Tim Atkinson's Blog, page 117
April 16, 2010
Mum's gone to.... Iceland!
... and she's stuck there thanks to this bloody volcano!!
(photo of Eyjafjallajökull, courtesy James Ashworth)
(Title of blog-post courtesy Trish Burgess.... sorry, Trish - but it was just too good to miss!)
(photo of Eyjafjallajökull, courtesy James Ashworth)
(Title of blog-post courtesy Trish Burgess.... sorry, Trish - but it was just too good to miss!)
April 13, 2010
April 11, 2010
Auf Wiedersehen
So, farewell MusikFreunde, Laufen. We've had a great week - good company, good singing, good sightseeing and a great farewell party yesterday evening. (In case you're wondering, or if you haven't seen my tweets about it, we've been playing host to a German choir from Laufen, in Bavaria, this week. There have been joint concerts, trips to Cambridge and to London, a sung mass, a picnic and a party.)
You know, people who don't sing in a choir might think that those of us who do, do so for the m...
You know, people who don't sing in a choir might think that those of us who do, do so for the m...
April 8, 2010
On a roll...
... an electoral roll, that is.
Golly, what a week! First some long-drawn-out affair involving The Queen, Gordon Brown and the inmates of that political asylum, the House of Commons; then the on-going excitement of The Mads; and now this - out of over 500 blogs nominated for the Completely Novel Author Blog Awards, yours truly has made a shortlist of less than thirty.
Chuffed? Well, yes. Surprised? Yes, a bit. Worried? Not at all. Oh no... bloody terrified!
I mean... have you seen the co...
Golly, what a week! First some long-drawn-out affair involving The Queen, Gordon Brown and the inmates of that political asylum, the House of Commons; then the on-going excitement of The Mads; and now this - out of over 500 blogs nominated for the Completely Novel Author Blog Awards, yours truly has made a shortlist of less than thirty.
Chuffed? Well, yes. Surprised? Yes, a bit. Worried? Not at all. Oh no... bloody terrified!
I mean... have you seen the co...
April 6, 2010
Wet wet wet!
Can I, er, ask you something? Something personal? Something... intimate?
No, not that!
But... well, how can I put it? If you're on your own in the day with a small child, as I am, and if your partner leaves for work early in the morning, as mine does, and if you're sometimes not even dressed when they leave the house, like I'm not, then do you find visiting the (ahem) bathroom a bit of a problem?
I must confess this has only recently become an issue. Last year I was walking Sally to...
No, not that!
But... well, how can I put it? If you're on your own in the day with a small child, as I am, and if your partner leaves for work early in the morning, as mine does, and if you're sometimes not even dressed when they leave the house, like I'm not, then do you find visiting the (ahem) bathroom a bit of a problem?
I must confess this has only recently become an issue. Last year I was walking Sally to...
April 4, 2010
March 31, 2010
I must be MAD
Oh, the wonderful world of meme... Really, Richard Dawkins has a lot to answer for. As have Modern Dilemma (Happiness MeMe) BareNakedMummy (I See, I Hear, I Feel) Gooner Jamie (photo meme of mystery) Claire (My Inside Life) and VegemiteVix (A Haaaaaand-bag?)- all of whom have bloody well very kindly tagged me to do various things, like randomly select a photo (here it is)...
...tell you what makes me happy (this, and not being fleeced for drinking it)
... show you what's in my man-bag (ea...
...tell you what makes me happy (this, and not being fleeced for drinking it)
... show you what's in my man-bag (ea...
March 29, 2010
March 27, 2010
Stop the clocks!
Well, did you remember? If not, and if you're reading this on Sunday morning, then you might need to be somewhere else. And if you've no idea what I'm going on about, then you're probably not here at all. In the UK, I mean.
Personally, I'm all in favour of putting the clocks on every year. An hour less in bed is nothing compared to the fact that, for a little while at least, Charlie wakes at a relatively civilised hour. We've had everything from 4.45 a.m. to the lazy heights of 0630 recently...
Personally, I'm all in favour of putting the clocks on every year. An hour less in bed is nothing compared to the fact that, for a little while at least, Charlie wakes at a relatively civilised hour. We've had everything from 4.45 a.m. to the lazy heights of 0630 recently...
March 26, 2010
Reading for Writers
Gary Smailes (BubbleCow) recently posted his list of seven books every writer should read, which included 'any Mills and Boon' as well as Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code), Bram Stoker's Dracula and a Harry Potter. Which got me thinking. What kind books are most use to an aspiring author and why? The obvious answer is simple: any books of quality. You can always learn from the masters, and Gary makes the point that - as a writer - you're not (just) reading them for pleasure. His choices were also...
