Jump the gun...

GLOBAL WHAT?
I was talking to Ruth today, she works with us, she's Nic's personal assistant, and she told me that the daffodils are already out in the local park. Now, I seem to remember that daffs don't usually show 'til St David's day. So, I looked out of Jack's window and Lo+Behold! We've got daffodils growing on our field. When I say field, I mean that bit of grass and twenty seven trees that have sprouted since my next door neighbours houses were demolished in 1999. I told Ruth and she said: "I told yer, it's global warming!"
Now if you'll believe that...
DINOSAUR
People think that I'm some sort of dinosaur because they think that I don't believe in dinosaurs. They think that I'm some kind of alien because they think that I don't believe in global warming.
Now, for the most part I let people think what they want to think and let them believe what they want to believe about me. But sometimes, I need to put the record straight or some of us are gonna be 'brown bread' and pushing up daisies along with the aforementioned daffs before anything is actually resolved. So, here we/I go, I do believe that dinosaurs and their ilk existed and roamed this earth way back before mankind came here.
HISTORY MUSEUMS
What I don't believe is that the dinosaur skeletons in the Natural History museum in this city of Manchester and/or at the other gaff in Kensington are real! They're not, they're just models and some of them look remarkably like the dinosaur models at the Crystal Palace site which were created by an artist before any actual dinosaur bones, let alone skeletons were ever found! Trust me, I've been to all of these places myself, on more than one occasion! In the Nat Hist Museum in London (Kensington) the dirty big massive dinosaur in the entrance hall actually has a plate on it that says:(I paraphrase) This is a model copied from the Chicago Mueseum! How much more proof do you people NEED!
CLIMATE CHANGE
Okay, I get the picture, I'm not a dinosaur. I believe you when you talk about climate change and global thingy. What I don't believe is that we can do anything about it. You see, these things happen in cycles and no matter how hard you peddle uphill against the wind you 'ain't gonna git' to the top that much faster! Now, you can't talk to people about these issues 'cos they've, for the most part, been brain washed to believe that it's all our fault that global whatd'yer call it, is happening. Who's manipulating who here? and why? Perhaps it's something to do with the feel good factor. If we recycle this and don't use that then maybe just maybe another generation of people can inherit the earth! If we keep on polluting the atmosphere like this we'll destroy the planet!
DREAM ON
Okay, of course it's good to be green, look at me, I cycle everywhere these days. Not only that, I recycle nearly everything I/we use in this house! I'm trying to cut my carbon footprint down and I won't be flying anywhere this year, unless I have to! Oh yeah, and I'd really like to grow all my own food and generate all my own electricity, make all my own clothes and shoes, hold up! scratch the clothes and shoes bit, that's taking the green machine a little bit too far. But, hold on a mo! There just might be someone that makes clothes and shoes that I can trade pizza's with. Did I say Pizza? I meant...
FLIPPIN' 'ECK...
So, what am I saying? Quite simply that, yes we should be thinking green! There's nothing wrong with that, it makes for good housekeeping as far as I can see. However, don't think even for one moment that by being green that you're actually going to stop climate change. You're not! There's plenty of people out there that'll tell you different and governments and other powers that be are starting to see the potential of manipulation of the masses through such endeavours. But, it's the same old card that religions used to play it's called The Guilt Trip! Don't fall for it. It really isn't your fault!
LIGHTEN UP!
Yeah, forgive me, I get a bit heavy sometimes, I do need to lighten up a little. I was going to have a rant about the buses and the bins but I think after the above half a dozen 'digs' I think I'll go onto something a little more positive.
TOWERS!
I've got this thing about towers, I just love finding new towers when I'm out and about in the city. When I say new, I mean of course new to me, as most of the ones that I really like are a century or more in age. What I really, really like are what I call Venetian Towers, they aren't strictly Venetian, I guess, but I perhaps like to think of them in this way. Especially the towers that you find alongside the numerous canals in Manchester.
SALFORD QUAYS
I was over at Salford Quays at the old number nine dock on the Manchester Ship canal the other day and guess what? They're building towers there, this time for the BBC who are creating a media city on the banks of the MSC. But the tower that caught my eye was just a little further upstream near Mode Wheel lock. I think it may be a water tower or some kind of pump house, I'll have to go back on the bike and take a better look.
BEYOND THE BLOG!
I've just found a great blog called Beyond The Blog! It's run by a guy called Anthony North and the hit counter reads 182,000 + hits. I'm telling you about it (yes, all six of you!) because I want to reccomend it to you! I can't tell you too much about the site because I haven't been able to spend much time there yet but I can say that Anthony really does have something to say. http://www.beyondtheblog.wordpress.com/

The time is the place...

WRITING
Yeah, I've been blogging on about writing an Online Novel recently and if you check my NEW BLOG Space Invaders you'll see that I've made one posting... It's not actually the novel, it's er... well, it's just the Introduction.
RESEARCH
The thing about writing anything is research. In my case I thought that writing this novel would be a piece of cake, a walk in the park, a proverbial kick-about. However, that was before I decided to do some last minute research. Now, I don't know if I've got enough to say, I don't know which is the best way to write the thing up, I don't know if I am even capable of completing the task. On the other hand if you look at it slightly differently and say that research is a form of procrastination, then you can snap out of the mild depression that was attempting to envelope you and just get on with the job! Phew! How's that for Kidology?
COMMENTS
One of the things I really need on Space Invaders is comments. The other thing is regular readers. If you have the time... Any time at all to visit my New Blog, I have the place... in fact you can clink-the-link from here >> http://www.my-work-in-progress-novel.blogspot.com/ When you visit you can bookmark the page on your browser and return anytime you like. But, please leave a comment to let me know who you are and what you think. Thanks!
WHAT ELSE?
There must be other things going on in the world apart from my internal world. I can't think of much that is happening in Manchester apart from a little flooding on the banks of The Irwell and The Mersey. We were only talking about going to The Pump House (Peoples History Museum) this morning and taking a little stroll along the bit of accessible bank on The Irwell, until we heard the news that it was flooded. Such is life...
MORE NEXT TUESDAY

HERE WE GO...

WORK-IN-PROGRESS-NOVEL
Well, this is it. This is the start of something new. I have writen a whopping great thirty seven words of my novel Space Invaders. The question of how to present this work to the world remains. The problem with any work of fiction must be that it takes more than one attempt to get it right. So, what do I do? Do I post my stumbling thirty seven words for all and sundry to criticise or do I wait 'til I have a polished piece to display. If I only post perfected work, surely it won't be/can't be classed as work-in-progres, can it?
TALKING BOOK?
Already I can see that I'm spending more time talking about this project than actually working on it. A little like some of the young bands that hang out in this part of Bohemia - they never seem to practice - but they love dressing up and telling everybody that they're in a band! Heaven forbid that Space Invaders would go the same way.

SPACE INVADERS...

COMING SOON
SPACE INVADERS

NEW FOR 2008
Things have to change, not just this blog or that bloke in the pub or the nice lady on the check-out at Yasda! But things in general, seasons in particular and okay, I'm beating about the bush this blog!
SPACE INVADERS
Everyboddie's heard of Space Invaders the old arcade game but not very many people know that I wrote a play at Withington Library in Manchester in 1984 with the same name. One person who did know about my play was the receptionist at the BBC who was a young girl herself at the time. I hasten to add that she is now a housebound wife and washing maniac of a certain Surrey village. She is a grand-mother of four young toddlers and I wish her well in her old age. She kept my play for six months and didn't show it to the powers that be. She did tell me that it was so badly written that she feared that she would be sacked for submitting it. I think that if I were her I would have rather been sacked from the Beeb than end up as a housebound washing maniac in bloody Banstead! But that's me...
BOHEMIAN WHAT?
The thing about living in this little bit of Bohemia is that everyone you meet is more creative than you. Nicola has already written half a dozen novels and a shed full of plays and short stories and has just about completed at least the first draft of the first book in the trilogy she's writing. You can read Nicola's Newsletter Raw Meat, Online at: www.rawprintz.blogspot.com You can also check out her novels and other works at: www.nicolabatty.co.uk Then of course there's Jack he's a drummer in a band and together with his friend Johanan he's creating a series of comic books. Tonight, he was showing me some futuristic hieroglyphics that he was ageing with a lighter and a teabag. And they live in the same house as me.
THE NOVEL
So, 2008 and all that, I thought I'd do the decent thing and write a novel myself. Of course I'm going to cheat, you won't catch me burning the midnight oil writing and re writing draft after draft of some boring old ego-centric piece of prose. (maybe that's a bit strong!) Anyway, like I said I'm going to cheat and use my unpublished play script Space Invaders (thanks to Shirley from bloody Banstead!) from 1984 as the gist of the story. I must tell you that I have started and abandoned novels on several occasions in the past so don't get too exited just yet. Phew! Well, I know that most times out of ten books get turned into scripts but there are precedents where it has happened the other way round. Look at Peter Pan!