Trio

The data I have been working on with Sense has now started to appear on their website and you can find it here at Urgency Report .  All the data are in Excel spreadsheets which you find by clicking on each relevant area within England and overall they show that there will be an increase in the numbers of people who are Deafblind over the next twenty years.  The report itself can be downloaded from the main report page.

Since I last blogged I applied for a job at the Royal Geographical Society (yet to hear anything back) and made lots of chocolate which has gone down well with all those who have tried it.  Thankfully Erica returns from Sweden tomorrow...it's only been a week but it feels like years.

I went to my first Prom in two years on Monday and it was fantastic.  Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 (famous from Brief Encounter) was lovely and the other pieces were also good, and it was wonderful to hear the organ in full flow.  It just goes right through you, from the walls and the floor and the ceiling.  I will take Erica on Sunday for some Schumann, Dvorak and Strauss.  I'm sure she will enjoy the experience.

The Spellbook

I have decided that it would be easier to share some of my stories and writings with you in a better format than can be read in this blog.  Therefore I have created an account at an online document website and have uploaded my first story to it The Spellbook
This is a story I wrote a couple of months ago, it is a fairy tale / fantasy about a young girl who uses magic to gain revenge upon a nasty teacher.  I hope you enjoy it!

Catching Up

Wow, it's been a while since I blogged, so I guess a bit of catching up needs to be done.  As I write I'm listening to Tired Pony on Spotify.
After my one week of work, which was at the charity Sense, I had a week off.  I was then recalled by Sense as they realised they wanted me to do some more work.  I have entering population data in excel spreadsheets as part of a report which I think is due to come out next week.  I had originally only entered data for one year, however they later decided to have future years too, and I was very grateful to be called back.  They were obviously happy with me.  I am still working there as the data is not yet finished, but with the report coming out soon, things are starting to get hectic.
As I said in my last "real" post my girlfriend was about to arrive, and she did.  For the first week of work she was very much alone all day making me food, doing dishes and making crafts.  But during that time it gave her the chance to set up her online shop for crafts, which is at Erica's Misi Shop.  She has much more to upload than is already on here, but it's all very clever.
But we then had a week together, during which I also had a birthday.  We had a fantastic night on the 2nd, having decided to take a walk along the river.  We took bus 43 down to London Bridge, which had a faulty oyster reader which meant we got a free trip.  We had a lovely walk, stopping every now and again to watch and to hug, and got to Waterloo about 10pm, at which time a modern circus group were about to start.  This was free too, and a great show.  We then picked up the 168 to come back home to find that this bus too had a faulty oyster reader.  Incredible!
My birthday was spent picnicking on Clapham Common, wandering to Wandsworth and then further on to Putney before getting the bus home.  A very relaxing day, but we were both a little allergic from grass pollen by the end of it.  My girlfriend did embroider me a lovely card however.
After more than a week in the uk Erica was missing her knackebrod and fluffy pillows, so we took a trip up to the Edmonton Ikea to pick up both bedroom and food supplies.  It was my first experience of an Ikea (the best bit was the meatballs in the canteen), but I didn't see much difference between it and B&Q to be honest.  The smell was the same after all.
Erica has been a little unlucky with getting started here.  It took three phone calls to the NI office before she could even get an interview for an NI number and when she went to the same work agency as the one I work for they barely let her speak before thrusting a sheet of paper at her and telling her to look online.  Not friendly at all to be honest and very disappointing.  She has seen some work available at her favourite art shop however, so fingers crossed, hold your thumbs.
I have a week to myself now, with Erica going home for her allergy shot, and will endeavour to apply for some jobs, make some chocolate and visit the Proms.  It's been two years since I last went, I never got there last year, and am getting excited.  I listened to last nights broadcast and felt quite emotional about the thought of climbing those steps up to the gallery and the vision that is the interior of the Royal Albert Hall.  It's such a beautiful place (I'm feeling emotional again as I write) and I can't wait to get there again.
That's about it for now.  I've not been doing any writing for a while, for various reasons, one of which is that I can't type on  my girlfriends computer.  Too many weird characters appearing and it's much too big!

Germany v England

England's worst performance in a World Cup Finals?  Undoubtedly. Outplayed, outclassed and out of (South) Africa.  At least the 1966 ghost of "did the ball cross the line?" has now been laid to rest.  Whether it did or not, it certainly did in Bloemfontein, but on this occasion there was no Russian linesman.  And as for Munich, well we can all stop talking about that too.
Something, completely and unutterably, has to change now within the FA.  I don't know whether Fabio should stay or not, and to be honest I don't think it really matters.  What has to change, however, are the players.  A manager must choose his system and then pick the best players to play that system, like any club manager would.  He should not be picking the "best" eleven English players and then hoping that they will make a team.  If anything an international manager should have it easier, since money to buy the best players, does not come into it.  And England have plenty of good players.
But FIFA must do something too now.  Their decision to not use technology on goal lines was ridiculous when they made it several months ago. It now looks more ridiculous, now that it has had an affect in a World Cup. I very much doubt that it would have changed the outcome in this game, but it might have, and that is the point.  If results of these matches are called into question because of this, then that must be a problem for the governing body.  We will see.
For the first time in my life I have not been able to sit through a whole England game, and I have been there for other defeats.  It was more their lack of interest that became a problem.  But at least I have the cricket now...

Back to Work

Since I blogged yesterday I have received confirmation that I have some work...(sharp intake of breath)...starting tomorrow for about a week.  So it seems that another new portion of my life begins.  My girlfriend gets here later today, and I can't wait, but she will be somewhat alone in taking her first steps.  For now I'm just trying to enjoy the warm weather as much as I can.

Twinge of Sadness

I always feel a twinge of sadness, of regret, when I finish reading a good book.  It's worse when it's a trilogy, or a series, especially when you've been able to read them back to back.  I finished reading the Amber Spyglass last night and I'm still feeling the effects of it this morning.
The first time I finished the story a few years ago, I was sitting on a train, surounded by people, and had to try swallowing back the tears.  When I saw the play last year, the same thing happened.  I'm sure that if they make the two more films of the trilogy, the same will happen.
I wonder how many times I have to read it, or watch it, before it will stop affecting me.  Something tells me that it won't stop. I've seen Pan's Labyrinth three times, and each time cried at the end.  A Very Long Engagement brings tears at the beginning still, even!
The strange thing is that I should be feeling extremely happy.  My girlfriend will be here tomorrow, not just to visit, but to move here.  She's decided to move to another country, just to be with me.  I should be the happiest man in the world, and deep down I am.  For the moment though, I still can't help worrying about Will and Lyra.

Words and Pictures

Since I last blogged I have signed with an agency...No work as yet but I have to wait for references etc. to get through the system, but hopefully something will come up during the next week.
In the meantime I have been doing a little more sketching, this time of people I've caught accidentally in photographs of other things:

On Tuesday I took a walk into town before meeting a friend for a fantastic pizza.  While out I bought the entire His Dark Materials trilogy for just £6!  I was shocked at how cheap it was, and a saving of £16 on the rrp.  Interestingly I had heard Philip Pullman on the radio on sunday morning talking about his new book.  I also made a sketch of two people in a coffee shop (unfortunately the figure on the right moved while I sketched) and have made watercolour based on a sketch I made on one of the numerous elephants still in the city.

The Football World Cup is finally starting to get interesting, with defeats for Spain and France.  England were disappointing last week, but too much is being said of the 'keeper.  The fact was that they should have scored more than the one goal in my opinion.  Hopefully they will do better today.

So that's the pictures, now the words (yes I'm afraid this is a longer blog this time).  I've decided to post a couple of 500 word stories that I wrote a while ago.  Hope you enjoy them.  Comments welcome.

Summer Holiday

It ended in the same way as it began, on a cloudy, moonless night.  Rain plopped gently into the sand, and drummed loudly on the planks of the wooden hut above them.  For two weeks they had met here, every night, but tonight it was time to say goodbye.

The rain had led them here on that first night, independently of one another.  First the boy, and then her.  She had given him a wary look at first, as if trying to judge if he could be trusted, but then a glance around had shown that there was no other shelter on this part of the beach.

She stepped in and shook herself dry, sitting down on the step next to him.  And that’s how they met, sitting there in silence and staring out at the dark water.  When the rain had stopped she stepped out cautiously, and giving him a quick backward glance, she ran off.  The boy didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye.

The next night was clear as the boy strolled down the beach.  The stars shone and the moon was reflected in the sea.  When he came to the hut he had been surprised to see her sitting there, as if waiting for him.

He stepped up slowly, not sure whether his company was welcome or not, but she appeared to give him a nod of acceptance.  He sat down and introduced himself, telling her that his name was Billy Connor and that he came from London.  She stared up at him for a moment with her blue eyes, before turning to look at the waves.

As they met night after night, the boy told her more and more about himself.  His family were here on holiday for two weeks.  But, all that his parents and older sister wanted to do was lie on the beach all day getting sun tans.  He would rather be in the museum, learning about the history and culture of the island.  The rest of his family weren’t interested in museums.

He told her that History and Geography were his favourite subjects at school, and that when he grew up he wanted to be an archaeologist, or a historical researcher, or maybe even a curator in a museum.  He hadn’t decided yet, but still had plenty of time to work it out.

And so it had come to the final night.  He was flying back home tomorrow and he would miss her.  He still knew nothing about her, not her name or where she came from, but he would still miss these moments of stillness and of being able to talk freely.

He told her that he would take her with him were it not for his mother’s allergies, and the fact that she might belong to someone.  He hoped that she would understand that he wouldn’t be coming there again.  But she simply purred gently as they stared out at the falling rain.

The Monster

No one would be expecting it from him, of all people.  He was the quiet, nerdy kid with the strange name, who always sat in the corner of class, the timid field-mouse of a student who wasn’t even worth teasing, since nobody ever noticed him.

He would never have even come up with the idea if he hadn’t seen the article about the celebrations in the local paper.  It was the perfect opportunity, the whole town would be there, and they would be in awe of him.

He made a trip to library; picking up books on anatomy, back issues of horror comics and of course Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.  The assistant had given him an odd look, but Barnabas had just smiled nonchalantly back.

It had been difficult keeping his father out of the garden shed until he spun him a story about how he was building him something for Father’s Day.  His dad winked at him then, tapping his nose twice and saying how proud he was that he had finally taken up woodwork.  Barnabas thought that he would be disappointed that he had been lied to, but would understand when he finally saw what his son had created.

And on hindsight maybe it hadn’t been such a great idea to put the sign on the door saying: “Top Secret Project – No Unauthorised Personnel”.

It had only made his younger brother even more curious as to what he was doing.  The game had almost been up one day when he came home to find that little Joseph had already broken through two of the three padlocks with a pair of bolt cutters.  He had ended up having to bribe him with free sweets and football stickers for a whole month.

His mother had been the most persistent at wanting to know what he was up to.  First of all she had been worried that he had joined a cigarette smoking gang, which then led to her thinking that it was a drug taking gang after he borrowed a couple of tea spoons.

She had been satisfied when he told her that it was for a science project.  But that only lasted a day, by which time she had come up with the notion that science was a codeword for biology, which was a euphemism for girls.  The only way he could stop her going in there was to agree to listen when she spoke for an hour about the dangers of unprotected sex.

But it was worth it, because now the monster was ready.  Tomorrow the whole town would see what he had created, when it was unveiled at the Halloween celebration Monster Painting competition.