full stops as letters.

I will return with full critical analysis!

Oh - click HERE for the photos of the weekend

I'm gonna pop!

2005-06-14T14:12:00.000Z

Wow. Well, to most people, the fact that their numbers come up in the lottery would be enough reason to get excited. Strangely, one of the most exciting things I could envisage has just happened – and most of you will think that I am completely mad! Bjork and Matthew Barney are collaborating on a movie/art piece. It is called Drawing Restraint 9 – a continuation of the Drawing Restraint series that he has been doing since the early 90’s. I CANNOT WAIT!!
More here...

Inside a Magritte painting there is a screenplay.

2005-06-08T13:20:00.000Z

Went to a press preview of a film called EVIL last night – a Danish thing about high school brutality – a bit tame for my liking – I suspect that Daniel would have liked it – tortured schoolboys and no gay sex either!

Decided to catch the trusty number 12 (aka the chav express) home sans earphones and realised just how much I miss when I am plugged in – so to speak.
Just after Piccadilly Circus, three lads got on the bus, dressed in the finest streetwear around and dripping in mobile technology. One decided to sit next to me and proceeded to take something out of his pocket and plug it into the side of his phone. Always being one for the latest in technology, I squinted my eyes to the right without moving my head (a common move on public transport) to see what he had. My heart sank when I realised it was a speaker. So, for the rest of the 45 minute journey, I had blasting loud and distorted ringtones and crappy music belting out of his device that could not have been more that a few inches across. If this was not bad enough the conversation went something like this – please be aware that the rest of this post contains swearing (eeeeeeeeee):

Bloke 1 “ I fucking swear like, the fucking cops have got nothing on me – I’m the fucking ghostwriter me, I fucking live in the shadows”
Bloke 2 “What, like Batman?”
Blokes 1, 2 and 3 – Racous laughter
Bloke 1 “ You fucking right bruv, I is the coolest fucking guy around. The cops aint got nuffink on me”
Bloke 2: “Except your phone” (note: considering said bloke had two of the things around his neck, I wondered which one the cops actually had)
Bloke 3 (who was quiet until this moment): I fucking swear, if I lost my fucking phone, it would be as bad as me wife dying or me getting divorced, fuck man, my whole fucking life is in this fucking phone.”
Bloke 1: “True bruv, them numbers in your phone is valuable bruv. You will wait five years for everyone in your book to call you back. You will be fucked.”
Bloke 3: “Fucking right bruv”
Bloke 2 then got up to leave the bus
Bloke 1: “Oi, where the fuck you think you going?”
Bloke 2: “I’m getting’ off to see Vanessa”
Bloke 1 and 3 – Racous laughter
Bloke 1: “He’s off to see his gash innit”
Bloke 2: “ his caramel cu*t – got him right under her fuckin’ finger she ‘as”

The joys of the bus! Every one of us witnesses a screenplay everyday and very few of us do anything about it.

And as I sign off the mariachi band downstairs are playing the theme tune to Star Wars on Accordion and tambourine – sometimes I love London – it’s one great big Magritte painting and we all live inside of it.

Meme

2005-06-07T16:39:00.000Z

Well yet another I have no idea how long has past and my blog has is looking black with no writing on it – not good enough Johann says. I have no idea what to blog about but thought that I would take this opportunity to pick up Red and Daniel’s lead and do one of these things – I challenge Johann and Steve to do the same!

1. The total volume of music files on my computer is... I am not at home but I think that it is at least 10 gig – and a right old mixture it is too!
2. The last CD I bought was... Death From Above 1979 – You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine
3. The song playing right now is... Peach Plum Pear by the wonderful, cat-voiced Joanna Newsom.
4. Five songs that mean a lot to me are... How Soon Is Now – The Smiths: Love this one as it takes me back to my bedroom in South Africa, not really knowing who or what I was and making plans that never materialised. Nina Simone – The Twelfth Of Never: Possibly one of the most beautiful love songs ever written, tinged with sadness, ringed with regret. Stunning. Sheela Na Gig – reminds me of stepping into London at the age of 19 – all wide eyes and confusion. Sums up the feral aggression of confusion very nicely I think. KD Lang – Constant Craving: The song that was playing on the radio when I saw my Father in hospital for the last time. Whenever I hear it I feel the same, confused, angry and desperate to hold back the tears. Her voice is still amazing to me. Beethoven – Eroica: not a song but a movement (ha ha – what is brown and lies on a piano stool? Beethoven’s last movement ha ha ha) the piece of music that is on Norman Bates’s turntable in Psycho (one of my fave films) and an evocative piece of wondrous music. Patti Smith – Horses. The whole album rally but really the title track which is a majestic and poetic piece of wonderment that still gives me goosebumps.
5. Which people are you passing this baton to, and why? Johann, Steve and Jenny – I am interested in what they will say!

Here comes the groom(s)

2005-05-27T13:33:00.000Z

So the news today says that Elton John is going to marry his long-term partner David in a ceremony in December. I guess the time has something to do with the fact that, from 5 December this year, it will become legal for same sex couples to register their relationship in a civil ceremony. Can only be a good thing I think. HOWEVER, this forces me to think whether or not Carl and I should do the same thing. I guess a lot of it will have to do with what the registration will actually mean in a legal sense – we are already joint owners of our little flat so, should I die, Carl will immediately take over responsibility for the property and visa versa. None of us have other assets worth thinking about really, so not really sure if it is going to be worth the hassle. I am the sort of person that does not necessarily believe in the state having to sanctify a relationship in order for it to be valid (Red, I KNOW that this is not the only reason to get married…) Neither of us want children in the coming years at any rate, so I guess the only reason to do it would be…..a bloody great party! Now, we could go the route of inviting everybody we have individually and collectively slept with (but, as a friend said, this would mean hiring out the Royal Albert Hall – I had no idea what he was talking about) or we could go small and simple…yeah right!

I think it may be a wonderful opportunity to really send up the idea of marriage and turn it into a bit of performance art. I am open to ideas!

Carl is going to take some convincing. Both of us are pretty “ungay” really – well, I think I am straighter than Carl – he is, after all, the one who listens to Madonna, whereas I go for the more esoteric. He also shaves his body hair (well, he does now anyway) and spends HOURS doing his hair. He was also (this was a while back) the only man in a group of 15 girls at a hen weekend in Brighton to have a travel hairdryer. I rest my case! I am, however, the one with a mild Kate Bush fixation and the one who spends endless hours in the gym (doing Bodypump – yes I know – it sound vaguely pornographic but is not, believe me!) We both abhor the Compton Street scene and never (or rarely anyway) hang out in exclusively gay bars – I find self-ghettoisation quite scary really. I am all for mixing as much as possible and being as visible as possible so that one day the barriers will well and truly erode and be covered by a layer of topsoil – oh Christ, I am sounding like some half-assed gay activist stuck in the early 80’s – I’m gonna fuck off and come back when I am a bit more focussed. Have a sunny weekend all – it is blazing hot here- just time enough to don the skin-tight rubber shorts with zip down the back, white singlet and poodle and mince the hell out of Shaftsbury Avenue! Shamowwwwwww

Bleurgh - sleep where are you?

2005-05-24T12:16:00.000Z

Boy – another week without writing a word on this thing! Carl’s birthday was on Thursday and, being Carl, he demanded a birthday WEEKEND, not just the day that you and I get. Fair enough I guess – I tried to make it special but am still recovering. Wednesday night began with cocktails at Bar Story – an uber trendy Peckham drinking establishment that is full of wild and wonderful people – Jenny, you would love it. Cocktails were half price and, never being one to pass up a bargain, I filled the table with a variety of potent alcoholic beverages. Then off to the Rye, our beloved local for dinner and collapsing! Thursday Carl went to see Star Wars – he has been singing the theme in the shower for weeks and was not very happy when I managed to see it 11 days before him – he is a massive fan. Took the afternoon off work and went to Carluccios café for lunch and then shopping (I normally avoid shopping with Carl – he is like a visitor from another planet that has to look at every possible thing in every possible shop but, being his birthday, I was not allowed to complain and duly followed. Dinner at Savoir Faire and then home to collapse! Friday went to Karaoke with Helen and the lovely Michelle (who has a voice like an angel) after dinner at Hi Sushi – the best value and quality sushi around – seriously! Eat all that you can for under £15 and it beats the spots off Yo. Hooray – another Helen find and one that I am destined to return to. Sat went to see Les Miserables as we have a client who is a lead in it. I normally run away from musicals but thoroughly enjoyed it. Carl wimped out as he was tired but Helen was there – massive fan that she is – and we all had a jolly time. Gary (our client) suggested we go for a drink in Teatro afterwards – HUGELY overpriced footballer bar – not my thing at all, but duly followed! Sunday Star Wars with Carl (which I hate to admit I fell asleep in) and Erica over for roast dinner which I cooked on Sunday night…

PHEW…..

I’m knackered!

We are all consumers

2005-05-18T14:21:00.000Z

Every now and then I have the joy or doing a market research group for extra money. Contrary to popular belief, unless agents have a Kate Winslet or Tom Cruise on their books, they are normally not that well off. Being a member of a very young company that is just about finding its feet compounds matters. These groups are organised by some shady organisation that seems to send the same group of people to evenings across London. Once you are in with them it you are on a winner, as some groups are worth £50 for an hour and a half and others (the holy grail of market research groups I guess) can be worth as much as £400! I was lucky enough to do one such group once and thoroughly enjoyed it – I probably would have done it for nothing. Most, however, are relatively boring and worth about £40 – better than a kick up the bum anyway!

One thing these groups do make you realise, however, is how stupid most of humanity actually is. OK, granted, I am sitting in a room discussing shaving products for men with ten other blokes – all straight, all hairy and all deeply opposed to the use of male moisturised (and deodorant by the smell of it). I always find it quite distressing when I find myself the only one in the room who understand what “intrinsic” means or has ever read a book cover to cover and these groups of full of people who have never read a pamphlet, let alone read one of the weightier tomes of modern literature. Ho hum, I say, it is their loss, not mine!

Anyway – these groups always make me realise to what lengths companies go to sell you their products – it is extraordinary really. Thousands and thousands of pounds are spent on deciding whether to go with a blue or green logo or whether “low fat” means the same as “diet friendly”. Pathetic. We are, however, consumers before we can talk and will be so until we die and NOTHING can change the fact. We either give in totally, or continue fighting our little “I don’t drink coffee in chains” struggles. I for one am happy fighting!

Absence makes your farts last longer

2005-05-16T12:17:00.000Z

Seems like an age since I have blogged and for that I am sorry! I have been up my eyeballs with work and was away this weekend so had no access to computers (or even electricity for that matter!) This weekend was the Suffolk International Kite Festival and, due to its proximity to London, I though that I would head off with Carl, James and Lou. We were all set for a sunny weekend. Unfortunately, Saturday was freezing cold with arctic winds, as was Sat night in the tent. Thank heavens for vodka and my cosy sub-zero sleeping bag which I cursed Carl for buying me, but now appreciate wholeheartedly! Here is a picture of the tent (OK - a 15 second exposure and bladdered on vodka but quite a nice shot I think:

Here are a few more shots from the weekend:

Carl's CR flag in the wind

A flexifoil at sunset

Definitely my favorite pic from the weekend - sometimes you just get lucky with a camera. This is a 15 sec exposure of the banquet tent - a strange shot I think but I LOVE it!