A Nippy Wednesday

Mutterings continued.

Temp. today got to about 17. Caroline and I had lunch at Secret Garden and decided to sit inside where it was warmer.

There was a bit of work piled up on my desk and a hell of a lot of emails. And lots of lovely journals to catalogue and flick through. And a large vase of proteas that one the directors picked from her own garden for me.

Some decent films coming up - two by Tim Burton. Margaret and Richard on the ABC gave Charlie and Choc. Fact. 4 and 4.5 out of 5 respectively. Leece and Rob saw Kung Fu Hustle last night and enjoyed it so much they want to see it again. I wouldn't mind seeing it either.

I managed to miss the third episode of Star Wars and I think I'm glad I did. On the right hand side of this page, under My del.icio.us are a couple of links to screen caps of pirated disks. The translations are a hoot and sound a lot better than the original. One of the sites gives the original dialogue which looks pretty dire.

Tuesday

Mutterings continued.

Back to work tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be in better shape to accept people's sympathy. That was the hardest thing at first; sympathy and expressions of condolence upset me but I think I'm ok now.

Went back to Dad's unit for the final time and handed the key to the manager. He and his wife have been great; she lost her mother a couple of weeks ago so can empathise with what I'm going through.

I think Dad would have approved of the funeral yesterday. It was short and simple and Captain Trevor from Gosnells Salvation Army did a lovely job. He didn't go over the top or eulogise Dad. The sun came out and the wind dropped, which was nice as the weather was looking pretty threatening.

Something amusing from a travel NG - sniggeringly funny place names in the UK:


100 Jeffries Passage, Surrey
99 Prince Albert Court, Surrey
98 Nork Rise, Surrey
97 Brown Willy, Cornwall
96 Great Tosson, Northumberland
95 Trump Street, London
94 St. Mellons, Cardiff
93 Percy Passage, London
92 Booty Lane, North Yorkshire
91 Nether Wallop, Hampshire
90 Honeypot Lane, Leicestershire
89 Mudchute, London
88 Juggs Close, East Sussex
87 Cockermouth Green, Newcastle
86 Six Mile Bottom, Cambridgeshire
85 Cock and Bell Lane, Suffolk
84 Little Bushey Lane, Hertfordshire
83 Titlington Mount, Northumberland
82 Slippery Lane, Staffordshire
81 Hooker Road, Norwich
80 Cumloden Court, Dumfries and Galloway
79 Tinkerbush Lane, Oxfordshire
78 Ugley, Essex
77 Pratts Bottom, Kent
76 Ramsbottom Lane, Greater Manchester
75 Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire
74 Old Sodbury, Gloucestershire
73 Upper Dicker, East Sussex
72 Swell, Somerset
71 Bladda, Paisley
70 Snatchup, Hertfordshire
69 Spital in the Street, Lincolnshire
68 Shingay cum Wendy, Buckinghamshire
67 Pump Alley, Middlesex
66 Old Sodom Lane, Wiltshire
65 Long Lover Lane, Halifax
64 East Breast, Inverclyde
63 Dicks Mount, Suffolk
62 Staines , Surrey
61 Crapstone, Devon
60 Three Cocks, Powys
59 Feltwell, Norfolk
58 Pant, Shropshire
57 Balls Cross, West Sussex
56 Ogle Close, Merseyside
55 Friars Entry, Oxfordshire
54 North Piddle, Worcestershire
53 Mincing Lane, London
52 Bottoms Fold, Lancashire
51 Backside Lane, Oxfordshire
50 Winkle Street, Southampton
49 Wham Bottom Lane, Lancashire
48 Upperthong, West Yorkshire
47 Tosside, Lancashire
46 The Furry, Cornwall
45 Lower Swell, Gloucestershire
44 Lickers Lane, Merseyside
43 Honey Knob Hill, Wiltshire
42 Boghead, Ayrshire
41 The Bush, Buckinghamshire
40 Hill o'Many Stanes, Scotland
39 Grope Lane, Shropshire
38 Willey, Warwickshire
37 Happy Bottom, Dorset
36 Feltham Close, Hampshire
35 The Knob, Oxfordshire
34 Menlove Avenue, Liverpool
33 Titty Ho, Northamptonshire
32 Crotch Cresent, Oxfordshire
31 Blairmuckhole & Forestdyke road, Lanarkshire
30 Pant-y-Felin Road, Swansea
29 Beef Lane, Oxfordshire
28 Merkins Avenue, West Dumbartonshire
27 Pork Lane, Essex
26 Moisty Lane, Staffordshire
25 Wetwang, East Yorkshire
24 Scratchy Bottom, Dorset
23 Swallow Passage, London
22 Lickey End, Worcestershire
21 Bitchfield, Lincolnshire
20 Spanker Lane, Derbyshire
19 Rimswell, East Riding of Yorkshire
18 Lickfold, West Sussex
17 Dick Court, Lanarkshire
16 Beaver Close, Surrey
15 Fanny Avenue, Derbyshire
14 Cockshoot Close, Oxfordshire
13 Inchinnan Drive, Renfrewshire
12 Fanny Hands Lane, Lincolnshire
11 Hole of Horcum, North Yorkshire,
10 Slag Lane, Merseyside
9 Shitterton, Dorset
8 Back Passage, London
7 Fingringhoe, Essex
6 Muff, Northern Ireland
5 Sandy Balls, Hampshire
4 Twatt, Orkney
3 Bell End, Birmingham
2 Minge Lane, Worcestershire
1 Cocks, Cornwall

Before Leece and Rob ask, I haven't been to any of these places, though I have been near Wetwang in E. Yorkshire. I have been to Hutton Le Hole, however.

Saturday

Mutterings continued.

Things are slowly coming together. Friends have been wonderful - a huge thank you to everyone for your kind words and thoughts.

L and R are coming over for dinner tonight. I'm cooking what I was going to make last week - tacos. I don't think they'll have time to read this before they arrive as they seem to have a very busy day planned out for themselves, so tacos will be a surprise.

I was going to do the nice baked fish dish I did a few months ago, however I appear to have misplaced the recipe.

The Yes DVD I ordered from Amazon arrived on Thursday so Rob will be able to see Owner of a Lonely Heart, one of his favourites. It features the lovely Danny Webb, currently being seen in UKTV's Henry VIII - he plays Thomas Cromwell, a villain.

It's been an expensive week for music DVDs - on Thursday I bought Concert for George and a history of Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Westnet email is great, if a little stringent in the spam filter. I've had no spam at all. I've also had reports that people have been having probs forwarding mail to the new addy. I've now put them in the Allowed Senders list so hopefully this will solve the problem.


Danny Webb as Gower in Henry V.

Wednesday

Mutterings continued.

My doctor has put me off work until next Wednesday. Dad's funeral in on Monday and he thinks I need Tuesday off as well. He's probably right.

My sister-in-law and I arranged the funeral yesterday. I was bearing up ok until we had to choose the music. We chose Danny Boy (Dad's mum's favourite song), Amazing Grace (which both Mum and Dad liked) and We'll Meet Again, which feels appropriate.

Thanks to everyone for your kind words, thoughts and wishes.

Dad.

Mutterings continued.

My Dad died yesterday. It was unexpected but very quick. He was in the local pharmacy having a prescription filled when he collapsed. A nurse from Armadale Hospital was in the pharmacy at the time and gave him CPR until the ambulance arrived. There was nothing they could do.

I saw him in the Emergency room at the hospital and he looked very peaceful - I don't think he suffered.

He'd had a lot of illness over the last few years but was doing pretty well. He'd put on weight and was enjoying life.

We were going on a picnic today.

Another Friday Rolls Around

Mutterings continued.

Last night I watched an episode of Midsomer Murders I hadn't seen before. Orlando Bloom was in it; he played the baddie who was killed off in the first ten minutes or so (and there was great rejoicing...yay....). Amusing discussion later between Barnaby and his off-sider, Troy, about Lord of the Rings. Troy, on being asked if he had read Lord of the Rings replied that he hadn't, but he had read some of The Hobbit. It was about elves and fairies and he couldn't get into it. Heheh.


Cool news:

'Gogo Fish!' wins top children's literary award


19/08/05

A children's book published by the Western Australian Museum has won a prestigious Children's Book Council of Australia award.

Culture and the Arts Minister Sheila McHale said today that 'Gogo Fish! The story of the Western Australian State Fossil Emblem' had won the 2005 Children's Book Council of Australia Eve Pownall Award for Information Books.

Gogo Fish! was written by palaeontologist Dr John Long and tells the story of his discovery of a 375 million-year-old Gogo fish fossil in the Kimberley and the campaign by Dianella's Sutherland Primary School to have it named as WA's fossil emblem.

"To win a Children's Book Council of Australia award is considered the highest honour for children's writing and I congratulate Dr Long and the WA Museum," Ms McHale said.

"The museum's publications arm publishes a range of information books for adults and children and this was the first time it had received a CBCA nomination, so to go on and win is an excellent achievement."

Dr Dawn Casey, the museum's chief executive officer, attended today's awards ceremony at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.

"This award showcases the museum's role and that of its curators in the area of science," Dr Casey said.

"The fossilised remains of the Gogo fish have been found in rocky outcrops that were once reefs and helped reshape scientific thinking regarding the evolution of animals with backbones."

Dr Long has been writing children's books for 10 years and 'Gogo Fish! The story of the Western Australian State Fossil Emblem' is his first book to win a major literary award.


Sheep prevent spaceport

Plans for the UK's first spaceport has been scrapped - because of sheep.

Scientists had planned to build a rocket base in Thurso in the north of Scotland to launch satellites over the North Pole reports The Sun.

However, Government quango AEA Technology held talks with the European Space Agency but they feared rockets might crash on to sparsely populated islands in Orkney and Shetland - home to thousands of sheep.

Brrrrr......

Mutterings continued.

Temp only got to 14.6 today, which is quite chilly. The sun was out, the skies were blue and the wind was from the Antarctic. Kim and I had lunch out of doors, out of the wind and in the sunshine. It was very pleasant - I had tuna patties and the mashed spud had blue cheese in it. Yum!

And tonight it's going down to 2c. Extra brrr! I suspect I'll have a cat or two sharing the bed. Speaking of which, how does Gus know it's 6.10am? Every morning, at the same time, she jumps on my feet, walks up me, sits briefly on my chest, then jumps down again.

I've been trawling through Sendit.com, looking for Derek Jacobi goodies, and came across a film of his I'd never heard of. Did a quick squiz at IMDB and saw a two word review - utter rubbish. Oh dear. Other comments in a similar vein followed. I think perhaps I'll leave that one alone.

I have, however, put Revenger's Tragedy in the shopping trolley. This is a very nasty piece of work (with Del Boy starring as a particularly nasty piece of work himself). "An adaptation from maverick Alex Cox of Thomas Middleton's celebrated play from 1607, Revenger's Tragedy tells the story of a man whose wife is murdered on their wedding day, and his desire to exact revenge on the murderer. In a post-apocalyptic Liverpool of the future, Vindici (Christopher Eccleston) returns from a self-imposed exile to bring down those responsible for his wife's murder.

While Vindici's family have fallen on hard times, the murderer - known as the Duke (Derek Jacobi) - has become rich, powerful and virtually untouchable. Employing all his wit and cunning, Vindici sets out to gain the Duke's confidence and get close enough to kill him. Vibrant and pulsating with colour and style, Revenger's Tragedy is a masterpiece of reinvention set to astound and astonish."

Stars Christopher "I was Doctor Who for all of five minutes" Eccleston and the wonderful Eddie Izzard.

An amusing quote from the film:

Vindici: Pistols! Treason! Guards! Help! My lord, the Duke, is murdered!
Lussurioso: [puzzled] No, I'm not.
[Vindici stabs him]

Lots more of the wet stuff

Mutterings continued.

Short but sharp thunderstorm last night - one clap of thunder was so loud it scared Milo off the lounge. And there was a short but sharp hail storm this morning. Hope the ducks who have claimed the roof over the Exotic Section's office weren't blown away. Silly place for ducks.

My ADSL modem turned up today and it was easier connecting than I thought it would be. I've got a few things to plug back in - the answering machine for one. I had my other modem connected to the surge protector power board - can I connect the filter from the phone into the power board? And the ADSL modem?

I was contemplating venturing out for fish and chips but had decided to go with a bacon and egg sarnie instead. Cheaper and I won't get wet. I hope.

It's going to feel odd not having to disconnect from the net...

Wild, windy, woolly.

Mutterings continued.

Damn lot of rain fell today; haven't checked the BOM site to see just how much. On the BOM radar sweep this morning there was a yellow blob headed our way - yellow means Moderate Getting on for Get Out Your Ark.

Group of us went to the cafe for lunch and got trapped by the deluge. Most of the pathways back to the OPs building were flooded and I got wet feet. Had to wander around in my socks while my shoes dried.

"Viking ship built with 15 million ice cream sticks

A replica Viking ship made of 15 million ice cream sticks is to be launched in Amsterdam by a former Hollywood stuntman who hopes eventually to sail it across the Atlantic.

The 15-metre ship, which took Robert McDonald two years to build, is to be launched in Amsterdam harbour with a crew of around 25 in a bid to set a world record for the largest sailing ship made of ice cream sticks.

The Viking longship, equipped with oars and a mast, is built with sticks of birch-wood glued together painstakingly by McDonald and two volunteers in a Dutch workshop.

It is to be put through its paces for around 90 minutes on Tuesday.

"It's a dream come true. It's truly worth all the hard work," McDonald said.

"I never want to look at glue again. I don't think I will be in a hurry to look at ice cream sticks again," the 45-year-old from Florida said.

The ice cream sticks used to make the ship were provided by Unilever's ice cream maker OLA and by children who collected discarded sticks around the world.

McDonald, whose Sea Heart Foundation helps provide leisure activities for children in hospitals, hopes to sail his Viking ship across the Atlantic next year.

"That's still the ultimate goal, to sail across the Atlantic in the Viking-style," McDonald said."

The Vikings were known primarily for their ice cream eating.

Monks run short of 'world's best' beer

Monks at a Belgian abbey have run out of their famous beer after it was voted the best in the world.

The abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren in western Belgium is home to about 30 Cistercian and Trappist monks who lead a life of seclusion, prayer, manual labour and beer-brewing.

A survey of thousands of beer enthusiasts from 65 countries on the RateBeer website in June rated the Westvleteren 12 beer as the world's best.

But the abbey only has a limited brewing capacity and was not able to cope with the beer's sudden popularity.

"Our shop is closed because all our beer has been sold out," said a message on the abbey's answering machine, which it calls the "beer phone".

The abbey has no intention of boosting its capacity to satisfy market demand.

"We are not brewers, we are monks," the father abbot said on the abbey's website. "We brew beer to be able to afford being monks."

And to get pissed.

Sunday

Mutterings continued.

Coolish, not really wettish. Lots of wind and rain last night, however. Went into the kitchen this morning to discover the wind blowing under the front door had blown the lino up.

Good food, good friends, appalling movie last night. Future War was thrown together in 1997 - hard to believe such bad films were still being made this recently. What's even scarier is that the lead 'actor' and I use the word advisedly, had a career after this piece of rubbish. He was in The Matrix Reloaded. And a little something that should appeal to my friend Ashley - The Librarians, aka Strike Force. Ah, I can just see it now - a track group of professionals called upon by their government to spring into action whenever the Dewey Decimal system is threatened.

The most credible acting came from the sock puppet dinosaurs and the cardboard boxes.

We played a game of Ticket to Ride - I finished first, got rid of all my little trains, and still came last! Don't understand.

Another Soggy Saturday

Mutterings continued.

Another goodly lot of rain has fallen. Bit too windy for my liking, however.

No shiny thing purchase this morning. I must start making shopping lists as I forgot to buy some kitchen tongs - my current tongs have fallen apart and make picking things up very difficult.

L, R and Mark for dinner tonight. L and R are coming early to watch Atlantis and Rah Xephon and then Mark will join us to play the railway game.

How wet it is!

Mutterings continued.

Storm fronts passing over Perth have dumped a fair bit of rain. The BOM chart showed green bits!

I've been in meetings all day. The first started at 9am and lasted until we got kicked out of the board room at 12.15. I didn't have far to go as I was a part of the second meeting group that kicked me out. That meeting lasted until 2.30pm. I then got some lunch on the way back to my office. It rained and was cold and windy but I arrived in one piece and my box of wedges didn't get too soggy.

I rang Westnet about my modem and it appears that their techs have worked more quickly than the postal system. It should arrive next Tuesday.

From The Northerner:

"Just when you thought it was safe to go for a walk in the Dales again,

the naked rambler, who runs the risk of nasty injuries from nettles

and thistles, is back.

The Northern Echo explains that Stephen Gough, 46, is attempting once

more to walk the 874 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats with his

kit off and accompanied this time by his girlfriend Melanie Roberts,

33, and their friend, Jeffrey Woodhouse, 42.

All three were arrested in Gargrave, North Yorkshire, on Monday

morning - presumably the sheep were outraged - but Mr Gough refused

to put his togs on when he was due to leave the cells for court in

Skipton.

The justices, possibly worried by how much indecency the dock might

conceal, adjourned the case until September 6 and bailed Mr Gough.

"But upon his release, Mr Gough, from Eastleigh, near Southampton,

walked into the court lobby wearing only his boots and a rucksack -

and was re-arrested," continues the Echo. "Meanwhile, Bournemouth

hairdresser Ms Roberts was posing topless outside for a television

crew. She covered up when officers from North Yorkshire police

intervened.

"When [Mr Gough] heard what had happened in the court, he dropped his

shorts as the police van containing his friend drove past. He too was

arrested for a second time."

You couldn't make it up."

Pay Day

Mutterings continued.

Not much to report. Had lunch with Kim at the Secret Garden. We were good girls and ate all our vegetables. Left the salad, but.

And I got a text message from Westnet saying that my account with them is up and running. All I need is the modem! I'm hoping it will be delivered any day now.

We've addicted somebody else to Firefly. I've convinced one of the girls at work that she must see the series before she sees Serenity. She was doubtful but is now a believer.

I've just realised how many people and organisations I'm going to have to advise of my change of email address. Yipes.

A heads up - it's only 3 more months until haggis hunting season.

A Wednesday

Mutterings continued.

An allsorts kind of day - cold in the am, bit of rain, sunshine and warmth this arvo.

Good thing one of these wasn't used by the security guards at the Serenity screening last week.

I watched the Discovery landing live last night. Shame they had to do it in the dark. 8-)

A cool start to the day

Mutterings continued.

and a warmish afternoon. I had to open the window in my office, it was getting warm.

The letterbox was full of junk mail. Hidden in the middle was a bill from pathology and a card telling me a parcel was waiting for me at a post office I'd never heard of. Turns out to the one I usually go to under another name. A friend has sent me some Joe Orton plays and his biog "Prick up your ears".

I received 3 text messages from Westnet telling me that my hookup to broadband is getting every closer. Got an email from Amazon to advise that the Yes DVD has been posted. Woo hoo.

Press release and pre-production photos of What the Butler Saw are available on the GRADS website - www.grads.org.au.

I like the sound of this!

"Dying to BuzzMob again?
The zombies are coming! Quick pretend to be a zombie and they might not get
you!

Theme - Zombies. No costume needed.
Flash time - 5.30pm Friday 12th August 2005 (this Friday).
Flash point - Intersection at the Cnr of Roe and William Streets
Northbridge. On the Perth train station side of the road, opposite the
piercing shop, and near the overpass escalator.

When to arrive - A few minutes beforehand ie-5.28pm, hang around or pretend
to wait for the lights to change and listen for the signal.
What to do - At 5.30 pm, the mob leaders will call the signal - 'Brains!'
Act the part of a zombie and stagger into Northbridge in your best 'undead'
manner. Cross the road and head up William Street to finish at the Brass
Monkey.

Afterwards - Disperse in a casual manner or, if you are over 18 and want to
continue the fun, head into the Brass Monkey and join us for a free Beez
Neez to celebrate the wonders of Mob-hood. (1 Beez Neez per living dead).
Help spread the word by sending this email to anyone you think might be
interested. If you aren't on the Buzz Mob list and want to be, you can
register by sending an email to mob@buzzdance.com.au.
BRAIIIIINS!"

Monday, Monday

Mutterings continued.

Nice sunny day, reasonable temperature. All in all, rather pleasant.

I rang Westnet and have joined up for broadband. It will take about 10 days or so to become active and will let everybody know my new email addy and webpage address. I think the email addy is something like possbert@westnet.com.au, or thereabouts.

For Steveg: Taken from Michael J Nelson's bio: "These days, Nelson authors his books, pens screenplays, lectures, does the odd TV pilot or radio show and rides many miles on his incredibly geeky recumbent bike. It is this bike, more so than any of the jokes, scripts or gags that he has so far written that causes people to point and laugh hysterically."

I can't believe it's August!

Mutterings continued.

I keep putting '05' down as the month as I can't believe we're up to '08' already.

Good night last night; we'd run out of Rah-Xephon (I think we have one disk left), but saw a great ep of Stargate:Atlantis and a very bad Canadian movie, riffed admirably by the Lads, called ... er.... Ah! The Final (Last??) Sacrifice. I hadn't realised that Z grade movies were still being made in the early 90's.

Conversation turned to VH1's assertion that Yes's Owner of a Lonely Heart bites. On the way home from Dad's I called into the second hand record (as in real records, made from vinyl and everything) on Albany Hway and picked up a copy of Yes Highlights - the Very Best of Yes. Listened to Owner a couple of times and decided that IT ROCKS! Rob is on the hunt for the video of said song - stars the lovely Daniel Webb. A quick Google and it seems that there is a DVD entitled Greatest Video Hits. Sorted.

The weekend comes around sooo quickly

Mutterings continued.

Though some weeks not nearly quickly enough.

A quiet day - shopped this morning, no shiny purchases, and a bit of housework this arvo.

Got the initial props list from Stephen Lee for Butler - bloody nora! And I thought Nightingale was bad! At least I didn't have to make a bronze copy of Winston Churchill's willy. Yes, you heard me. Anybody know what it looked like??

What have I let myself in for?

Serenity Spoilers:













Taken from IMDB and the Serenity Oz forum:



Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Violence is going to ensue!

[after breaking into a practically empty bank safe]
Zoë Warren: At last, we can retire and give up this life of crime.

Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: This is gonna get pretty interesting.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Define "interesting".
Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: Oh, God, oh, God, we're all gonna die.

The Operative: It's worse than you know.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: It usually is

Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: I am a leaf on the wind. Watch me soar.

Zoë Warren: Do you really think any of us are getting out of here alive?
Jayne Cobb: Well, I might.

Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Do you want to be Captain?
Jayne Cobb: Yeah, I do.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Oh.
[beat]
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Well, you can't!

Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Dear Buddha, I would like a pony and a plastic rocket.

Serenity - bloody brilliant

Mutterings continued.

Won't give too much away - the cinematogaphy is awe-inspiring and the battle scenes overwhelming. I think the term is "kick-ass".

Started the evening at the new, funky Retro Betty's in the Innaloo Cinema Mega-Hugey-Biggie Plex. Ate too much, lost too many card games.

Good thing we didn't linger over coffee as quite a queue had already formed half an hour before curtain up. I've never been securitised before going into a cinema before! Quick twice over with the scanner thingie, a search through my bag and temporary confiscation of my mobile phone later...

Nicked from the Serenity movie site, here is the speech by Joss Whedon read out prior to the film rolling:

"

Hi. This is Joss Whedon. If you're sitting here, you're about to watch my first ever movie, Serenity... unless you're facing the other way, in which case i'm not sure why you're here but you might need to talk to somebody, maybe a professional. But if you're one of the people actually facing the screen, then let me just say welcome. I created a world -- well, I had a lot of help, but this is MY letter so i'm taking the credit -- and you're about to enter it. I hope you like living there as much as I have. Serenity is a very personal work with political resonance and a heartfelt message about the human condition and stuff blowing up. 'Cause let's face it, nobody cares about that 'human condition' stuff... in fact if you notice it, try to keep it to yourself. Just tell people about the stuff blowing up, so they'll see the movie too. Thanks! The fact is, i'm very proud of this movie and everyone in it. I'm excited to show you what we've done. And the best way I can do that is to shut up already. Enjoy. Joss Whedon.

A coldish but rather nice Thursday

Mutterings continued.

Had lunch with Super Director Pat and her daughter today. Went to the Secret Garden, ate lots, talked lots, bitched about actors lots and lots. It's so nice when one's own perceptions of certain people are justified by others. Pat's take on The Bastard Norman was the same as my own - he was weak, manipulative and knew exactly what he was doing. Wicked! Nathan, who played Norman, on the other hand was just lovely.

One of the outcomes of discussing plays past and future was my decision to do props for What the Butler Saw. I know, I know, promised myself I wouldn't. But Pat is going to SM and I so like working with her. I rang the Director, Stephen Lee, and he seemed to be rather pleased, judging by the number of times he said "Thank you!".

Off to see Serenity tonight. Looking forward to it.

Thunder! Lightning!

Mutterings continued.

Lovely thunderstorm last night and a goodly amount of rain. Clear today, coolish, but pleasant.

More housework tonight - flat inspection tomorrow. Fortunately I've sorted out The Back Room - shoved most of it into nice plastic storage boxes.

Iinet's email server appears stuffed - it's just lost half a dozen messages and apparently won't be fixed until tomorrow some time. I've just had to email a friend and ask him to send me his last set of messages. My current acount expires on Sept 2 so I'll be looking into Westnet in a couple of weeks time.

One more sleep until Serenity.

Tuesday - somewhat wet

Mutterings continued.

Gods but Iinet is slow tonight! Their web page is downloading at 1.1k a second. I've decided to give them the boot when my time is up and go with Westnet's broadband.

Just back from the plastic surgeon having my face attended to. Local anaesthetic, quick slice and hopefully that's it.

Horrible weather

Mutterings continued.

Felt like summer today - too warm, too sunny and a horrid easterly that blew my clothes horse and pot of lavendar over on the balcony.

Friends at work loaned me a DVD of a very silly Brit sketch comedy series called Monkey Trousers. Stars Reeves and Mortimer and a host of other great people. Favourite sketches would have to be Professional Footballers' Wives (which is set in the late '50s - the footballers in question boast about being paid 5 pounds a week) and Geordie Mission Control - the ongoing story of the attempt to send three Geordies to the moon (it keeps getting aborted due to losing their window of opportunity at Middlesbrough airport; one of the astronauts was dragged home by his wife to paint the front fence; two of the moon rocket (named Whippet) chairs don't have ashtrays, and so on).

And UKTV is screening the second series of Auf Wiedersehen Pet commencing tomorrow night. Jimmy Nail - woo hoo!!