The British weather tradition of confusing flora and wildlife continued yesterday by switching the recent arctic winter conditions to a gloriously sunny and warm spring/summer type day.
As animals and flowers pondered on whether they should been hibernating or reproducing, I decided that the 10,000 words which I need to write by mid-April could wait another day.
The 'rents were amusing themselves by decorating my sibling's flat over in Porchester and my bicycle probably needs a bit of TLC (not to mention a de-spidering) so an outing involving either was out of the question. Instead I wandered along the length of Bognor seafront...much as I did a couple of weeks ago (this time the storm blown debris had been cleaned away by the seafront cleaning fairies).
I forgot my camera but imagine if you will...clear blue skies with a slight sea mist haze on the horizon, a gentle calming breeze coming from a mill pond flat ocean, in which one or two brave/slightly demented (deleted as appropriate) individuals splashed around.
Jolly walkers strolled past categorized in several groups....
The young mums plus toddlers brood, at least three abreast with the sound of 'screaming child' carried on the wind.
The dog walker; mainly middle aged and in pairs, playing second fiddle to the dog's wishes of thundering towards anything of moderate interest (aka a rock) before coming to a complete halt to sniff and then pee on it....and repeat.
The teens bunking off school, due to the sudden emergence of the sun, brazenly ignoring the no cycling/skateboarding/rollerblading motifs on the prom (bah humbug to British establishment) and generally converging in areas of skateboarding interest, usually in close proximity of a ice cream/fish & chips stand.
Lastly the coachloads of cotton tops, down from London, tottering (and in some cases teetering) along the prom, dressed in several layers of insulation due to the biting 'wind chill' and reminiscing about the 'good ole days' when Bognor's beach actually had beach, brass bands played, donkeys and punch and judy provided simple entertainment, kids had manners, dinosaurs roamed freely etc, etc.
Content in my own little observational world, I meandered along taking in the smells of the ocean, fresh air, vinegar on chips and donuts....mmmmm, donuts!
Promising my inner moppet something sweet & sickly on the way back, I gave the fresh donut stand a wide birth and walked the extra mile past the dated and mildly garish chalets which belong to Butlins holiday camp juxtaposed against the outlandishly garish new hotel accommodation which, if you squint, supposedly resembles a cruise liner...hmmm, classy?!
Lunch, a pre-packed half white roll of Turkey, cheese, lettuce and mayo....prepared and arranged by the wonderful staff at Subway, was spent on a wall near the Lobster Pot cafe. I was once again entertained by the friendship rituals of dogs (which mainly involves sniffing each others toosh)and a group of young'uns who found a fascination not in the beach, sea or rockery garden, but the contents of a nearby dustbin....nice.
It was on my return journey that I realised a couple of things...1.) Given a little unexpected sunshine the population of Great Britain firmly believe that seaside resorts become the med, and dress appropriately....2.) the Lobster Pot to my house is much, much further away than my house to the Lobster Pot....and 3.) too much lettuce in a sarnie makes me belch.
We live and learn.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
The Mad Fans of SGA
For those with any interest whatsoever in my fascination with the Stargate: Atlantis world, I came across the blog of one of the producers Joseph Mallozzi a while ago. It's always an interesting read, sometimes with spoilers. This recent entry shows the dedication and complete bonkerness (?) that the fanbase has:
http://josephmallozzi.blogspot.com/index.html
have a read of March 22nd...and there's a picture of David Hewlett who, like many of the actors of the show, has a high regard, time and patience for the fans.
P.S. I probably would have been there too given half the chance.
http://josephmallozzi.blogspot.com/index.html
have a read of March 22nd...and there's a picture of David Hewlett who, like many of the actors of the show, has a high regard, time and patience for the fans.
P.S. I probably would have been there too given half the chance.
Thought of the Week?
If talking to yourself is the first sign of madness, then the world of Bloggers must surely be filled with complete loons.
So I've been absent for some time, trying to regain some sanity in my mixed up world, whether this has been successful is anyone's guess but I'm not looking for a one piece white ensemble which ties in the back just yet.....so there's still hope.
So what have I been up to, Uni stuff mainly...searching library for books, reading books, making notes from books, quoting from books....There's generally a whole big 'book' thing at Uni.
This week saw the deadline for my final, ever, presentation/student lead seminar. Alison and I put in three weeks of research and possible areas of exploration to discuss with our classmates on the TV show Cracker and other such crime dramas. We spent nearly an hour finding pictures for our powerpoint which would ease the wordy nature of the presentation and I produced a lighter aspect to encourage discussion which, would hopefully keep the guys in my class awake and interested.
The fateful day arrived last Tuesday. Alison and I were confident and ready....ish....for whatever our fellow 20-odd students could throw at us. As it turns out, we may have well just showed the episode of Cracker and told the three.....yes that's THREE....people who bothered to show up to talk about the episode. Grrr!!! (oh, and did I mention that dad and I drove through a full on blizzard to make it back to Southampton so I could do this seminar....now that's dedication)
The mild weather of recent weeks was gladly received...winter not really being my forte, I enjoyed a nice walk along the few miles of seafront with my father on a particularly sunny day a couple of weeks ago. It was soon after some gale type weather which meant most of the paved frontage was covered with sea shrapnel and some ingenious Krypton Factor style avoidance was needed in finding a path through.
As an advocate for the simple things dad an I spent a good few minutes watching the incoming tide crash over the sea defences near the Lobster Pot cafe. I was hoping to see some innocent soul get an unexpected soaking, alas I was disappointed...there's always next time.
Ally's birthday was last Monday.....HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY!.....and, as the girl was working til 10pm, a surprise cake was organised. At ten past ten Elin lit the 22 candles on the hedgehog inspired chocolate cake and we positioned ourselves in the dark to await the birthday girl who was imminent. At ten twenty five the decorative iced leaves were catching fire, the chocolate icing was turning into a mixture of melted wax and blackened icing and a Caterpillar made from icing had lost it's rump. Hurried and innovative redesign of the cake rescued the hedgehog which now had a 'roadkill' theme and a single candle was put onto the cake....shortly, and a second single candle later, the birthday girl put in an appearance. The cake, I can happily report, tasted none worse the wear for its trauma.
So I've been absent for some time, trying to regain some sanity in my mixed up world, whether this has been successful is anyone's guess but I'm not looking for a one piece white ensemble which ties in the back just yet.....so there's still hope.
So what have I been up to, Uni stuff mainly...searching library for books, reading books, making notes from books, quoting from books....There's generally a whole big 'book' thing at Uni.
This week saw the deadline for my final, ever, presentation/student lead seminar. Alison and I put in three weeks of research and possible areas of exploration to discuss with our classmates on the TV show Cracker and other such crime dramas. We spent nearly an hour finding pictures for our powerpoint which would ease the wordy nature of the presentation and I produced a lighter aspect to encourage discussion which, would hopefully keep the guys in my class awake and interested.
The fateful day arrived last Tuesday. Alison and I were confident and ready....ish....for whatever our fellow 20-odd students could throw at us. As it turns out, we may have well just showed the episode of Cracker and told the three.....yes that's THREE....people who bothered to show up to talk about the episode. Grrr!!! (oh, and did I mention that dad and I drove through a full on blizzard to make it back to Southampton so I could do this seminar....now that's dedication)
The mild weather of recent weeks was gladly received...winter not really being my forte, I enjoyed a nice walk along the few miles of seafront with my father on a particularly sunny day a couple of weeks ago. It was soon after some gale type weather which meant most of the paved frontage was covered with sea shrapnel and some ingenious Krypton Factor style avoidance was needed in finding a path through.
As an advocate for the simple things dad an I spent a good few minutes watching the incoming tide crash over the sea defences near the Lobster Pot cafe. I was hoping to see some innocent soul get an unexpected soaking, alas I was disappointed...there's always next time.
Ally's birthday was last Monday.....HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY!.....and, as the girl was working til 10pm, a surprise cake was organised. At ten past ten Elin lit the 22 candles on the hedgehog inspired chocolate cake and we positioned ourselves in the dark to await the birthday girl who was imminent. At ten twenty five the decorative iced leaves were catching fire, the chocolate icing was turning into a mixture of melted wax and blackened icing and a Caterpillar made from icing had lost it's rump. Hurried and innovative redesign of the cake rescued the hedgehog which now had a 'roadkill' theme and a single candle was put onto the cake....shortly, and a second single candle later, the birthday girl put in an appearance. The cake, I can happily report, tasted none worse the wear for its trauma.
Friday, March 02, 2007
That Friday Feelin'
I have a cold, my nose is both blocked and runny?! my throat is swollen, my brain is swimming in snot and I'm sure the chesty cough will kick in any day now. Not sure if I can take pills to stop the congestion as I'm already rattling with various other concoctions, which no doubt would leave me in a perpetual state of stupor if mixed. (not that anyone would actually be able to tell the difference)
The verdict on my laptop, which also seems a little under the weather, (winter blues all round then) is that my DVD drive has gone 'kaput' - that's the official and correct technical term - and I will need a new one. Great, now if I could only find that money tree which everyone keeps on about!
Once again I should be doing something constructive in regards to my degree, but I'm yet to receive feedback from two out of four of my last assignments - the two most important; script treatment and dissertation chapter - and to be quite honest I couldn't give a flying duck about either right now......right, I'm off to drink a quart of OJ and have a nap.
The verdict on my laptop, which also seems a little under the weather, (winter blues all round then) is that my DVD drive has gone 'kaput' - that's the official and correct technical term - and I will need a new one. Great, now if I could only find that money tree which everyone keeps on about!
Once again I should be doing something constructive in regards to my degree, but I'm yet to receive feedback from two out of four of my last assignments - the two most important; script treatment and dissertation chapter - and to be quite honest I couldn't give a flying duck about either right now......right, I'm off to drink a quart of OJ and have a nap.
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