31 May
Reading for pleasure
I typed that title somewhat tongue in cheek. When we were in Waterstones recently I bought a copy of A Woman of Pleasure - for a review head over to the books review section. The book was on a table surrounded by similar books, ie erotic novels or books otherwise connected to sex. Some of them I already knew about as they were classics written long ago, some I didn’t. But what amused me is that there were two approx 15-year-old girls there, picking up random books, finding something that titillated them, and reading out those snippets to each other to paroxysms of giggles. Well, I thought. At least they’re reading for pleasure instead of doomscrolling on their phones.
19 May
AI on the phone
/rant incoming
I’ve just spent an hour trying to talk to someone at Virgin Media. Anyone. By the time the hour was up, I’d have been happy to talk to one of the cleaners, or canteen staff. The AI answer-bot took me round so many circles I nearly flung my phone out of the window. The only reason I didn’t is that I didn’t want to damage the window. It was so bad I eventually Googled ‘how to speak to someone at Virgin Media’ and lo and behold there were lots of similar posts about the problem. Just say ‘I want to speak to an agent’ regardless of what the answer bot asks, said one wise responder. So I tried that, and after another ten minutes actually got through to somebody (who was clearly based in India and who I could scarcely understand, but that’s another story). I’ve no idea if the same trick works for other organisations fronted by answer-bots. I’m rather hoping I don’t have to find out. AN HOUR!!
/end rant
05 May
Ayr Writers Club Prize Night
Ahem As I managed to win a prize (for the best opening of an unpublished novel), I was invited to attend this event to read out 750 words or so from Dead Scared. You can learn more about the book by going to the Writing section of this site. If you want to learn more about the Prize night, including a photo of yours truly looking suitably authorial, you’ll need to go to the club’s blog post. Well done to all the winners, and here’s hoping I manage to win something next year!
21 April
A word of advice
Should you ever get on a train from Edinburgh to Glasgow Central, setting off from platform 11, and you find that you are on the wrong train, here’s what to do. Disembark at Larbet; exit the station and re-enter around the other side; catch a train from there that really goes to Glasgow Central. Be sure not to get on one going back to Edinburgh. Don’t ask me how I know. I just know, all right?
15 April
Another book
Partly inspired by our road trip, I’ve completed another novel about... a road trip. The protagonist meets up with old friends from various parts of his life, just as we did. The people he meets up with have various problems, and he does his best to help all of them. It’s not meant to be especially deep or meaningful; more of humorous entertainment. Have I succeeded? Well, obviously I like to think so, but the jury’s out at the moment. Children, Ivy + couple of friends have the draft copy and I await their reactions with interest.
15 April
Music by candlelight
These candlelight sessions take place at the Trades Hall, Glasgow, and Ivy persuaded me to go to one which featured a Pink Floyd tribute. I was a bit sceptical about it because a) I’ve never been to a concert because of my (lack of) hearing and b) I suspected the music would be provided by a string quartet. And how could a string quartet convey the music of Pink Floyd? Well, I admit it, I was wrong. We were lucky to have a seat near to the front, where I could hear much better. The whole hall was illuminated by about 500 candles - not real ones, but they looked good. And the music was very, very good. The session lasted an hour and they played maybe 8 tunes. I recognised all except one of them... and Ivy recognised most of them too. It was very well done and if anyone gets the chance to see this ‘tribute quartet’, I urge them to take it. I later discovered the quartet comprises 2 violins, a viola and a cello.
23 March
Road trip
Ivy and I decided to take a road trip the other week. ‘We’ve got a little sports car,’ she told me, ‘so perhaps we should use it.’ Good point, I thought, and over a period of a few days we went to: Penrith, my uncle’s, in Ingleby Barwick (look it up!), Mansfield, where we were supposed to see an olde university friend, but he had to jet off to Ireland to attend a funeral, Peterborough, where we met up with two of my old school friends (we had rather a lot to catch up on), Mansfield, to draw breath, Penrith via Sheffield, where we met up with an old colleague of mine, who was also my long-time bridge partner, and finally home. About 550 miles in total. And half of it with the top down... in March in Scotland!
23 March
Publication news!
Many of you will know about my collection of ‘spooky stories to read aloud’, As They Grow Older. It’s so titled because I wrote the stories for my first three children as they grew up... so the stories had to grow older too. You can find more about the stories by following the links in the Writing section of this site. I self-published this collection in two different forms over the years, and sold quite a few back in the day by reading out stories at South Ayrshire primary schools. Well, I am delighted to report that Sparsile Books has decided to publish As They Grow Older later this year, near Halloween. There will be a book launch, probably in Ayr. All will be welcome and no doubt I shall be making follow-up reports about this development as time goes by.