Silly season

It must be the effect of the heat because we seem to be in the throws of a belated silly season.
Why - because the government is contemplating increasing the speed limit on motorways to 80 (i.e. most people will do 90) thus scaring the s*** out of us poor nervous lady drivers. There are enough maniacs on the roads and this move will only lead to more accidents and chaos. What about the environment!!!!
I guess the ConDems want people to buy more petrol to boost the economy and don’t give a stuff people’s welfare.

As for the mooted weekly bin collection at great expense – most of us are now heavily into recycling and it seems like an ill-thought out and ridiculous waste of money.

Scary

A piece of space junk is due to hit earth tonight. I hope it does not land on you. Here is another scary thing to ponder over the week end.

Prof Brian Cox explores the possibility that the World may end in 2012 at the end of the Mayan Long Count.




This is really scary - I’m talking about his driving!

Miracles of Life

The reading list for my MA is colossal (as I mentioned in a previous post), but I am diligently working my way through it. So far the books have all been well written, but some, which shall remain nameless, have been a boring and failed to grip my imagination.
For the last two days, however, I have been engrossed in J.G Ballard’s autobiography, Miracles of Life. It deals with his childhood in Shanghai, his experience of a Japanese POW camp, his life as a student, marriage, and becoming a single father after his wife’s death. It is a fascinating insight into the experiences that shaped his novels and short stories and his development as a writer and a human being.
It is stunning and very moving. I’ve just finished reading it and had to have a good cry.

Wee, piss, urine and piddle

Ugghhhhhhhhh…Why do people have to wee all over toilet seats!!!!!

This phenomenon seems to have appeared over the last few years and is becoming an epidemic.
As you can see I am very annoyed about it.
It does not matter where I go in the UK it seems to be a problem everywhere.

What is wrong with people – why are you all doing it – I would be very grateful if someone could explain why we have to put up with this appalling behaviour.

I wish someone would start a protest movement for better standards in communal lavatories.

I bet all you phantom piddlers don’t do this in your own homes!!!!!

Shoddy clothes

Is it just my imagination or is the quality of clothes deteriorating whilst the price is increasing.

Years ago one could purchase items of clothing form a certain high street store that were so robust that they seemed to last forever – now the same establishment produces stuff that fades, bobbles and disintegrates rapidly after purchase.

The fabric that clothes are made from also seems to be thinner and a lot of items are almost ‘see-through’.

Do people prefer a rapid turnover of disintegrating clothes these days?

Are we being exploited by the clothing industry?

Sadly, even buying more expensive items is not a guarantee of longevity – I bought a lovely jumper ‘for best’ and was horrified to see holes appearing in it and the knitting unraveling…. Grrrrrrr

Which character are you?

Good morning dear reader, I hope you are well.

Do you ever find yourself identifying with characters in books?

I’ve empathazised with some very strange characters at times.

When I was working I felt like Boxer from Animal Farm. Boxer’s fate still has the capacity to reduce me to tears when I re read it. Unlike poor Boxer, I’ve escaped and I’m off to pastures new.

When I left my husband my Aunt gave me a copy of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - it was a great comfort to know I was not alone in the dreadful experience I had been through, and the book helped me make some sense of my own predicament.

Have any fictional characters helped you to make sense of your life?

Are there any characters that you identify with?

Endings

Yesterday was a full moon – a time of endings.
A group of us met in our university coffee shop. It felt like it would be the last time we would all be there together.
It was strange and sad to see the freshers clutching their welcome packs and getting their photos and computer passwords sorted out.
We felt like unwanted old chicks tossed out of the nest to make way for the new ones.
We don’t want this to be the final goodbye so our plan is to set up an informal group for people interested in books and writing. We will meet when we can, jobs and postgrad degrees permitting, in our university town to discuss things that we have read and support each other with our writing.
We still need to identify a venue that serves coffee and caters for groups of literary enthusiasts.

Happy Birthday to me

It is my birthday again and it is probably the saddest day in the year to have a birthday. I’ve not felt like celebrating since 9/11 but today I’m being dragged out for lunch by my parents and children.

My birthday wish for me is that one day I will write something worth publishing – sadly I’ve had no success so far with short story competitions – but I’m not going to give up.


I wish you all a happy year and may your dreams come true.

Valete Omnes

It was my graduation yesterday and it was one of the happiest days of my life. My family came to watch my two minutes of fame and my short-lived career on the stage.
I was very lucky to study at Wolverhampton University and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is the most student- friendly and nurturing university in the UK and has the best and most inspiring lecturers.
(I can say this with the benefit of having a previous degree in an unrelated subject form a red-brick Russell group institution where the lectures were boring and nobody gave a s*** about the students).
The learning experience at Wolverhampton was brilliant and the university deserves to be rewarded and acknowledged for the good work it does.
Positions on league tables and ‘prestigiousness’ do not necessarily mean ‘better’ in my opinion.

A good time was had by all

A group of us went to Candi’s book launch last night and we had a great time. Candi looked stunning in a slinky dress and high heels. She read from her new novel Kalahari Passage and told us about the research she had undertaken in Africa.
The venue was Waterstone’s in New Street, Birmingham. The book displays had been cleared away in the front entrance and replaced by rows of chairs. The shop has a beautiful ceiling with a stained glass roof, which I had never noticed before.
We queued to get our copies signed and Candi wrote individual things for each of us that we shall treasure.
I began reading my copy on the train home and nearly missed my stop because I was so engrossed.