north of the border (not mexico way)

Lots to catch up on - I've been in Edinburgh for a long weekend. I travelled up by train, so on Friday afternoon, I went over the stretch of track that a only few hours later was the scene of a derailment. Makes you think, dunnit?

I managed to cram a lot into the two complete days - a couple of films (Pan's Labyrinth and Night at the Museum), a play (Mrs Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw), the Off the Wall exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and a visit to the open day of the Eric Liddell centre.

And all topped off with lovely food and drink, too. Thanks for the fantastic weekend, Mum!

more splendid

While writing yesterday's post about how good Saturday was, I forgot to mention two further reasons. Firstly, I got my haircut by a bloke who was just so happy with life that it was a pleasure to be in his presence. Secondly, I received a big cheque from the Inland Revenue because I paid too much tax a couple of years ago when I gave up my job. Wheeee!

splendid saturday

Yesterday was particularly good. No doubt to an outsider it would have seemed uneventful, but I really enjoyed it.

First up, we discovered Au Revoir Simone. You can hear four of their tracks on MySpace. My favourite is Stay Golden, which is the one which plays by default when you load the page. It's deceptively simple, but discrepancies between the vocals and the backing make interesting complications. Their new album, the Bird of Music, will be released next month. Presumably the similarities between the cover photograph and the famous poster of the tennis player with no underwear are deliberate.

Next, we had a visit from a representative of the Renewal Area which we live in, to confirm that we can have our loft insulation increased to 10" thick at a cost of only £50, and cavity wall insulation for a further £50. The full cost of those two measures would be at least £600. I've never been eligible for any assistance like this before, so it's great news.

Finally, I cooked gammon steak and chips for tea, with peas, fried egg and pineapple, and, though I say so myself, it was very good. Yes, I know it's not a healthy meal, but, once in a while, as a treat, I reckon it's OK.

new technology in the east midlands

If you live in Derby, Nottingham or Leicester, you can join a game being played this month. It's called 'Love City', and after registering on the website, you play by sending text messages to strangers in the other two cities. You can read an explanation of how it works or watch a short demo film. (There's also a blog about the game's development, but it's a bit sparse.)

The game was created by Active Ingredient, which seems to be part of a thriving new media sector in the East Midlands. I knew about some of the exciting things going on in Bristol (such as Connecting Bristol and Mobile Bristol), but I'd no idea so much was going on closer to home.

Does anyone know of exciting new technology developments in the West Midlands or even North Staffordshire?

'putting people first' - hah!

I've just come from a public meeting about our allotments, and this isn't a good time to be writing a blogpost because I'm still annoyed, but because I'm annoyed, I'm going to anyway.

To cut a long story short, we've been out-manoeuvred. No-one's said as much, but looking only two moves ahead, I can see it coming, and we're on our own. Ours is now the only occupied plot in an area that the city council wants to turn into a communal garden. We're outside the secure area because the gate was relocated a few months ago, and the plots in front of us have been cleared. If we stay, ours will become an island.

I won't say what I think of the individuals concerned, and I'm not referring merely to the council officers or indeed the councillors. We just want to be left alone to tend our plot. We haven't been there long, but we're attached to it. We've thought long and hard about how we want to develop it, and put in many hours improving the soil and cutting back weeds and brambles (that's blackberries to some of you).

I missed the event during the meeting, but Lisa heard someone quietly say (though he was quickly hushed) that they just won't renew the lease. When we came home, we checked the tenancy agreement, and discovered that either party has the right to terminate the lease giving twelve months notice. There's a clause that prevents people being forced out during the middle of summer when crops are ripe, so basically, the council has until the 6th of April to give us notice, or wait until the end of September. We therefore have to decide whether or not to pay the rent that will fall due on 1st April.

As far as I can tell, there are only one or two empty plots within the area that the Council proposes to retain. If we decide to move plot, therefore, there isn't much choice, which is bizarre considering the number of currently vacant plots. But that's because the council proposes to get rid of them all. How to improve the occupancy rate in one simple step! But there's no demand for them because they're in a bad state and the water supply is poor.

Who has asked for this communal garden, though, and who's going to maintain it?

There's no concluding point to this post. I'm not even ready to outline the options facing us.

P.S. And our allotment was broken into last night, along with three or four others. No loss other than the padlock and chain, but the door is broken, as is our hedge. Grump, grump.

in the dead of night

I woke up at 3.45 this morning and was unable to go back to sleep, so I got up and here I am.

I used to have strange sleep patterns, but they've been normal for a long time now. The odd thing is, I still can't get out of the feeling that I've somehow gained a few extra free hours, even though I know perfectly well from past experience that I will need to catch up soon enough.

It's the tranquility, I think. It feels like time is standing still.

charred chard

Have you ever played homophones? It's a very simple game. You take it in turns to suggest a pair of words that sound the same but are spelled differently. An obvious pair would be 'two' and 'too'. Depending on how lenient or strict you are, you might also allow 'to'.

I played for the first time recently, and was surprised just how many there are. A certain person offered 'pour' and 'pore' which are perfectly acceptable, but wanted to add 'poor' as a further homophone, which I wouldn't allow. Perhaps I was being too harsh, but she then went on to suggest that 'paw' is yet another, which is definitely unacceptable.

The only problem was, we played the game just before going to bed. I lay awake for ages, unable to stop trying to think of more. Each time I found one I had to switch the light on so I could write it down because I knew I wouldn't remember it in the morning.

What games do you play?

Donald McGougan

I read recently that Donald McGougan, my teacher from Year 5 in Primary School, will retire later this year. My class, back in 1970, was his first teaching post, and he was an excellent teacher. He encouraged and inspired us, and greatly influenced the course of my life. I can still vividly remember things he taught us, and from him I developed an interest in the full range of arts and sciences.

I'll be writing to him to send him my best wishes for his retirement, and to let him know how much he helped me. Thank you, Donald.

Farewell, Sarah

I've been struggling with this post for a week now, and I'm still not convinced I've got it right, but it felt wrong to abandon it altogether.

Eight days ago, I went to Sarah's funeral. She was 22, and it was very sad, but there were some humorous moments which I think she would have appreciated. She had Goth tendencies, so her coffin had silver chains and symbols on it, and some flowers were in the shape of a large, black boot with buckles up the side. Driving alone in my car, I managed to become separated from the cortege, and couldn't find my way from Cheadle to Cheddleton, so I finally arrived at the church just as the last piece of music was playing.

There is a lot I could write about the whole event, but I've chosen not to. Instead, I'm going to finish with what I've concluded over the last few weeks: what sets us apart from animals, in my opinion, is the choice of whether or not to fulfill our potential to make a difference.