The Thirty-First of May Two Thousand and Eleven
Earl Grey and cheesecake at Caffé Nero a nice pause in the day before a spot of musical theatre - with puppets (can you guess what I'm going to see?) (Tea at a coffee place always seems like a treat. Mind you in Shanghai it felt a bit cheeky doing the 'Earl Grey - hot!' thang in a city filled with so many gorgeous local teas (end of globe trotting name drop))
And what a lovely day it's been, finishing off my extended Bank Holiday nicely. Went to the East Lancs Railway in Bury with 2 sons and 2 parents and saw a bit of steam (enthusiastic thumbs up from no 2 son as engine whooshed noisily). The plan was to pop to the Transport Museum over the road afterward. But horror! - we notice a poster saying the museum's only open Weds to Sun. Hoping that this might be overruled with it being half term we visit any way and are heartened as we see someone coming out. We enter and the very nice lady on tickets says they should be closed at she opened for one person - and then someone else came - and then we came. She had to switch the lights back on. But we had a great time, dressing up and enjoying the exhibits with no-one else there - our own private viewing. Felt like a celeb.
We'd been locked in so the nice museum lady had to let us out. My thanks to her for helping to make a good day.
Right, back tomorrow so the recommendations and more stream of consciousness stuff will return then.
More soonliest.
Monday
In The Land of the Barm Cake
The Thirtieth of May Two Thousand and Eleven
Another short one, I fear chaps. Like some addled landlocked salmon I have returned to my spawning ground. I'm typing this in the dark, my restless son wriggling about in the bed next to me. I feel much the same. I'm at my parents house where we are well fed but the air is stifling due to the central heating being on. My flat may be cold, but at least you can breathe.
Funny how each time you come back it feels a little less like home - it's great to catch up with family but i the time since your last visit a little more of that version of you has been chipped away. (Blindingly unsubtle metaphor alert) The church where I was Christened is being knocked down. I don't have any memory of that day but here it is being erased anyway. No2 son enjoyed watching the diggers so that's something positive to come out of it.
Nevertheless, I've been on four trains and two trams today and had a Holland's cheese and onion pie so I don't want you thinking it's too gloomy. To my mind that's a good day in anyone's books.
More soonliest.
Another short one, I fear chaps. Like some addled landlocked salmon I have returned to my spawning ground. I'm typing this in the dark, my restless son wriggling about in the bed next to me. I feel much the same. I'm at my parents house where we are well fed but the air is stifling due to the central heating being on. My flat may be cold, but at least you can breathe.
Funny how each time you come back it feels a little less like home - it's great to catch up with family but i the time since your last visit a little more of that version of you has been chipped away. (Blindingly unsubtle metaphor alert) The church where I was Christened is being knocked down. I don't have any memory of that day but here it is being erased anyway. No2 son enjoyed watching the diggers so that's something positive to come out of it.
Nevertheless, I've been on four trains and two trams today and had a Holland's cheese and onion pie so I don't want you thinking it's too gloomy. To my mind that's a good day in anyone's books.
More soonliest.
Sunday
Happy for Deep People
The Twenty-Ninth of May Two Thousand and Eleven. Sunday
I think if I'm in this for the long run I'd better pace myself. So sometimes my thoughts will be contained within shorter entries of a few well chosen words (Hmm, possibly). Also, wanting to be at the forefront of technology I am experimenting with transmitting this message from my phone in the hope that I will be able to share my ponderings with you even when away from home. To whit:
I caught a tribute to Elisabeth Sladen in the comic that No1 Son gets every week. And at the end of it were these simple, wise words that I thought were quite lovely to find in a children's comic:
'It's OK to be sad'
Then on the back was a checklist of all the stories Sarah Jane had appeared in - not just from her own recent series but also from when she had first appeared back in the Seventies. Because few things comfort a young version of a mind like mine more than a list.
I don't think it was cynical - not an entreaty to 'collect the set'. Rather I thought it was saying 'You know those brilliant adventures Sarah Jane has on the telly? Well there were earlier ones too that were just as good. Look out for them.'
A modern kids comic saying unhappiness is fine and you should seek out 35 year old TV classics.
Isn't that good?
More soonliest
I think if I'm in this for the long run I'd better pace myself. So sometimes my thoughts will be contained within shorter entries of a few well chosen words (Hmm, possibly). Also, wanting to be at the forefront of technology I am experimenting with transmitting this message from my phone in the hope that I will be able to share my ponderings with you even when away from home. To whit:
I caught a tribute to Elisabeth Sladen in the comic that No1 Son gets every week. And at the end of it were these simple, wise words that I thought were quite lovely to find in a children's comic:
'It's OK to be sad'
Then on the back was a checklist of all the stories Sarah Jane had appeared in - not just from her own recent series but also from when she had first appeared back in the Seventies. Because few things comfort a young version of a mind like mine more than a list.
I don't think it was cynical - not an entreaty to 'collect the set'. Rather I thought it was saying 'You know those brilliant adventures Sarah Jane has on the telly? Well there were earlier ones too that were just as good. Look out for them.'
A modern kids comic saying unhappiness is fine and you should seek out 35 year old TV classics.
Isn't that good?
More soonliest
Walking on the Aire
The Twenty-Eighth of May Two Thousand and Eleven. Saturday.
Big shout out to Shu-Shu for coming up with tonight's title.
Oh, I'm aching all over. I've had a bit of a walk today, from Leeds City station to Woodlesford, much of it between the River Aire and the Aire/Calder Navigation along the Transpennine Trail. I've just checked and apparently it's about 7 miles! Didn't realise it was quite that far (although my feet are quite convinced of the fact by now). Coincidenatally, Canal Walks with Julia Bradbury is on BBC4 as I type. It looks quite good, and I enjoyed her railway walks series, but without having seen it properly I can't add it to the list of Telly Recommendations. Sorry.
I once saw a spot in the Stoke-on-Trent A to Z where a footbridge crosees the Macclesfield Canal as it crosses over the Trent and Mersey canal right on the border between Cheshire and Staffordshire. A bridge over a bridge between two worlds. That was a magical place to visit.
Always had a thing for A to Z maps. As a boy I was fascinated by the out-of-date A to Z of Manchester that my dad had. I'd go on expeditions on my Raleigh Chopper trying to find interesting looking places (for 'interesting' read 'rail-related'. Patricroft station or meeting my friend John Bramwell for the first time on the footbridge - now gone - over the Liverpool-Manchester line at the foot of Weaste Lane (flashback: a much older boy taking potshots with his air rifle at the aluminium chimney on a nearby factory and then letting me have a go! Bullseyed it with the telescopic sight. Haven't thought of that in years...)) on pages 48 and 49 (that's where Seedley, Weaste and Eccles could be found). Quite often a street I'd taken a fancy to no longer existed (the fact that it detailed the locations of Manchester Central and Exchange stations - closed some years earlier and then in ruins - was like reading a document from some lost civilization) - that was a bit of a disappointment to the budding explorer. There were also strange codes to be broken. It was some time before I realised Alpha S W Nadine St. wasn't some exotic thoroughfare but was simply an abbreviated Alpha Street West next to Nadine St. I promise you now, if I ever pull my finger out and get around to writing another story or two there'll be a character named Alpha S W Nadine in it.
Got quite a few A to Zs now and it was while perusing the Leeds and Bradford combined edition (so much more satisfying than the separate volumes) that I saw the proximity of Woodlesford station to the river and resolved to walk that route some day. Well that was today and very pleasant it was too.
Killed two birds with one stone and took a train to Cross Gates station while I was out and about. Small station, but it has an M&S Simply Food right next to it. That's got to be worth something. And I found Tranquility while I was there - it was the name of a street. Simply Tranquility, LS15.
Needless to say I popped into the City Centre and got a Frappucino and some comics (oh, is this a good time to mention Jonathan Hickman's brilliant run on Fantastic Four and its successor FF? Let's make this the First Comic Book Recommendation then).
Now I go sleep
More soonliest
Big shout out to Shu-Shu for coming up with tonight's title.
Oh, I'm aching all over. I've had a bit of a walk today, from Leeds City station to Woodlesford, much of it between the River Aire and the Aire/Calder Navigation along the Transpennine Trail. I've just checked and apparently it's about 7 miles! Didn't realise it was quite that far (although my feet are quite convinced of the fact by now). Coincidenatally, Canal Walks with Julia Bradbury is on BBC4 as I type. It looks quite good, and I enjoyed her railway walks series, but without having seen it properly I can't add it to the list of Telly Recommendations. Sorry.
I once saw a spot in the Stoke-on-Trent A to Z where a footbridge crosees the Macclesfield Canal as it crosses over the Trent and Mersey canal right on the border between Cheshire and Staffordshire. A bridge over a bridge between two worlds. That was a magical place to visit.
Always had a thing for A to Z maps. As a boy I was fascinated by the out-of-date A to Z of Manchester that my dad had. I'd go on expeditions on my Raleigh Chopper trying to find interesting looking places (for 'interesting' read 'rail-related'. Patricroft station or meeting my friend John Bramwell for the first time on the footbridge - now gone - over the Liverpool-Manchester line at the foot of Weaste Lane (flashback: a much older boy taking potshots with his air rifle at the aluminium chimney on a nearby factory and then letting me have a go! Bullseyed it with the telescopic sight. Haven't thought of that in years...)) on pages 48 and 49 (that's where Seedley, Weaste and Eccles could be found). Quite often a street I'd taken a fancy to no longer existed (the fact that it detailed the locations of Manchester Central and Exchange stations - closed some years earlier and then in ruins - was like reading a document from some lost civilization) - that was a bit of a disappointment to the budding explorer. There were also strange codes to be broken. It was some time before I realised Alpha S W Nadine St. wasn't some exotic thoroughfare but was simply an abbreviated Alpha Street West next to Nadine St. I promise you now, if I ever pull my finger out and get around to writing another story or two there'll be a character named Alpha S W Nadine in it.
Got quite a few A to Zs now and it was while perusing the Leeds and Bradford combined edition (so much more satisfying than the separate volumes) that I saw the proximity of Woodlesford station to the river and resolved to walk that route some day. Well that was today and very pleasant it was too.
Killed two birds with one stone and took a train to Cross Gates station while I was out and about. Small station, but it has an M&S Simply Food right next to it. That's got to be worth something. And I found Tranquility while I was there - it was the name of a street. Simply Tranquility, LS15.
Needless to say I popped into the City Centre and got a Frappucino and some comics (oh, is this a good time to mention Jonathan Hickman's brilliant run on Fantastic Four and its successor FF? Let's make this the First Comic Book Recommendation then).
Now I go sleep
More soonliest
Saturday
Superhamster und Mäuseorgel
The Twenty-Seventh of May Two Thousand and Eleven. Friday.
Man, I'm all over the place at the mo. It all started to go a bit weird this morning when I discovered a fourth part of the psychischer Apparat that make up Freud's structural model of the psyche. In addition to the Id, Ego and Super-Ego it turns out that there is also the Ulm. Not sure what it does for now, but it's a pretty radical development and I've had clinical psychologists on the phone all morning.
Now that all might sound like nonsense, but I'd like you to consider this: Freud's original Deutsche terms for the structural model were 'das Es', 'das Ich' und 'das Über-Ich'. When reaching into my head for a term for the fourth part of the model, without any conscious effort I stumbled upon the word 'Ulm'. Sounds a bit Germanic - odd that I should settle for that when the translated terms are latinate - and indeed as I ruminated upon it I realised that it is an actual place in Germany. I had probably heard it from the Monty Python's Flying Circus (do I really need to cite this landmark comedy programme as my Third Telly Recommendation? I do. Ok, done. (oh, and while I'm here I'll confess that I much prefer the series to the films. No, always have done. Not even sure if I've seen Life of Brian all the way through. Like the sketches more, so that's why And Now For Something Completely Different is my favourite Python film (I guess that makes it the Second Film Recommendation (the version of the Mouse Organ (not to be confused with the Mouse Organ from Fourth Telly Recommendation Bagpuss) in it is better than the TV one, I think (Is that contradicting what I said about the telly being better than the films? (no)))))) sketch featuring Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfernschplendenschlittercrasscrenbonfrieddiggerdangledungleburstein von Knackerthrasherapplebangerhorowitzticolensicgranderknottyspelltinklegrandlichgrumblemeyerspelterwasserkurstlichhimbleeisenbahnwagengutenabendbitteeinnürnburgerbratwustlegerspurtenmitzweimacheauuberhundsfutgumberabershönendankerkalbsfleischmittleraucher von Hautkopft of Ulm.
It's the tallest church in the world! And Leslie Nielsen sounds like a German name! Everything is connected!
What? You think that's a bit of a stretch? Then I'll leave you with German choir The Happy Disharmonists doing their version of an Abba song and a Monty Python sketch. You see, I'm not as mad as you think.
Or am I?
More soonliest
Man, I'm all over the place at the mo. It all started to go a bit weird this morning when I discovered a fourth part of the psychischer Apparat that make up Freud's structural model of the psyche. In addition to the Id, Ego and Super-Ego it turns out that there is also the Ulm. Not sure what it does for now, but it's a pretty radical development and I've had clinical psychologists on the phone all morning.
Now that all might sound like nonsense, but I'd like you to consider this: Freud's original Deutsche terms for the structural model were 'das Es', 'das Ich' und 'das Über-Ich'. When reaching into my head for a term for the fourth part of the model, without any conscious effort I stumbled upon the word 'Ulm'. Sounds a bit Germanic - odd that I should settle for that when the translated terms are latinate - and indeed as I ruminated upon it I realised that it is an actual place in Germany. I had probably heard it from the Monty Python's Flying Circus (do I really need to cite this landmark comedy programme as my Third Telly Recommendation? I do. Ok, done. (oh, and while I'm here I'll confess that I much prefer the series to the films. No, always have done. Not even sure if I've seen Life of Brian all the way through. Like the sketches more, so that's why And Now For Something Completely Different is my favourite Python film (I guess that makes it the Second Film Recommendation (the version of the Mouse Organ (not to be confused with the Mouse Organ from Fourth Telly Recommendation Bagpuss) in it is better than the TV one, I think (Is that contradicting what I said about the telly being better than the films? (no)))))) sketch featuring Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfernschplendenschlittercrasscrenbonfrieddiggerdangledungleburstein von Knackerthrasherapplebangerhorowitzticolensicgranderknottyspelltinklegrandlichgrumblemeyerspelterwasserkurstlichhimbleeisenbahnwagengutenabendbitteeinnürnburgerbratwustlegerspurtenmitzweimacheauuberhundsfutgumberabershönendankerkalbsfleischmittleraucher von Hautkopft of Ulm.
But get this. In the Film Forbidden Planet (hmm, that's pretty good, I'd better make it my Third Film Recommendation (featuring 'electronic tonalities' by Louis and Bebe Barron)) there is an Id monster.
And in Germany there is an Ulm Münster. 
It's the tallest church in the world! And Leslie Nielsen sounds like a German name! Everything is connected!
What? You think that's a bit of a stretch? Then I'll leave you with German choir The Happy Disharmonists doing their version of an Abba song and a Monty Python sketch. You see, I'm not as mad as you think.
Or am I?
More soonliest
Friday
File Under Work/Life Balance Brackets Lack Of Close Brackets
The Twenty-Sixth of May Two Thousand and Eleven. Thursday.
I think I will keep that bit at the beginning cos there's every chance that if I do an entry this late in the day it might tick over into tomorrow and I'd hate for there to be any confusion as to which day those particular thoughts belonged to. I'm not saying I'm fickle (Miranda-style aside to camera: 'I am fickle, though'), but my opinions and beliefs can only be considered authentic for the assigned day that they have been opined and believed upon.
I've got five days off now. And it's payday tomorrow. All well and good, but I was offered work for 3 of those days which would have been lots of sestertii and seen me right but I really needed a bit of a break and here was an opportunity that I couldn't ignore (I've also chucked in next Sunday to do this Dragon Boat thing - more on that anon, I expect - so I'm going to be absolutely brassic next month, but there you go) what with it being my rostered time off and everything. I would normally be spending the weekend with mes enfants but they're going to a combined uncle and cousin (not in a horrible gene-spliced, Jeff-Goldblum-in-the-fly (qv Gin Soaked Boy by The Divine Comedy (oh good; I thought today might be a bit thin on parenthetical digressions. I'm glad that one suggested itself) kind of way - it's just father and son share a birthday) birthday bash. So I will have a bit of time to myself...
Which is great and everything. I never used to have much of a work ethic - that's something that's only really developed with having a family - so it's surprising how itchy I feel about turning down work even though this is time that is legitimately my own. And now I'm getting anxious thinking: 'Argh, I've not got all this precious time to myself I'd better make the best use of it!'
I've just read what I've written: 'not got all this precious time.' Blimey, that's a Freudian slip! I meant to put 'I've got all this precious time.' The ol' subconscious is obviously a bit wound up. That's a bit worrying.
Actually, I know exactly what I'm going to do this weekend: nothing. I was wondering how to wrap up this entry - getting a bit too serious for my liking so I'll fall back on the wisdom of AA Milne:
'A quotation is a handy thing to have about, saving one the trouble of thinking for oneself'
And to illustrate my feelings about this long weekend here is a fab quotation of Milne's from The House at Pooh Corner:
"I like that too," said Christopher Robin, "but what I like doing best is Nothing."
"How do you do Nothing?" asked Pooh, after he had wondered for a long time.
"Well, it's when people call out at you just as you're going of to do it, What are you going to do, Christopher Robin, and you say, Oh nothing, and then you go and do it."
"Oh, I see," said Pooh.
"This is the sort of thing that we're doing right now."...
Then, suddenly again, Christopher Robin, who was still looking at the world, with his chin in his hands, called out, "Pooh!"
"Yes?" said Pooh.
"When I'm --- when --- Pooh!"
"Yes, Christopher Robin?"
"I'm not going to do Nothing any more."
"Never again?"
"Well, not much. They won't let you."
Pooh waited for him to go on, but he was silent again.
"Yes, Christopher Robin?" said Pooh helpfully.
"Pooh, when I'm --- you know --- when I'm not doing Nothing, will you be here sometimes?
"Just me?"
"Yes, Pooh."
"Will you be here too?"
"Yes, Pooh, I will be, really. I promise I will be, Pooh."
"That's good," said Pooh.
"Pooh, promise you won't forget about me, ever. Not even when I'm a hundred."
Pooh thought for a little.
"How old shall I be then?"
"Ninety-nine."
Pooh nodded.
"I promise," he said.
Still with his eyes on the world Christopher Robin put out a hand and felt for Pooh's paw. "Pooh," said Christopher Robin earnestly, "if I --- if I'm not quite ---" he stopped and tried again --- "Pooh, whatever happens, you will understand, won't you?"
(lots more top Milne quotes here)
Never again. Well not much.
Excuse me while I get in some 'not much'.
More soonliest
I think I will keep that bit at the beginning cos there's every chance that if I do an entry this late in the day it might tick over into tomorrow and I'd hate for there to be any confusion as to which day those particular thoughts belonged to. I'm not saying I'm fickle (Miranda-style aside to camera: 'I am fickle, though'), but my opinions and beliefs can only be considered authentic for the assigned day that they have been opined and believed upon.
I've got five days off now. And it's payday tomorrow. All well and good, but I was offered work for 3 of those days which would have been lots of sestertii and seen me right but I really needed a bit of a break and here was an opportunity that I couldn't ignore (I've also chucked in next Sunday to do this Dragon Boat thing - more on that anon, I expect - so I'm going to be absolutely brassic next month, but there you go) what with it being my rostered time off and everything. I would normally be spending the weekend with mes enfants but they're going to a combined uncle and cousin (not in a horrible gene-spliced, Jeff-Goldblum-in-the-fly (qv Gin Soaked Boy by The Divine Comedy (oh good; I thought today might be a bit thin on parenthetical digressions. I'm glad that one suggested itself) kind of way - it's just father and son share a birthday) birthday bash. So I will have a bit of time to myself...
Which is great and everything. I never used to have much of a work ethic - that's something that's only really developed with having a family - so it's surprising how itchy I feel about turning down work even though this is time that is legitimately my own. And now I'm getting anxious thinking: 'Argh, I've not got all this precious time to myself I'd better make the best use of it!'
I've just read what I've written: 'not got all this precious time.' Blimey, that's a Freudian slip! I meant to put 'I've got all this precious time.' The ol' subconscious is obviously a bit wound up. That's a bit worrying.
Actually, I know exactly what I'm going to do this weekend: nothing. I was wondering how to wrap up this entry - getting a bit too serious for my liking so I'll fall back on the wisdom of AA Milne:
'A quotation is a handy thing to have about, saving one the trouble of thinking for oneself'
And to illustrate my feelings about this long weekend here is a fab quotation of Milne's from The House at Pooh Corner:
"I like that too," said Christopher Robin, "but what I like doing best is Nothing."
"How do you do Nothing?" asked Pooh, after he had wondered for a long time.
"Well, it's when people call out at you just as you're going of to do it, What are you going to do, Christopher Robin, and you say, Oh nothing, and then you go and do it."
"Oh, I see," said Pooh.
"This is the sort of thing that we're doing right now."...
Then, suddenly again, Christopher Robin, who was still looking at the world, with his chin in his hands, called out, "Pooh!"
"Yes?" said Pooh.
"When I'm --- when --- Pooh!"
"Yes, Christopher Robin?"
"I'm not going to do Nothing any more."
"Never again?"
"Well, not much. They won't let you."
Pooh waited for him to go on, but he was silent again.
"Yes, Christopher Robin?" said Pooh helpfully.
"Pooh, when I'm --- you know --- when I'm not doing Nothing, will you be here sometimes?
"Just me?"
"Yes, Pooh."
"Will you be here too?"
"Yes, Pooh, I will be, really. I promise I will be, Pooh."
"That's good," said Pooh.
"Pooh, promise you won't forget about me, ever. Not even when I'm a hundred."
Pooh thought for a little.
"How old shall I be then?"
"Ninety-nine."
Pooh nodded.
"I promise," he said.
Still with his eyes on the world Christopher Robin put out a hand and felt for Pooh's paw. "Pooh," said Christopher Robin earnestly, "if I --- if I'm not quite ---" he stopped and tried again --- "Pooh, whatever happens, you will understand, won't you?"
(lots more top Milne quotes here)
Never again. Well not much.
Excuse me while I get in some 'not much'.
More soonliest
Wednesday
As Played By Simon Callow in 'The Unquiet Dead'
The Twenty-Fifth of May Two Thousand and Eleven. Wednesday.
I thought it might be quirky to write out the date on each entry in long hand like that but after the first one I saw that the blog automatically puts the date at the top anyhoo so it does look a bit dumb. But it does set an interesting tension between products of the mechanism and the will so I might continue to do it nevertheless.
Let's be honest, I'm as surprised as you are to see me here 2 days on the trot so that might not even be an issue in the long run.
Oh my waistline. I think the best bakery chain in North Yorkshire (my adopted home and location for (in this order) spawning no1, nuptials, spawning no2 and imminent divorce) is Thomas the Baker. Two reasons: their Veg-able pasties (and 'Yorkshire Pizza' now I think about it - three! Three reasons! (tips hat in direction of Cardinal Biggles and the rest of the Inquisition) and the fact that their name is a bit like Tom Baker - a little-known actor who was in Life and Loves of a She-Devil and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. And the Dungeons and Dragons film (pronounced 'fillum') (which is rubbish - even though I haven't seen it - and is not to be confused with the cartoon - which is awesome (and I mean that in a completely non-arch, unironic way - some of it is simply brilliant, and thus it becomes my Second Telly Recommendation). My plan today was to go to Thomas for a pasty for my brunch (Vin's working day: start at 6, finish at 2, feed at 10) but I had forgotten that they had closed for refurbishment. So off to Hardies (other Scarborough baker) for an egg mayonnaise barm (and yes, a mushroom quiche thing as well - there's a reason the opening of this paragraph reads what it does). All well and good (although the bread was a little dry) but here is the point of this ramble.
On my way back to work I passed Pizza Hut and there was a blue plaque on the outside that said that Charles Dickens had performed readings there.
I'll say that again.
Charles Dickens performed readings in Pizza Hut, Scarborough.
I think that's what it said. I meant to take a photo to post here (I will do - somebody remind me if I don't) but I forgot and picked up 8 small bottles of Irn Bru from Poundland instead.
I told this to my homeboy, Jon Eves (yo, Jeves! Respec', blood) (the thing about Dickens and pizza, not the Irn Bru bit. Come on!) and he suggested that his visit was probably where the great author received the inspiration to write 'please sir - I want some more.' (Do they still do free refills on pop there?)
Hey, I've just realised! Not just Dickens, but 'Thomas' and 'Hardies'. Cool.
More soonliest
I thought it might be quirky to write out the date on each entry in long hand like that but after the first one I saw that the blog automatically puts the date at the top anyhoo so it does look a bit dumb. But it does set an interesting tension between products of the mechanism and the will so I might continue to do it nevertheless.
Let's be honest, I'm as surprised as you are to see me here 2 days on the trot so that might not even be an issue in the long run.
Oh my waistline. I think the best bakery chain in North Yorkshire (my adopted home and location for (in this order) spawning no1, nuptials, spawning no2 and imminent divorce) is Thomas the Baker. Two reasons: their Veg-able pasties (and 'Yorkshire Pizza' now I think about it - three! Three reasons! (tips hat in direction of Cardinal Biggles and the rest of the Inquisition) and the fact that their name is a bit like Tom Baker - a little-known actor who was in Life and Loves of a She-Devil and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. And the Dungeons and Dragons film (pronounced 'fillum') (which is rubbish - even though I haven't seen it - and is not to be confused with the cartoon - which is awesome (and I mean that in a completely non-arch, unironic way - some of it is simply brilliant, and thus it becomes my Second Telly Recommendation). My plan today was to go to Thomas for a pasty for my brunch (Vin's working day: start at 6, finish at 2, feed at 10) but I had forgotten that they had closed for refurbishment. So off to Hardies (other Scarborough baker) for an egg mayonnaise barm (and yes, a mushroom quiche thing as well - there's a reason the opening of this paragraph reads what it does). All well and good (although the bread was a little dry) but here is the point of this ramble.
On my way back to work I passed Pizza Hut and there was a blue plaque on the outside that said that Charles Dickens had performed readings there.
I'll say that again.
Charles Dickens performed readings in Pizza Hut, Scarborough.
I think that's what it said. I meant to take a photo to post here (I will do - somebody remind me if I don't) but I forgot and picked up 8 small bottles of Irn Bru from Poundland instead.
I told this to my homeboy, Jon Eves (yo, Jeves! Respec', blood) (the thing about Dickens and pizza, not the Irn Bru bit. Come on!) and he suggested that his visit was probably where the great author received the inspiration to write 'please sir - I want some more.' (Do they still do free refills on pop there?)
Hey, I've just realised! Not just Dickens, but 'Thomas' and 'Hardies'. Cool.
More soonliest
Tuesday
Also Available in 2D
The Twenty-Fourth of May Two Thousand and Eleven. Tuesday.
Right. Going to start a blog. Never had one before - most probably kill it in the morning (ah, begin the whole enterprise with a Princess Bride misquote. Maybe this is what writers are going on about when they talk about someone finding their voice. Maybe this blogging lark is going to work out after all - a phrase that makes me think of Danny Baker After All, the late-Saturday zoo format show that wasn't quite as successful as Morning Edition (which was fab - it featured Janet Ellis reading out extracts from her teenage diary), his breakfast show on Radio 5 (no Live in those days). DBAA featured Mark Kermode's skiffle group (Google - what were they called? The Railtown Bottlers? Thank you. Good search engine) as the house band. Mark Kermode was mean about Avenue Q on Newsnight Review. I am going to see Avenue Q at The Lowry on Tuesday. I have already seen it in New York, of all places.
Haven't really settled on a tone for this lark yet, but the digression and the untidy use of dashes and parentheses in the paragraph above is a fairly accurate representation of my thought processes (like Dug, the dog in Up ('Squirrel!' (an excellent film that I think will count as the First Film Recommendation of this blog))). Incidentally, this is the second time I've written out all this nonsense as I navigated away from this page and this was all deleted the first time round. You haven't missed much. It was more or less the same.
And the '2D' bit in the title of today's entry was just a bit of 'found object' guff to fill in a bit of space but it occurs to me that this blog will be two-dimensional. Sometimes based in reality - as, for all its wiggles this first entry is - and sometimes telling tales, asking 'what if?' or just outright lying.
Okay, that'll do for now. I want to watch Archer on 5* before I go to bed (and lo, my First Telly Recommendation comes into being. Sweet.) 'cos I'm up at 6 in the morning and I didn't sleep too well last night because I had a nightmare about having a Geography exam where everybody was using pencils (2B, 2H and HB) to draw maps of America but I hadn't done any revision/homework and had to keep telling myself 'I've left school - I don't have to do this stuff any more' in order to try and get myself to wake up...
But that's another story.
More soonliest.
Right. Going to start a blog. Never had one before - most probably kill it in the morning (ah, begin the whole enterprise with a Princess Bride misquote. Maybe this is what writers are going on about when they talk about someone finding their voice. Maybe this blogging lark is going to work out after all - a phrase that makes me think of Danny Baker After All, the late-Saturday zoo format show that wasn't quite as successful as Morning Edition (which was fab - it featured Janet Ellis reading out extracts from her teenage diary), his breakfast show on Radio 5 (no Live in those days). DBAA featured Mark Kermode's skiffle group (Google - what were they called? The Railtown Bottlers? Thank you. Good search engine) as the house band. Mark Kermode was mean about Avenue Q on Newsnight Review. I am going to see Avenue Q at The Lowry on Tuesday. I have already seen it in New York, of all places.
Haven't really settled on a tone for this lark yet, but the digression and the untidy use of dashes and parentheses in the paragraph above is a fairly accurate representation of my thought processes (like Dug, the dog in Up ('Squirrel!' (an excellent film that I think will count as the First Film Recommendation of this blog))). Incidentally, this is the second time I've written out all this nonsense as I navigated away from this page and this was all deleted the first time round. You haven't missed much. It was more or less the same.
And the '2D' bit in the title of today's entry was just a bit of 'found object' guff to fill in a bit of space but it occurs to me that this blog will be two-dimensional. Sometimes based in reality - as, for all its wiggles this first entry is - and sometimes telling tales, asking 'what if?' or just outright lying.
Okay, that'll do for now. I want to watch Archer on 5* before I go to bed (and lo, my First Telly Recommendation comes into being. Sweet.) 'cos I'm up at 6 in the morning and I didn't sleep too well last night because I had a nightmare about having a Geography exam where everybody was using pencils (2B, 2H and HB) to draw maps of America but I hadn't done any revision/homework and had to keep telling myself 'I've left school - I don't have to do this stuff any more' in order to try and get myself to wake up...
But that's another story.
More soonliest.
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