Tuesday, 25th March 2008
Posted 2.19pm / Listening to : Eels - Mr E's beautiful blues

I really must get back on track with the diet I was following last year. The stomach has been a little icky a little too often and while the food avoidance (dairy, sugar, yeast) didn't totally eliminate the problem it certainly made a difference. It's the strict regime I had issues with; having to think about what to eat and checking to see if it was on the safe list became so tedious after about 4 weeks that I threw in the towel. I'm going to get back on track tomorrow. I am.

It's BF's Mums Birthday this weekend and she's having a party consisting of 50 people at a manor house & vineyard about 10 miles from here. I've offered to be  un/official photographer for the day for two reasons; I'd like to give her an album as a keepsake and I also want to have a crack at portraiture which, if you've been paying attention all these years, you'll know I avoid like the plague. I'd get the images printed in a lab (not on my crappy, inept inkjet) and supply her with a nice book of pictures. I'm half looking forward to it but I hope I haven't set myself up for a fall. It also means I'll have to converse with people I don't know which I also tend to steer clear of, so maybe that's another good reason to do it.

Talking of the party, I went into town today to look for something to wear. Since having The little guy and working from home I dress for comfort (i.e. I'm a slob) and have little, if anything, that could be considered smart enough for a party. I shopped for almost 2 hours and came home empty handed. I couldn't even decide on where to have lunch and after scouring several of the usual eateries I headed home with an empty stomach, too. I've put it down to it being one of those days. One of those days where you impose too many pressures upon yourself and you just glaze over. Information overload or something. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow.

Still no sign of the badgers, other than the glimpses I catch through the cracks in the decking. The old 10D (which I decided to hold onto after I bought the 5D instead of selling it on eBay like I originally planned) is poised on the Kitchen window sill with a telephoto attached so I'll be ready when they do eventually show themselves.

Sunday, 16th March 2008
Posted 8.03pm / Listening to : Wish you were here - Pink Floyd

Proving, once again, that I don't know my arse from my elbow; an mp3 of the fox cubs (that are actually BADGER cubs) living under the decking. I recorded this yesterday.

How cute is that?
   

Monday, 10th March 2008
Posted 11.05pm / Listening to : the wind chimes tinkling outside

Apparently there was a pretty bad storm today, although I didn't see much evidence of it other than a few tree limbs blocking the footpaths en-route to school. I guess they decided to err on the side of caution after Michael Fish flippantly dismissed the arrival of the 1987 storm. The news was dominated with ever so slightly windswept reporters broadcasting from exposed coastal areas around the country and repeatedly warning the public to stay indoors. Stay indoors and batten down the hatches? Sod that. I made a flask of coffee, swiped a handful of chocolate digestives from the fridge and headed up to the forest. I saw several rainbows (which I always find difficult to photograph unfortunately) and a pretty impressive hail storm but I survived to tell the tale. Phew!
   

Wednesday, 27th February 2008
Posted 2.31pm / Listening to : Stop and stare - OneRepublic

The damn sinus thing has flared up again and despite being pumped full of Sudafed, Beconase and Paracetamol it still feels like I've got an axe wedged in my skull. It's the weather, I'm sure of it. Roll on Spring.

I never mentioned it at the time but I kind of made a New Year's resolution to stop taking pretty pictures and to move out of my comfort zone. I should probably work on that.

And no, the earth didn't move for me.
   

Wednesday, 20th February 2008
Posted 11.59pm / Listening to : Suffer well - Depeche Mode

Despite pressure washing the patio and having a garden full of unruly kids yesterday, the fox is still around and the cub's squeals have increased by a few decibels since I last wrote. I also think I've worked out who's who in the fox hierarchy and have, for clarity's sake, given them names (which I said I wouldn't do but hey, whogivesashit). So we have Tatty, Neeps and Haggis. Tatty is the Mother fox, so called because of her threadbare tail. Neeps is her Beau and he takes food round the back of the Summerhouse for her, although if he were doing his job properly I wouldn't see Tatty at all because she'd be permanently hunkered down with the cubs instead of foraging for food to supplement the pittance that Neeps provides. Tsk! Men. Haggis is a handsome fella but he's an impostor who bullies Neeps into submission and runs off with all the food. I don't dislike Haggis per se and it's likely that he's feeding a family elsewhere so I shouldn't condemn him but...

Anyway, onto some non-fox related stuff.

The Sopranos: I'm half way through series 6, the final series but I had a little...complication? Now, I love and loathe the internet in equal measures and was searching Youtube for songs I'd heard in one of the episodes when I accidentally stumbled upon a clip of the final ever Soprano scene. I walked away, made a coffee and tried to divert my attention but that little button hovering on pause was like an itch that I just had to scratch and I succumbed. I felt dreadful afterwards. It's like picking up a book and reading the last page first. Why did I do that? Honestly, I'm truly pissed off with myself but the temptation was too great. I'm still enjoying it but it's not quite the same.

And that's all I've got tonight because it's late and I'm beat.
   

Tuesday, 12th February 2008
Posted 11.05am / Listening to : Filthy/gorgeous - Scissor Sisters
"I'm a classy honey kissy huggy lovey dovey ghetto princess"

I think we have fox cubs living under the decking. Ever since we moved here (2½ years ago) we've had regular visits from various foxes. Todd was the first; he was very tame and would sit on the patio like a domestic dog waiting for dinner every night. The last time I saw him was New Year's Eve 2006 and I was positively distraught after he disappeared but BF gave me a reality slap and told me that I shouldn't get attached to wild animals and I eased up on the feeding. Those chicken pieces I'd slip into the trolley at Sainsbury's each week were costing a fortune anyway. Todd's cubs continued to visit: I watched them grow and I watched them disperse into the neighbourhood to, I assume, raise their own families elsewhere. The circle of life.

One of the cubs (now a fully grown adult) continues to visit though and I'm certain it's the one living in the garden. I heard the cubs squeaking last night when I went outside for a smoke so I zipped down to the supermarket this morning to buy some chicken which I've since buried deep in the bowels of the freezer out of sight. I'll try and refrain from naming the offsprings when they eventually surface but the chicken issue, well, what can I say? I'm a sucker for those little critters, even if they do shit all over my lawn.
   

Wednesday, 6th February 2008
Posted 9.33pm / Listening to : Mercy - Duffy
(Odd that I should like this when several people have compared her to Amy Winhouse)

It seems every time I come here I feel it necessary to apologise for not coming here. It's getting a little old; the lack of excuses and, once again, I have no excuse. I occasionally take a step back and deliberate over why anyone would be interested in the minutiae of my mundane life anyway. It reminds me of that scene in Shark Tale where Sykes is explaining to Oscar where he stands in the food chain. "And then there's you...."

I've been pretty busy actually. What started out as a simple spring clean turned into an obsessive, all-consuming house re-vamp and I've worked my way through 3/4 of it so far. Once you paint one room you realise how unfresh the rest looks. Then the freshly painted walls make the carpets look grubby so you hire a Vax and...on it goes.

The little guy started Tae Kwon Do a few weeks ago. A lot of people assume it's a form of fighting but it's not. It's primarily about defence, fitness and discipline. The ability to kick butt is a bonus. I'm considering signing myself up for the adult classes actually. God knows I could do with the exercise.
   

Wednesday, 9th January 2008
Posted 11.33am / Listening to : More than this - Roxy Music

I've somehow managed to blag a photography job tomorrow.  It's nothing exciting; just a commission to photograph some table top sized products that a company wants to put on their website. Fortunately, they've agreed to let me collect the items and bring them back here because it would've been somewhat embarrassing had they expected me to turn up with professional backdrops and studio lights when I'm just a hack who uses available light in the utility room and a £2 piece of white card from Hobbycraft. If I do good and they don't rumble me then it could be a regular thing. Another step closer to Florida. In the meantime I'm going to take myself out to lunch in celebration of my own bullshit.

Cheers!
   

Tuesday, 8th January 2008
Posted 12.20pm / Listening to : Fade into you - Mazzy Star

Good morning folks! Some of you know why I haven't been around much, some don't. For those that dont; BF was very ill in hospital with this but he's on the mend. Then of course it was Christmas and there were several social events that involved free alcohol and I figured it would be rude to decline, then Joe got the Cold From Hell and passed it onto me and I'm still coughing my guts up but feeling much better now thankyou. Onwards then...

Things I just didn't get in 2007:-

Amy Winehouse - I'm probably a minority here as Ms. Winehouse has been nominated for various awards but I'm truly perplexed as to why. Her attempt at controversy by repeatedly hitting the headlines with her drug problems bores me. She has a mediocre voice and a sloppy style of singing where her sentences trail off into thin air and it irritates the crap out of me quite frankly. Maybe I'm a little bit anal about grammar or something, but I have to switch radio stations whenever I hear one of her songs.

HDR Photography - Now I love photography, you know that, but I just don't get the HDR fad. I never bought into the Lomo or Lensbaby craze either, but I digress. Even when it's done subtly, which it rarely is, HDR looks unnatural. I'm all for manipulating they eye and tricking the mind when it comes to photos but HDR is plain ole' wrong.

We've booked our holiday and we're off to Florida in may. The usual; a week in Orlando, a week in Sanibel. We're also considering a 2nd holiday to Florida in August, although this is largely dependant on finances. I can't even begin to tell you how much I'm looking forward to getting away. It's the reason I get out of bed in the morning.

Anyway, Happy (belated) New Year to you all.
   

Saturday, 24th November 2007
Posted 11.13pm / Listening to : I wish I was a punk rocker - Sandi Thom

OK, it's Saturday night and, admittedly, I've had a glass of brandy (medicinal purposes - I have a stinking cold) but this is strange. The right hand picture is a  crop of the single arch window in the left image, flipped vertically.  A woman with white hair, a gaunt looking fella and a guy with a beard? Anyone?
   

Saturday, 3rd November 2007
Posted 4.12pm / Listening to : Run like hell - Pink Floyd

Today was a lovely Autumnal day so I decided to go for a bike ride. I managed to cycle about 2 miles through the woods before the chain came off and I had to walk back. As I was walking back the peddle kept smashing into my shin and I've got a bruise. Fuck that. Next time I get the urge to exercise I'm going to open a big bag of Kettle Chips and watch the Sopranos instead.
   

Thursday, 25th October 2007
Posted 10.56pm / Listening to : Fall away - The Frey

I'm quite proud of the fact that I managed to carve this pumpkin with a really sharp knife and keep all my fingers.   
  

Thursday, 18th October 2007
Posted 10.02am / Listening to : Damien Rice & Lisa Hannigan - 9 Crimes

I live pretty close to the British Scient0l0gy headquarters. In fact, if I climbed on the roof of my house and craned my neck a little, I’d probably be able to see the joint. It’s a bit of an enigma that place; a sort of Area 51 of Sussex. The manor itself is a beautiful 18th century sandstone building set in 60 acres of landscaped gardens and woodland - and it’s open to the public. Now there’s my dilemma. I want to visit but I don’t for a moment buy that “Free entry, no strings attached” shit and I have visions of well dressed henchmen dragging me off to some rancid dungeon and brainwashing me. This town is a freak magnet anyway, something to do with the Meridian time line running through it and the Ley Lines. It seems to attract the eccentrics so I guess it’s only natural they should have their  base here. J0hn Trav0lta visited last year and T0m Cruise is reputed to have bought a place down the road. How about that.

Not that I’m suggesting all Scient0l0gists are freaks, but I know people who know people who know things.

They also have a big presence around the town. They attended the Christmas street fair last year under the Dianeticsiguise, handing out free mulled wine and offering stress tests to passers by. The wine, incidentally, was non-alcoholic otherwise I’d probably be a fully fledged member of Mr. Hubbard's club instead of writing this drivel. There’s very little I wouldn’t do for a glass of mulled wine, I'm ashamed to say. I made a big bowl of it last year when the family visited at Christmas and I got quite drunk in the Kitchen while tending to it, or so I’m told, I personally can’t remember, but I digress. There was also a very good jive band at the fair who I later discovered (after purchasing their CD) were a by-product of the Scient0l0gists. They're everywhere. They walk among us.

Today would be a good day to visit SaintiHill. Crisp blue sky with a slight autumnal chill and a fading frost – perfect. I’m trying to do one thing each day that takes me out of my comfort zone: be it posting self portraits, gathering windfall pears that are littering the garden and attracting wasps, or visiting strange religious abodes. Then again, I could start on The Sopranos Season 2 box set that my neighbour dropped round last night. Maybe I’ll have another cup of coffee and think about it some more. Only fools rush in, right?

Wednesday, 17th October 2007
Posted 11.26am / Listening to : Play for today - The Cure

I'm addicted to The Sopranos. I've been getting a few headaches recently and decided to limit my computer time for a few days to give the eyes a break (don't know if it's a temporary blip, or whether I need glasses). Anyway, this coincided with a neighbour lending me The Sopranos Season 1 box set. The language is outrageous (even by my lavatorial standards) but the storyline and the relationships between the characters is gripping and I like the music. In fact, if I scoot right now I might be able to squeeze one more episode in before lunch.  
  

Monday, 8th October 2007
Posted 9.52pm / Listening to : Solsbury hill - Peter Gabriel

Well gosh, I was doing so well then poof! off I go. I've been a little occupied with family stuff actually; my Nan fell down last Thursday, cut her hand pretty badly and fractured two fingers and since I'm considered the most reliable of the offsprings (I know, who'd a thought!) I ended up accompanying her to several hospital appointments while she got stitched up.   

She's doing okay. Her hand is a disgusting shade of purple but her spirits are high.