No pause, no rewind.

Sat hip to hip with the curtains closed.

 

Haven't had much chance to catch up with anything much this week. 65 hours of work and I'll be heading in this afternoon for some more. The weather has taken hold over the past week and it's had a shocking effect. Less said the better.

We did make it to Poet's Cafe last Friday and I read my spider poem.  If I thought nerves caught up with me, a girl, about 19/20 years old read a piece likening life to the gold rush pan-handling "experience" at Lego Land with such pace and veracity I thought she might implode. She couldn't get off of the stage quickly enough. As I was walking out, Lego Land girl stopped me, looked at me nervously, barked "I love your poem.", then ran out of the room followed by a young lad who stomped off after her after cutting me a dirty look. My response of "Whatthehuuuuhmeh..?" cued fits of giggles and we went out exploring the world of rum.

After trawling t'interweb, there doesn't seem to be an abundance of live music in Bangkok, but these guys look like they're worth a look.

 

 High ho, high ho, it's off to work I go.

Countdown

This made me smile, a lot.

Moments

"Nice weather for ducks." Has anyone ever even asked ducks if they like the rain?

The past few days I have been witness to some events in the street which have brought a smile to my face in one way or another..

Last night, a young man skilfully rode his bicycle no-handed down the Oxford Road, smiling from ear-to-ear at passing strangers, dancing with his arms and singing an indecipherable tune. An older dapper looking gentleman walking beside me at the time shared some gestures of amusement and a hearty chuckle.

This morning, a young Asian women stopped in front of me, pointed at an old Asian woman in the middle of Broad Street and shrieked "YOU KNOW MY MUVVER!!".. Scaring the bejesus out of me and the old woman. (I didn't catch their subsequent conversation but I assume she did know her MUVVER.)

At lunchtime, a small child span around and around and around, like a falling seed in the middle of a busy street, right until dizziness overcame him and he fell over; at my feet. He proceeded to giggle and held his tummy as he rolled around on the floor.

Life is nothing but a series of moments and I hope a lot of them are like these.

Tonight, a number of moments were spent at the launch of the 46th edition of SOUTH bi-annual poetry magazine, at Reading Library. Some of the contributors / readers were twee and self-indulgent, however thankfully, a number were captivating. One gentleman's tale of the mementos one brings back from trips (tickets, maps, postcards etc) struck a high chord with me. Particular mention goes to the professional contributor of this edition, Carolyn King, who read a number of (personally) edifying pieces. I feel like I knew some of them, somehow, but have no idea how.

Dear reader. (I hope.)

I hope you're smiling. Whatever it is you're doing. On the bus, sat eating your breakfast, drinking coffee, watching TV or staring at the ceiling.

Where-ever you're reading this, look out of the window and think. (Try it.)

I hope someone, somewhere thinks you're the best thing since the best thing before sliced bread. Even if they don't right now; they will.. They just might not know it yet. You might have already met them and you haven't quite worked it out.

I hope you are loved.

I hope the choices in your life are leading you down a path of happiness. That you know the difficult hurdles you are overcoming are worth the risk. That you know the hardest choice to take is usually the right one. That you know that pain is often worth the reward, but that pleasure doesn't have to start or end with suffering. That you can still find beauty in simple pleasures. That you can forgive and forget. That you know that you and you alone are responsible for your own happiness. That you agree that perfection is only in our minds. That you know that you are capable of anything and everything. That you can practice what you preach. That you are more than the sum of your parts if you know where to find yourself.

I hope.

Adventure.

Booked...

It's not somewhere that has immediately jumped out as me as somewhere I'd visit in the past; but reading up on the landscape, the culture, the architecture and for the ease of travel around the country it's a difficult one to pass over.

Lovely

This morning I was introduced to the wonderful salty gorgeousness of Marmite mushrooms. Liberally plonk some butter in a pan, add mushrooms, cook until they go gloopy, add a dollop of Marmite, give it a mix, then serve on toast with some scrambled eggies. Omnomnomnomnomnomnom. This, along with vast amounts of coffee, watching programmes about Australian customs officers (?) and playing with the world's cutest cat (after Dylan and Roxy obviously) went some way to solving what could've been the worst hangover in the history of the world since time began and maybe even before that.. But I could be exaggerating.

Watching A F Harrold (or "Ashley" to his friends or at least acquaintances) Lovely Cabaret last night was such a delight. Being introduced to the insanely witty John Hegley was alone worth the ticket but the magnificent Robin Ince doing his mixture of bizarre scientific banter and observational comedy was the cherry on the top of the Lovely cake. We frequented the The Milk Bar afterwards (which apparently is named after an alcoholic milk drink that used to be served from the Inn which is now the bar) and discovered that I like (good) rum. Therefore, much rum was consumed for the rest of the evening. Hence the hangover. Obviously. Slightly more civilised evening planned tonight...

This came on my shuffle earlier this week and I've been listening to it quite a bit -

This time last year, I can distinctly remember listening to this (along with the rest of the album), sat reading the Millennium trilogy on the train too and from Reading everyday. The crisp morning air, the orange, purple and red sunrises and the overwhelming sadness that I felt at the time; it feels like another life.

I'm ready for my close up..

Tomorrow evening I have been invited to take part as an audience member in a live debate on BBC3's Free Speech  special on immigration. The other topics for discussion are 'arming the Police', 'Nick Clegg's apology' and 'Page 3 models'; which are all subjects close to my heart. I'd applied a few weeks ago and completely forgotten about it, so I was pleasantly surprised to receive an e-mail from the production company today inviting me.

What's even more special about this event is that three of my clients have been working with the same production company on a programme about multi-culturalism in Britain and also have been invited to be part of the crew tomorrow night... Incredibly proud of them! I might even get to meet Jake Humphrey.

Season. Change.

The cold nights have begun in earnest and I'm sleeping like a contented kitten. This feeling of being snuggled up in bed when the world is slowly turning frosty is almost worth the shorter days. Waking in the darkness has its drawbacks, but driving towards the sunrise can be spectacular. (After being stuck in traffic for four hours last weekend and missing the Autumn equinox celebrations; I'm making triple sure I'll be at Samhaim.)


Sunday morning was particularly beautiful and we were blessed with tranquil conditions by the Thames as we ran the Reading 10k in 57.30 and 57.31 respectively.. Both personal bests. Having someone to pace me at the beginning was great as I usually go off like a stabbed rat and my (gentle) motivational pushing for the last 1k was apparently well needed. The afternoon spent horizontal, eating crumpets, being cooked a MEGA roast and falling asleep on some incredibly comfy sofas made for the most relaxed Sunday for a verrrry long time.

It will be my last run for a while as I'm starting a climbing, weights, occasional yoga and eating LOADS regime tomorrow in preparation for November. As much as I love running, it doesn't do anything for my body shape and I need to bulk up a tad. Climbing is a good mix of cardio and strength training so I'll keep that up... However three hours of it tonight after yesterday's exertions was exhausting. I should  pace myself, but sod it... Bring on the pain.


Following on from my last post; I was overhoyed to learn that my friend's band will be touring with Rae Morris in a few months! What are the odds, eh? This week, I've been listening to this a lot..