It is Bonfire Night, a holy day of obligation in my house. I dont get excited about much in life - not overly fussed about my birthday (oh marvellous, I'm a year older and still not written anything of any interest or use, great), Christmas (a week spent in small Northern town with bonkers spanish family and at least one, guaranteed, HUGE fuck off ( Read more... )

... no, I wouldnt like to be a lollipop man, contrary to what the popular children's song would have you believe. I think I would quite like to work on the buffet car of a Virgin train, though, as every time they come on the intercom to tell you that their plasticky sandwiches and luke warm "hot" drinks are for sale, the poor catering officer or ( Read more... )

Do you ever read about something, maybe even something really horrific, and find that your mind snags on one detail which takes you down some entirely different and bizarre thought path? i used to live in Camden, around the time that a dismembered woman's body was found in bin bags around the back of one of less salubrious pubs (are there any ( Read more... )

In an earlier post I mentioned the thrill I get from "passing" as an adult. Rather like that f*cking annoying woman in some insurance commercial (I refuse to remember what she's flogging, cos she is so aannoying)I am only 16 in my head. 17 tops. I have been in post as Trust and Statutory Manager at national cancer charity for 9 days now, and I ( Read more... )

and i am getting overly excited. no-one i know bothers about christmas - one friend cancelled the whole day last year, and pretended it wasnt happening. how strange. she had no particular reason for cancelling, just that she couldnt be arsed wrestling with turkey and black forest gateau (sp?) which is fair enough ( Read more... )

Weekend in Scarborough was truly lovely. Bracing sea air, wierd hotel food, lovely chats and squabbles with family, and lots of lots of playing with 14 month old niece ( Read more... )

Just got back from 4 days in Mallorca. A friend runs a production company and travel website out there (www.theothermallorca.com, plug, plug) and she graciously ferried us about the island and kept us fed and watered. It was lovely, weather was perfect (25 degrees in November, does not compute) and the views from the mountain villages were show ( Read more... )

Read the subject line in Wall Street, 80's frenzy kind of talk. I got the job at large cancer charity. Which is obviously great, meaning as it does, new faces, new challenges not to mention more cashola (mercenray, moi?) It also means, however, that I have to do that most awful of things; tell unsuspecting lovely manager that I am leaving. ( Read more... )

due to severe cold, i cannot use capitals. the snot has interfered with my typing skills. deal with it.am wathing location cubed and i am frankly amazed to hear that £185 000 would buy me a 7 bedroomed mansion in weston super mare. £185 000 woudl buy me an ex council flat in walthamstow with a 3 year lease and galloping rot. god i need to get ( Read more... )

i wonder how many people who are bored with their career have stayed in their jobs for longer than they would have done say, 10 years ago, because the opportunities for desk based time wasting are so much better these days? Ten years ago, short of reading the newspaper or staring at your colleagues, time wastage opportunities were severely limited ( Read more... )