…grayblog…

Category: old blogging

  • ok – this is the

    ok – this is the long post that I tried to publish yesterday – an enthusiastic rant about the Ben Richards novel I’m reading. Actually, it was more case of copying Vaughan’s idea and quoting a hefty chunk from the book. I’m so impressed by Richards’ style of writing (as always) – I wanted to share this piece with you, even though I had only got to page 19. To me, it speaks about the sort of vulnerabilities we all have, and the character Mel has the same sort of thought processes that I do – the ones about love and vulnerability. Fear of loss too.
    Anyway, have a read of this, and see what you think:

    “Mel took the paper out of the bin and straightened it so that she could see the picture of the mangled train. How strange, how fragile was the human body; Mel’s hand with its two familiar rings, its intricate mechanisms of knuckles and joints, the hand that had gesticulated and clutched and caressed, the hand that was now smoothing the creases from the paper, this hand could be destroyed in an instant, could be ripped from its arm, could be torn to shreds. It was no stronger, no more durable than any other human hand. Flesh which seemed so solid, so natural, so permanent, could disappear altogether, could be scattered across a battlefield, could be scorched to a shadow on the pavement. She remembered the calcinated body of a soldier trying to climb from his tank in one of the most grotesque photos of the recent air-wars, his burned hands gripping the metal in one last useless effort. He had probably smoked cigarettes, joked with his comrades, teased his little sister, ruffled her hair. And what about Patrick? He could still rely on his body, he would pad to the front door when she came in, glad to see her, they could play the intimate word games of a couple who knew each other very well. He was real, he was solid. But what if he started to decline, to melt away before her very eyes? What if his body succumbed, what if there were no Patrick any longer, just the parts of him that were seared on to her memory – the strange shadows of loss?”

    Comments?

  • another conversation I had on

    another conversation I had on Friday is recorded by Stephen. Actually, thinking about why we blog is one of those very self-destructive activities. My reasons tend to vary according to my mood and level of sobriety. At the moment I would say that I do it because it’s an interesting record (but why not use a paper diary and keep it to myself?), it allows me to say things having thought them through thoroughly (yes, but do I need a website to do that?), it gives me chance to hone my HTML skills (but do I need this particular variety of content?) and, ok, I’ll admit it, I get a kick out of looking at the counter and seeing that lots of people read what I write. me me me me me!
    There are other reasons too, but you’ll have to wait for my mood/level of sobriety to change before I’ll discuss them.

  • Blogger had yet another of

    Blogger had yet another of its fits yesterday – much to the annoyance of myself and Sarah – she came round so we could go for lunch together, and arrived just as I was typing a very long entry – she gave me a hand with it (I type with two fingers, she uses all of them) – we clicked “publish” only to watch it disappear into the ether. grrr.
    So now I’m at work, and will sit and re-type it for you all.

  • this evening was spent down

    this evening was spent down the bar – in the company of: Jim, Jayne (happy birthday!), DA, DAGS, Arron, Stein, Paul F, Paul C, Ian, Sacha, Anne, Jo, Tim, Matt, gorgeous-Sarah-who-used-to-work-behind-the-bar (henceforth known as GSWUTWBTB – no, too long – how about “Gorgeous Sarah”? no, could offend other equally gorgeous Sarahs (Sarah P and DAGS) – ideas?) amongst others. A good night on the whole.

  • more nocturnal blogging…. some of

    more nocturnal blogging….
    some of you may know that I’m a fan of the work of Ben Richards – one of the best thinking British novelists of recent years. I’ve just been out and bought his latest novel A Sweetheart Deal (which I’ll need to delete off my Amazon wishlist). I’d like to reproduce some of the cover-quotes here to encourage you to read his books:
    – “Ben Richards could be about to make history – as the first heterosexual male novelist to write a non-prurient lesbian love story…its consequences are shattering, but in unpredicatable, clever ways” (The Times)
    – “…sidesteps the vacuity that seems to characterise a great deal of modern, London-based fiction” (Bookseller)
    – “….Richards ranges over familiar territory, but never with the facile, lazy eye of his ‘lad’ and ‘chick-lit’ contemporaries” (The Times)
    – “original and compelling…deserves to be read” (Independent on Sunday)
    I’ll report back with my own opinions as I progress through the pages, but his previous novels have all been excellent, especially The Silver River and Don’t Step on the Lines. Form an orderly queue at your local bookshop now.

  • this evening, I have helped

    this evening, I have helped the beleagred British agriculture industry by:
    – avoiding contact with livestock
    – eating British meat
    – eating British bread
    – eating British tomatoes
    – eating British dairy produce
    …in other words, I sat at home and ate a cheeseburger.

  • urrrrg – hangover. next time

    urrrrg – hangover. next time I go to London for one of these things (or wherever it may be held) I’m going to eat something first!
    I had a really good time (even if the woman sat opposite me on the train home thought I was a lunatic!). About twenty or so UKbloggers were in attendance, and I’ll not try to list everyone as I’ll be sure to miss someone out. But highlights included:
    – finding out that Luke refers to this site as “The House Of Pain”
    – discussing shoe collections, red hair, black ribbed sweaters and Gap cargo pants with Catherine
    – talking about nicknames with Nick
    – verbalizing my employment situation with Meg, drinking (if that is the correct verb) vodkajelly (thanks!) and discussing the merits/dismerits of living in an overgrown village like Chichester. Hope I didn’t run out of beans!
    – I also talked with a whole pile of other people (sorry, it’s a bit hazy – as it comes back to me I’ll try and mention/link you all), but the pile included Ian, Vaughan, Mo, Matt, Cal, Tom, Dave, David ….[will add more later!]
    – and finally, arriving at Victoria to find that I had 54 seconds to get from the tube to platform 15, and shouting “oh fuck” at the top of my voice, much to the consternation of at least 50 passers-by (passer-bys? …um…bystanders!).

  • oh, and by the way,

    oh, and by the way, if anyone is really serious about coming down to Chichester for beer (it is worth it, I promise), the last train back to London leaves at 10.40 (change at Three Bridges, gets to Victoria at 12.39). Or there is Graybo’s famous sofabed (sleeps two if you are friendly or have separate sleeping bags), or there’s the floor (sleeps ten in discomfort) or (third option you lucky people) stay awake all night drinking (holds 20 – I know, I’ve seen it done!). Seriously, if anyone is up for a visit, let me know.

  • oooo – slightly tipsy, must

    oooo – slightly tipsy, must confess, in spite of being “on the wagon” for the last two hours in a Connex-enforced kinda way (you have no idea how long this is taking to type!). I’ll write more about this in the morning, but for now: went to the blogmeet, had a brilliant time (what a great bunch of people), met some new faces and (thankfully) made the train back…..for those that were there, I had to sprint (how unfit am I??) and got to the train with a platform guard holding the door open – he slammed it behind me and the train started moving straight away – that is *too* close for comfort!! so, next time, anyone got a sofa/sofabed/bed/duvet/whatever they can loan me?

  • my mood was improving until

    my mood was improving until I got an email from Heather telling me that she called the Chartered Institute of Marketing today. We are due to recieve our exam results tomorrow (they should have been posted today) – but when she called she got an answering machine message saying that due to “technical problems” no results would be available until after March 16th.
    This is not good, as that may be too late to enter for the re-sits if we’ve failed. Not good at all. The CIM is the most useless organisation on the face of the earth.