My dog, Frodo, passed away early this morning. Farewell old chum.
Well, I had promised to take Aimee to the swimming baths this weekend, but Hollee thought it’d be a better idea to have a day out at a local country farm. Which would probably have been true – as Aimee loves seeing farm animals – but, to be completely blunt, Sacrewell Farm appears to be a complete and utter rip-off.
£5.50 per adult to enter, then another two lots of 50p for feed for the animals, which came in two seperate containers for different animals. They also said something about claiming Gift Aid on our admission – which would be fair enough, except they charged another £1 on the entry fee to do so. I’ve no idea how that works. I’ve no idea where the money goes, because it doesn’t appear to be on the animals or the upkeep of the farm. Their on-site conference centre appeared to be thriving though….
A far cry from the likes of Cannon Hall (£4 entry) and even Heeley City Farm (FREE!, but please do make a donation!) in Sheffield – both of which had many, many more animals and a lot more going on besides.
Nevertheless, Aimee really enjoyed it, what little animals there were.
So, the weatherman said it was going to snow – from 4pm today, until, well .. Thursday. It is not letting up thus-far! This is the scene in RG10 at 9pm:
UPDATED: with some snaps from today.
“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenly and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 19th Century American Philosopher
Eat more vegetables. Get more exercise. Spend less time sitting in front of computers. Watch more movies. Go to more gigs.
Leave the car at home and walk. Clean up more often. Don’t procrastinate. Cycle. Be happier. Be less pessimistic. Grow up.
Be social. Talk to people. Lose weight. Recycle. Swear less, talk more.
Drink less alcohol. Drink more water. Avoid energy drinks. Reduce sugar intake. Increase wholewheat intake. Just say no. Just say yes. Be more prolific. Not just in words, but in thinking, doing and being. Write more, even if it is awful. Blog, but, just a bit. Tweet. Reduce Facebook consumption. Gamble less. Lose less. Win more. Invest. Save.
Spend more time with Aimee. As often as possible. Close the ridiculous distance between us. Teach her how to write, spell, count, ride a bike, swim, read and play. Take photos. Shoot videos. Publish. Sell old stuff. Make some cash. Dream. Sleep. Well.
Aimee bashes out a Christmas classic!
A couple of photos from the latest New Order off-shoot, Bad Lieutenant’s gig at Heaven nightclub in Charing Cross. Great night – the encore of Joy Division, New Order and Electronic classics was superb!
Just a few piccies from a gig I went to a month or two ago. These photos convinced me that it was time for a new camera. 
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”
John Lennon, ‘Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)’, Double Fantasy, 1980.
Phew! This has got to be the most protracted house move in history! I’ve been in the flat since the 21st of July, yet most of my furniture is still in Sheffield. Most of my more prized possessions are here, as well as 90% of my clothes, but there’s still a shedload (a houseload?) back in Sheffield – not to mention a load of stuff, including my TV, at my mum’s house. Arrrgh!
Anyhow, I hope to rectify this situation this weekend. Will hire a Transit van and get some of the big items down here. If you know me, and are in Sheffield on Saturday (or Reading on Sunday) and can spare an hour or two to lug stuff about then please let me know! More…
So, on Tuesday evening all the paperwork was formalized and signed off, and the keys to my little flat were handed over to me. I unloaded all the stuff that I’d packed into my car at the weekend and brought them into the flat. I am terribly, terribly disorganised: I packed a kettle, yet forgot to bring any mugs, tea bags or milk. I brought no cutlery or plates, but I remembered the toaster. I even brought a bottle of Sheffield’s finest Hendersons Relish, yet I didn’t bring anything to put it on.
Whatsmore, I had no furniture, and as this is now ‘home’ – I needed something to sleep on, so I planned to go to the nearest IKEA (Wembley) and get a bed – which is exactly what I did. For future reference, if you have an Audi A3 Sportback, you can fit a MALM double bed and a double mattress into the back, with the seats folded down. It is a bit of a squeeze, and you do practically need to dislocate your arm to change gear, but all the doors and boot shut. That was the good part of the evening. More…
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) 35th President of the United States
I know, I know. It’s been ages. I’ve broken promises and resolutions, hearts and heads, but the blog is back again. For a while, at least. Maybe. Fuck it – who knows? The last… puhhhh…. year has been, well.. – an absolute, total and unrelenting disaster for me, on several levels, and – to be brutally honest – the idea of actually writing down and chronicling my misery at the time was just a bridge too far for me.
So. Change. Things have changed. Irrevocably. Things(tm), as they say, are unquestionably better. They are – by no means – perfect, though, this will come in time. More…