Got up this morning to find that Lord H had very sweetly downloaded the first episode of the new Oz Clarke and James May wine tour programme - I'd missed it on TV as I'd been too busy writing. Shock! Horror! Yes, that does occasionally happen. And aren't computer downloads a wonderful thing? - modern technology never ceases to amaze me. Anyway, the programme was great and I loved their mobile home and friendly bickering. The Odd Couple of the new millennium indeed! Must try to remember to watch next week's episode on real TV if I can ...

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Stress has a negative effect on art. So does illness. I'm pretty sure that presently, the two like to travel hand in slimy hand, chortling and choking through my sinuses. Goblins. Judging by my green face I think I'm turning into one.

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What do I do to avoid writing? One thing that is excellent for wasting hours is redesigning my website. Tweaking, changing colours, trying out a new layout. Hours and hours... Much better than washing up. What do you think of the new design? Do the pictures slow it down? Is it eye-catching or a bit too much? Comments very very welcome.

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I've recently got my books sorted out, after phase three of The Great Study Move, so there's a right place for every book, but it sometimes takes a moment to remember what it is. And yes, sorry, there's so much fiction that I do have it arranged alphabetically by author. When I dropped Neil Gaiman into his slot I couldn't help wondering what the inhabitants of Mrs Gaskell's Cranford think of their new neighbour, green tentacles and all. And the more I looked along my shelves, the dafter it got.

It's like fan fic of the head, or Jasper Fforde writing flash. Walter Scott crossed with Vikram Seth could be interesting. I feel as if Swift's Gulliver's Travels maps onto Swift's Last Orders, in a mad sort of way...


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Hello to all WW bods! This is the first time I have noticed the WW blog - how long has it been there? How many other people are using it? What a brilliant idea!

I am hoping to start getting back into WW more now. I have missed it of late. It seems to be very quiet on here with nowhere near the interaction there used to be. I think that alone is putting people off a tad. Maybe - now the nights are drawing in and people go out less and stay indoors in the warm more - people will start coming back and getting the most out of their membership? I hope so.

I think I will leave it there for now.

Good writing everyone!

Now there's a scary image ... and one provided by the noble Lord H when I asked him last night how he would describe my normal state of mental and emotional balance, and whether he thought I was currently worse than normal. His response to the latter was that as the closest image to me in my 20s had been a rollercoaster on speed, now that I was in my 40s, a space-hopper on a pogo stick was actually more manageable. For us both! So there you have it! I am indeed as spaced out of my head as I suspected, but this may well just be me. And at least Lord H has not complained of boredom - yet ...

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Ah, now that has grabbed your attention!!

Not that I would wish anyone to be naked under James Joyce, I am not sure how much fun that would be.

If you visit Ireland, chances are that if you go by ferry you will travel to and from the port of Dun Laoghaire. Not far from the port is a small cove overlooked by the James Joyce tower, called the Forty foot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty_Foot

here you can observe (or partake) in swimming in the bay

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Was much struck by a discussion on Radio Four yesterday about the use of "praise pods" in schools. Apparently, some schools have started setting aside an area with a comfy chair and a teacher in it, and every time a child does something well or is particularly good, they're sent to the praise pod, made to sit in the chair and told how wonderful they are and what a good job they're doing. No doubt you will all laugh but it sounds like bliss to me! And it's proving so popular and reducing stress in the children so much that other schools are taking up the idea too. Now if only adults could have such a room, I'm sure it would really improve morale in the working day - we're people too, you know! There's only so much of the bad stuff a girl can take!...

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I think I'm getting there regarding finding my way around writewords and afraid of pressing the wrong keys, clicking the wrong icons, I asked for help and got it. Hand wrote instructions from email and hopefully have succeeded. What an idiot but,thankfully, no one can see my blushes. I loved attending writing classes and went to 3 summer schools. Now my time being a carer and tiredness are the enemies. But I'm sure that this venture will make a difference. Just posted a piece of flash fiction and a short story. Admittedly the story is not new but working on it again has done me good.

Ah the pain of returning to work – honestly, it’s like a dark cloud hovering over my head until the strangeness of it all wears off. A little. And it doesn’t matter how nice everyone is – I still feel the same. Pause for existential moaning. Mind you, at least the office liked the Bara Brith Welsh cake I bought back for them – together with butter to ease the solidity of it all. At least I think they did – but as no-one could speak for about half an hour after taking a bite, it was hard to say ...

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