An exercise in Practical Parenting.
And, though I say so myself, a good result all round.

Kink made it to Oxford on time, but I had to rescue her from a pub carpark in Gosford when she turned off the A43 in a load of work works a few miles north of where we should have met up.
She was so chuffed with herself for driving "all the way" and finding more or less the right place.

Lunch in the Covered Market.
Photographs of headless deer carcasses. And fish.
Lots of fish.
Lots of smells.
But less people then I ever remember seeing around the city in general.
Walking round the back streets on the cobbles.
Radcliffe Square.
Coffee in the Vaults beneath the University Church on the HIgh. And up the Tower.
I have wanted to do this since 1794. A little windy, but the sunshine made it all the more spectacular.
Truly is "the finest views of the city".
I feel so relaxed there, and nothing like a stranger.
Its been along time since we spent such good time together.

Hand in hand is the only way to land.
Always the right way round.
It's the grooviest thing
It's the perfect dream

New job, new car. New freedom.
Money and no boyfriend.
Many books.
Its been a long time since I have not worried about her.
She shines

Wandered about, passing memories in the walls.
Hearing the laughter of friends in alleys, and glimpses of a heel across a quad.
The shadow of a woman's hand.
A whisper on a stairway.

Pembroke Street and the Modern Art Gallery.
I missed the point a bit. More of a classicist perhaps myself.
Felt naive. Very healthy.
She enthused, and scorned. And explained. And dismissed.
One piece I did like.

I enjoy the superimposing of one image(or series of images) on another. I like composition and college.
Robert Rauschenberg.
Same with music I think.

One characteristic I repeatedly finding myself liking in music is repetiton.
The repetition of a couple of notes throughout a longer piece, even continuously.
The repition of a lyric or phrase.
Like the piano and guitar phrasing on "All Tomorrow's Parties".
Satie.
Harold Budd of course - a perfect example.
Pop Art. Warhol.

We ended up at the Coffee Junction on George Street, not enjoying a too hot Latte (not for me - its still Lent)
Why does coffee in these places always have to be sooooo hot?
Coffee shouldn't be hot...
Fantabulous day.

Came home to find Ali had been picke dup ealry in tears in the office.
She's not been 'well' for a couple of days, and it's not like her.
Tonight she's cried it all out and told us of her new "friend's" unkindness.
Tx describes it as emotional blackmail.
Weeks ago, Ali got upset that one of the girls in her class ( a girl well known for her bizarre personality) has been exhibiting tendencies of self-harm in the playground to get attention. Ali had tried telling her not to and refused one day to watch, choosing – by herself - to go and tell the staff.
result - the situation was challennged, dealt with and has now stopped.
Hurrah - well done you.
Now this girl has adopted Ali as her best friend, but seems to think that should be to the exclusion of all others, and Ali is losing her large friendship base as a result of this other girl's rudeness and refusal to let any one else play with them.
"If you playwith her... or "of you don't do that with me..." then I'll bang my head on the wall until I'm sick." or "I'll cut myself with this stone" - exactly what Ali successfully managed to stop happening before!

She would have to be the daughter of one of the Governors...

But she's told us. Long and loudly, with many tears.
Perhaps it's no bad thing that its' the last day of term tomorrow.

I'm going to have to miss the Easter Parade for the first time. Jo will be at the office waiting for me to take her out installing pageone all round the city. And leaflets.
One day I can't actually afford to turn up at half past ten.
It's not often I choose work over the family.
Tx has, as ever, been very good about it.
I'm pissed off, but somethings just aren't meant to be.

Oxford tomorrow with Kink.
She's got the map and seems to be ready for her longest driving experience.
That's partly why I'm doing it of course - to get her out there on the road, navigating and driving by herself.
It's really easy, so she'll enjoy it.
We aim to meet at the Park and Ride at 11 and take it from there.
Lots of chatting, tea and cakes. A bit of walking.
Lunch I think in the covered market. The sights and smells there bombard the senses and its the best place I know for people watching.
She might be more comfortable in Puccino's where there are sofas, but you can't see out there and it is very expensive.
I haven't been to the Ashmolean for over 20 years.
One day I'll drive in and give her a tour of my old haunts.
We can trace the steps of Pennyfeather and Sniggs up to Old Marston (what's the pub called by the river there??
Ooh - that brings back memories. They used to be so wrapped up in there with the punting fraternity it wasn't unusual to see topless students sitting around, dripping wet, and even guys in boaters and brogues doing the serenade thing. Yes, even in the mid 80s.
Round to my digs and up to Headington. That house. That dress.
Down to Gypsy Lane and round Cotuit.
Katherine's Ghost
Magadalen Bridge on May morning, Sex in the Deer Park.
The pub on the roundabout?? and that newsagent on the Cowley Road?
Wonder if he's still trading all those mags? - the internet must have made a massive difference to those kind of places.
Then of course there's all that nonsense in Pusey Street with the guys from St John's.
It HAS to be done...

She's "bringing the Nikon with"...
I do hope it's not STILL raining, but it's pouring down here now.
I'm a bag of nerves.

My mum and I we live alone
A great apartment is our home
In Fairhome Towers
I have to keep me company
Two dogs, a cat, a parakeet
Some plants and flowers
I help my mother with the chores
I wash, she dries, I do the floors
We work together
I shop and cook and sew a bit
Though mum does too I must admit
I do it better

My masquerade comes to an end
And I go home to bed again
Alone and friendless
I close my eyes, I think of him
I fantasise what might have been
My dreams are endless
We love each other but it seems
The love is only in my dreams
It's so one sided
But in this life I must confess
The search for love and hapiness
Is unrequited
I ask myself what I have got
Of what I am and what I'm not
What have I given
The answers come from those who make
The rules that some of us must break
Just to keep living
I know my life is not a crime
I'm just a victim of my time
I stand defenceless
Nobody has the right to be
The judge of what is right for me
Tell me if you can
What make a man a man
Tell me if you can
Tell me if you can
Tell me if you can
What makes a man a ma?

This lyric was meant to open the previous entry of ths title, but the whole thing disappeared into cyberspace and I forgot to write it back in.
Aznavour features on my passing Time Almond tribute compilation, and this song has very poignant and moving lyrics that have always struck a chord with me.
It is a desperately beautiful song.

OK, so it's a song about a gay man living with his mother, struggling to maintain his identity in the face of homophobia and misunderstanding.
He does "a very special kind of show, where he is
nude from head to toe, after strip teasing.
The customers customers come in with doubt
They wonder what he's all about
But leave believing

My interpretation of this defends the right of each one of us to be ourselves, not defined by the gender roles and expectations imposed upon us by the society and times in which we live.
While I accept that there are fundamental biological, psychological etc differences between men and women, this isn't really the point I was trying to make.
While we recognise and largely accept these differences, it seems less comfortable for us to accept differences BETWEEN men and BETWEEN women.
In Decline and Fall, Evelyn Waugh makes a good case for the fact that, rather than define people as 'male' or 'female' we could define people as 'dynamic' or 'static' - personalities which traverse the gender into which we are born.

What suits me and the way I live isn't comfortable for other people, other men, in the same way that i would find it uncomfortable to live in the way they do.
The persecution and victimisation felt by Aznavour in his lyric is painfully felt and beautifully sung. But he is defiant, and determined to maintain his identity (and sexuality) in the face of ridicule and misunderstanding.

I am not a victim of either ridicule or misunderstanding, or homphobia or racism. i dont think.
Perhaps that makes me lucky.
What I am is me, a man, living a lifestyle in which I am comfortable but that I recognise would not suit everyone. I don't seek to impose my ways, attitudes and values on others and never have. I am not a Flag-Waving Christian or a Placard-Waving Vegetarian, but I hold these values in the highest regard and celebrate the changes,s trengths and sense of balance that these choices have brought to my life.
I have six beautiful children, considerably more than is the accepted 'norm' and a seventh on the way, for which i thank God and praise Him for his trust, insight and kindness.
But that doesn't mean this is a choice i would advocate for others.

So what makes a man a man?
It's the eternal, unanswerable question.
There is nothing specific that makes a man a man. there is as much variety between and among men as there is between and among women. An considerable overlap. Some men are more female than some women (and I probably fall into this area) inthe same way some women display more masculinity than some men. I feel for people who are uncomfortable in the gender body they were born into, because fromt he outside looking in, that is what defines us a a "man' or a "woman".

Let us not judge, lest we be judged.
This is a beautiful world in which we all have to live
There is room for everyone
Find your way and live it
It need not be "at the expense of someone else"
The accusers are often those with emptiness inside
Running and hiding from themselves
Never to arrive

I stand defenceless
Nobody has the right to be
The judge of what is right me
Tell me if you can
What makes a man a man?

The more time I spend alone in the office, the more I enjoy being alone in the office.
Jo's presence here has been good for us in so many ways. Not least because she is a good 'public' face at meetings and seems to enjoy the conferencing/networking side of things which I have always hated.
She's out todaywith D around the New Forest. A Literature Exchange Breakfast (!!!!) at Beaulieu then some other meetings, and this afternoon an opportunity to present our proposal for taking over NFTA later in the year.
Means I can muddle around here putting the Hamble VisGuide together.
MS is not doing so well with the pictures. I'm going to print end of next week and need everything done and laid up by Weds so that we can run over the QA. He's only been out ttwice, both times to Hamble, so we may not have the range of images we're looking forward. I did explain clearly that we don't want to pay for 200 pix of the same place and use 2 of them. I'd rather see only 20 pix from ten different villages.
Could be difficult. the weather has been sh*t for photography tho - so let's home for a brighter weekend.
It has been raining here since Thursday evening tho...

I just lost my entire entry!
Always happens when I don't write it first and cut and paste into this box.
Silly silly. I should learn.
DON"T WRITE THE BLOG ON THE SITE.
Again.
Learn it.
Twat.

Still haven't phoned my sister because i no longer have her phone number.
What a sad stae of Modern Art that is.
We bought new phones at Christmas for the house and forgot to copy over the numbers in the memory.
They are crap phones too. VS2000 by Panasonic. You can hardly hear what people are saying on the other end.
Bring back those kinky wires.
I have always jokingly referred to them as "pointless phones" (phones without a cord?). Now I can see the irony...

Hope Trx doesn't get home before I finish this entry. I want to be in bed reading by then.

Having said that about phones, I've spent an hour chatting with RH this evening about all sorts of stuff, inc. his 40th tomorrow. Seems my gift has arrived safely and been well received. Much deserved, my friend.
Athols CD Love Songs to a Dalek(you heard it here first) which I have also sent ot OnelittleINdian, AjantaMusic and Mark at FleeingNewYork.
She deserves to be heard.

egg decorating tonight for the Easter PArade on Friday.
Flo has won her class prize in Year's r, 2, 3 and 4 so we have told her not to expect to win again. Mind you, her Humpty Dumpty scene is very funny and well thought out.
We always make a point of letting them do their own work and living with the consequences of it perhaps not truning out very well. Seems its a good idea.
She always beats any of the parents who spend time and money trying to showoff their own talents.
It's so not about that.
This year Ali has done an Excellent Eye Egg (with one eye and a Barbie jacket on) and Stan's first entry is a Pig Money Box.
Amazing what you can do with a few blobs of blu-tak some pink paint and a marker pen. he has tried reallyhard.
It's simple, but I think very effective.
Funny little man - he cares SO much about his work. Everything has to be absolutely just so. Youngest in the school. And he loves it

Oxford Thursday with kink. Sent a map up today as she is driving there for the first time.
We are meeting for the day.
She split with her "boyf" at the weekend and I thought some Dad Time might be needed. We're meeting for a chat and some time togetehr over lunch.
Like grown ups.
I am childishly excited.

And the bank 'drew down" (???) the loan today so I can spend some time tomorrow writing out cheques and settling accounts with loads of people
hurrah

I can feel
the turning of the tide

Over the weekend my eyes fell on a tape I recorded a few years ago.
The Passing Time, I called it.
A compilation of artists performing songs either written by or otherwise once performed by Marc Almond.
Finding it was a sign.
First glinted at in converstaion recently with various muso/s on the merits (or otherwise) of cover versions and remixxes.
Generally speaking, I'm a big fan of both.
Marc's done a lot in his career, and I remember when buying Absinthe, what ten years ago? that there was a lot more depth to his influences than even I imagined. It's one of his most beautiful and provocative albums, even if the songs are miles outside the accessible range of most of his more recent audience.

Anyway, this tape.
Scott Walker (of course) - In My Room/Jacky/My Death
Edith Piaf - A quoi ca sert l'amour/autumn leaves
Jacques Brel - Ne me Quitte Pas/J'arrive
Aznavour - What MAkes A man A man/Yesterday
Gene Pitney - Something's Gotten Hold
Juliette greco - Deshabille Moi
Marie france - The Flame/Scherezade
Marie Coughlan - Saint Judy/There is a Bed
Lou reed - Caroline Says
David Bowie - My Death
David McWilliams - The Days of Pearly Spencer
Daid Gray - Say hello Wave Goodbye
Gloria Jones - Tainted Love
Inspiral carpets (!!!) - Tainted Love

Ok, the list deteriorates but its not in playing order.
It's absolutely superb and deeply moving.

From Absinthe I went on to listen to lots of Greco and Barbara and added a couple of albums to my Brel catalgue.
Scott Walker has a new album out soon and an exclusive interview on the culture show this week!!!!
I love torch and cabaret (Almond, Minnelli, Garland, Dietrich, Gainsborough, brel..) and I love electronica (Foxx, Eno, Kraftwerk), so what I need to find is
somethng that combines both genres.

This shift in taste (perhaps development, rather than shift) exemplifies the kind of obtuse mood I've been in lately. I can recognise the symtoms now.
It goes with not sleeping.

I've just read 2 Timothy while listening to Jacques Brel.
How does that work??

Should have gone for the simple option on Saturday of course, like yesterday's tea and cakes in West End, just ten minutes from home.
Paid £30 in £2 coins.
Still raining.
Kids very unsettled today - tired no doubt after losing an hour of their day.
It's week 18.
Prudence has been and gone as my choice for a name. Connie is now riding high. Constance Faith. or Grace?
Hmmm...
Are we thinking it might be another girl?
Archie was baptised in church yesterday. He's 8. Two sisters - Daisy and Chloe. Nah.
I was reading (Paul's letter to Timothy) and then of course on coffee, as always seems to be the case when there's an 'occasion'.
I'm sure its not just a co-inky dink...
First friendly face in the queue to help out was KR - wonderful to see her again. Looking radiant as ever. And somehow even skinnier. Place at Harvard all secured and TWO scholarships in place.
Told me I should read Eddie Askew
Put me in mind of how inappropriate I feel sometimes. It's laughable.
But how does being in a place of worship stop someone having a stunning figure, enjoying a good giggle and being an outrageous flirt with chocolate cake??
They'd fit in an egg cup, I'm sure. How marvellous...
I've always liked the name too, ever since I wrote War Games, back at Uni.
But it's one of Kink's middle names so I can't really use it again now.

Played tents all afternoon on the bunk beds.
Got nothing else done at all.
That's the second weekend my hoovering hasn't happened.
House is bursting with daffodils - my favourite flowers (except perhaps for gladys??). Atchoo!!

So I'm reading Eddie Askew. A Prayer and a Shouting. Meditations and thoughts.
Truly inspiring stuff.

Sixty quid in cash from Map Sales on Friday gave me enough to take Mum and Dad out for a cream tea in the Forest on Saturday afternoon.
I didn't take them - but I had enough to if it had worked out.

Where exactly is North Gorley, and how do you get there from the Godshill road? I've driven past one of the most hghly recommended tearooms in the Forest several times (and only three weeks ago) and D went there a couple of weeks back for the first time full of enthusiasm.
We couldn't find in anywhere, from the north and got lost in the maze of hamlets round Hyde and Hungerford. (I NEVER get lost!!)
In the pouring rain.
Try the 'main road way' - another five miles.
Hurrah. Now it's familiar. Left at the cattle grid and up the road. next to the pub. The Royal Oak that's it.
Fantastic.
What do you mean - closed?
"We are sorry for any inconvenience, but due to family circumstances we regret that the tea room is closed this weekend."
No facilities for children in the pub.
"Yo could troy the 'ide Garden Sharp, up the Garden cen'errr..."
Only ten minutes away.
Found it easily - loos very nice - at 4.15.
They close at four so we came home.
In the pouring rain.
Mum was great about it but must have been seriously pissed off.
We were out for an hour and a half and drove another 60 miles for nothing.
In the pouring rain.
She liked her card...

The average number of visitors to this bloglet has doubled in the past couple of weeks.
Welcome...
Or have I just got better at tagging?
Weird - I've never written to be read. So thanks for your time.

Its hard to take a school report at face value these days.
Where does the idea of 'accentuating the positive' actually come from. I'm sure it hasn't come up from us humble parents??
I do wish they could just tell it like it is.
At our school we have "Oscars" every half term, awarded to various children for particularly good effort, or good reading, or good behaviour or whatever.
Amazingly enough (and I might have said this before) our kids set a school record in Christmas term by ALL having one. Winners in years 5, 2 and R.

Where I have a problem is when you come over time to realize that the Oscars have to be given to every kid in the class. So now the annoying kid in Yr 5 has won the Oscar for 'good attendance'...
And last week someone else got a small 'reward' from the teacher ( just a box of pencils or something) for handing in their homework!
My kids ALWAYS hand in their homework because that is what they are expected to do. It's not something you should get rewards for!
They never, ever get any form of reprimand for NOT handing anything in - so Flo is asking why she should bother.
"Nothing ever happens if you don't do it"
Make syou wonder quite what the point of doing things properly is sometimes.

How can you give one child who's never 'won' anything a Special Mention for 'having nice hair' or something - just so they get a prize?

Mind you, I think I have this opinion about most major award ceremonies!!
Every year now we have to have, for instance, the 'John Peel Award for A Lifetime of Outstanding Contribution to Music'. Very worthy, and perhaps brought in ten years ago when I dunno, say Paul McCartney got the deserved recognition or something.
But now they have to look for someone to give the award to, which undermines the achievement of those that won it on merit.

Like the invention programme for instance I saw on TV a year or so ago. Three private individuals with new inventions presented to an audience who vote for the best by phoning in, the winner getting some investment and maybe a production contract. Great idea.
Week 1 - three excellent ideas (the three that probly inspired the idea), each one getting over 50,000 votes.
Week 6 - three stupid crap ideas not getting 10,000 votes between them. But one still has to win, therefore being judged as better than those that didn't win in Week 1.
So I was a bit sceptical of the brilliant, shining Cut And Paste reports when I went to talk to the three class teachers this evening. Seems that all my kids are 'an absolute joy to teach' and that the only challenge is 'giving them work to do that pushes them'. It seems the teacher shave 'never taught such amazing' children before and wish they had 'a whole class full of [whoever]'. There are all polite, quiet, respectful, well above average, complimentary, helpful etc etc
Like everyone else's kids then.
I don't want them to be special of course, but I just want the staff to be able to be honest. That's more helpful in the long term to everyone.
God forbid we should live in a society where everyone was perfect and encouraged to be happy as themselves...

Imagine a world without Microsoft.
We're bringing the company into land in that unfamilar desert.
Its called Adobe...
I got another CV today, through the post at work.
Done in Word.
Times New Roman.
With double spaces at the beginning of each sentence.
And spell checked by the computer, that doesn't pick up, for instance, when the word 'map' is spelled 'mat'.
For a job in graphics, working with layout and desktop publishing?
Hello?

Seems I've sparked off quite a thread about the vaccuous, banal and incestuous world that is MySpace...
I cannot accept that Foxx has decided that he needs a presence in this environment. Someone said "I don't care, Foxx is my friend now."
Right...

I don't like upsetting people, but this is really something that needs to be questionned. There is a serious risk of credibility erosion that needs addressing.

AND

If we go through with our plan to look for new offices, prefereably with two or three rooms so that I can have 'my space' back (ha!ha!ha! pun intended), will giving D his own room exaggerate his sense of self-importance.
We've been chasing someone for a £400 ad in the PG who apparently told him to "p*ss off" when approached to place something. They had a big row about a mistake D made in an earlier publication and he was told then not to bother asking them to take part in anything else he ever did.
So by some bad management we put his ad in the PG..."dont worry about it, he'll be OK".
Jo coped with the phone call very well I thought and fairplay to the client he was polite to her. Still cost us a lot of money tho...

I suppose I have to take my share of the blame for trusting D like this again.
He designs the forms and prints them all out.
Fill them in.
Get them signed.
"He told me over the phone that the AD was OK" isn't going to be good enough anymore.

The floor above the station round the corner is up for rent.
How big is it, and how much will it cost?

And behold, the crazy busy world of me just gets whizzier.
Mostly work, I confess, and probably due to the impending 'year end' which has thrown at least the Council into a frenzy of activity. I had to go in today and see if I could provide something to illustrate the SPAs and SSSIs along the riverside in the next couple of days for a BioDiversity report that is going to print on Monday...
And a couple of samples of how new leaflets about suburban greenways might look if I am commissioned to draw the new maps in them.
We also got even more confirmation today that the 'Destination Management' package we have put togetehr for Botley is definitely coming our way in a matter of weeks. Our price was under £15K in the end, which they are happy to cash flow in chunks thru the year.
Jools Holland is coming to play on the Common this summer. Can we distribute fliers in our racking? How much for an entry on pageone...?

LC is a star. No accidents since Saturday, and she gets cross with us now if we dare to suggest she might need a wee. She knows when she needs to go, and just gets on with it! None of that potty nonsense either that is SO last week! Just toddle sup to the loo, climbs on her little step and we are sorted. Easiest of the kids so far, and none of them have taken very long.
What's all the fuss about?
Pull up pants, my a**e. Just get them out of nappies and onto the loo. So they pee on the floor a handful of times, and in the car, and in the pushchair?
Wash it.
It only lasts a week...

News today on the super-wanky-bollocks that is eb*y (excuse the swearing) that John's album Tinycolourmovies is now available for pre-order.
Was no-one going to be told???
It's his first solo vocal album since 1985 and eagerly awaited.
Though I'm still enjoying Eectrofear myself....
More so than the tour, which at only twelve dates seems a bit of a farce.
Unfortunately, his presence at myspace is a bit crap too. What's that all about?
Absolutely nothing to do with John of course, but he must have some input and approves the content. Presumably?
No wonder RH was upset when he phoned for a rant this afternoon.

He has a point. But…
Its becoming rather like local private greengrocers ranting about supermarkets opening up down the road so they "have to close" their business.
Its and 'adapt and survive' world out there.
What we need to do with the website is focus on it being the definitive archive and biography source, rather than get upset about being cut out of the loop as regards new information and breaking news.
Its NOT particularly exciting design wise. That has to be said.
We need to identify our market and focus on providing goods of the highest quality for a range of discerning, intellignet and loyal customers. Let Malins turn John into a commodity if he likes (wake up, Mr Foxx!!) the way he has worked with Numan, Durannies, Depeche Mode and others - to further his CV.
Good on him though for actually getting material out of The Quiet Man and instigating a resurgence in his career.

I just hope the work with Louis is more of John's own input.

Today, the "remastered" version of the LA gig arrived from Shadowman, as well as covers by The Church and Lossless.
Add that to a copy of the 1998 Fingernail album and you have Rob's birthday present sorted out.

I've been listening this week to
Carter USM from 1992.
Forgotten how funny and clever they were.
A bit of Fad Gadget, Nick cave's Abbatoir Blues which I'm really not sure about
Fingernail - So Backwards
Metamatics - Jack and Dive

Trx is at Alpha. We've been getting very intense lately about our involvement with the Church. Horizons are opening up. Sun is rising...

When she comes home
She's illuminous…

Sunday
Still warm, 12°C
I went out and cut the grass.
Alice and LC helped - it was hilarious watching her trying to pick up the cuttings in her tiny little hands.
Ended up playing football with Alice for an hour while Stan was upstairs helping Flo tidy up the loft. He's getting really into playing with the Barbie stuff lately...

An hour and a half on the phone to RH too. Inspiring.
He's taken to ringing up for a good rant at the frustration of it all.
Being treated very badly by Island about these re-issues and looks to be in danger of getting no credit at all for all the hard work he's put in.
I think he should charge for professional services when they are part of a commercial project.
Like scanning and retouching the cover artwork.
etc
His relationship with SM is not good - there is a lack of respect and a sense of mutual mistrust.

If it wasn't for my input, the website would have been shelved a year ago.
Scary thought...

Then had the church warden and a couple of other folks round to discuss the publicty for the easter Service - our celebration of new life in the old church.
Took far too long and consumed too many biscuits.

Another hour on the phone to Biscuit in the evening.
So much easier chatting with her if she gets the fone first.
Kink's in Eastbourne.
Apart from being wheel clamped in the week it seems all is well.

Saturday
An uncharacteristically, bright and sunny morning
Took Alice to a schoolfriend's party at the "Megabowl".
What a Godforsaken, awful place. When it came time to pick her up, I couldn't go in, but stood tentatively in the lobby waiting for her to emerge from the darkness.
There were several parties being hosted at the same time.
One boy came out, complaining to his Dad.
"Ooh, ow, Dad. This sun is really hurtin' my eyes! It burns..."
What a w*nker.
I think you'll find its the flashing neon blue lights and mile-square video screens that are hurting your eyes.
She was in there for nearly THREE hours, so we had plenty of time for a visit to a nearby park.
Obscene graffiti.
I like street art, Some guys have talent.
Rachel B s*s her dad's Ck, is not so clever.
And considerably more difficult to explain to a nine year old.

Took a detour on the way back to walk through Mill Mead along the stream.
Blissfully quiet.
I do love Southampton's Greenways, its just such a crying shame the council don't back up their initiative with maintenance and regular visits to the sites.
Had Grey Wagtail and Nuthatch within a few seconds, and then tracked down 50 Siskins in the alders.
Superb views of these charming finches that I haven't seen close up for many years.
Funny how you never forget what they sound like.

Then lunch at Tesco. A ridiculous example of how using 14 yr old staff on a Saturday is actually costing them money.
No queue, so at the hot food counter I ordered egg and beans on toast twice for the little ones and a couple of mozarella paninis for me and Trx.
She was unnervingly gorgeous.
Talk to the two yr old. Too much eye contact.
Then picked up sandwiches for Flo, drinks, cake and tea and went to the checkout. There was the girl with the other braincell.
She was unnervingly gorgeous.
"Hiya! What you got then?
Sandwiches bleep bleep, two teas bleep bleep..."
Anything else?
No spoon with a number on, no little plastic thingy?
"No no, that's it."
"Cool. £5.80 please. Bleep bleep"
Chat chat. Scary smile.
"Thank you"

Ten minutes later, spacechick number three wanders around the café calling "two paninis, two kids beans"
That's me.
"Thanks. Enjoy your meal."
For £5.80 we did...

Friday
Signed off the loan with a quick trip to the solicitors this afternoon. AW's godfather runs a private practise in a HUGE rambling cottage in the New Forest. This should all come through next week and allow us to pay of the outstanding print-bills before year end.
Everything is going ridiculously to plan at the moment. Apart from the fact that we have already taken orders for about half our predicted turnover this year. This includes £15K for cartography before Easter, when we anticipated a budget of £12K all year.
No doubt the reason for this is the arrival of Jo in the office. She has taken a lot of the database management and stock control etc from D (which he never made a very good job of anyway), releasing his time to sell - which he is very good at.
He's pulling in more work and the results are starting to show. Just means now that we are in danger of creating a bottleneck unless I can get some more prodcution help. Actually, admin help would be better targeted, and free me up to do more of the work.
DK World Atlas for example. A project worth so far £800 to conceptualise the methodology. Completed with a monster late night to clear a path for more short turnaroound stuff early next week.
D and I had one of out best meetings at the end of the day. ITs still tight, but beginning to look brighter. I decided we could take the risk of having an extra divvy payment on Monday.
Ironically, I got a statement from the bank when I got home, telling me another DD has been 'returned unpaid' because I have again reached the bottom of the barrel.
This is made more of an acute problem when a very tired Trx has to do the week's shopping becasue I have no money...

The tape has arrived from the US. Did I say that?
Two interviews with Foxx and a copy of the 'metamatic demos'.
Very poor quality, but I'd be interested to know the history of the recording.
The jingles 1 & 2 for instance, are not 1 and 2 as generally known. Instead they are 1 and 4...

On the metamatic demos, we have two extra pieces that don't appear on the widely circulated CD of that name. These are fascinating.
The piece called "Glimmer" is not Glimmer from No-One Driving. It is a piece called "Bed Flight" from the unreleased film soundtrack,and the last track "Red Collar" is in fact Bed Cellar from the same session.
This leaves two short pieces called Walking On Air and Walking On Air 2 which I need to find out a bit more about.

Had a bit of grief from the Forum lately since I chose to offer a copy of the Hollywood boot to Robin Simon via his brother Paul. Ppl seem to think I'm after something or whatever, whcih is such rubbish. I've chatted with both Paul and Robin, and he is excited about the idea of getting a copy not only of this boot but also the other four that I have from the US tour. Paul offered me an interview at the AJ gig coming up, but I almost definitely can't get up to London for that.
I'm hoping he'll talk to me over email, or at leats reply to a letter I will post with the discs.
What has pi**ed me off most is the fact that the disc has actually been 'remastered' and circulated back to others I initially sent copies to, but no-one has thought to pass a copy back to me. SM is putting that right now since I asked him directly

NO ACCIDENTS today.
And only one yesterday! She's doing so welll - not even telling us now when she needs to go, just toddling off to her potty (we have four, strategically placed all over the house...) and getting herself all sorted out. Then shouting to us with the results of her little adventure.
It's quite amazing - the only way to go is straight in at the deep end and you come out the other side so much quicker...

Marlin and halibut, pan-fried.
New potatoes.
Baby sweetcorns, purple sprouting brocolli.
Oyster mushrooms.
Loyd Grossman's green thai sauce
Three bottles of Kanoonga Chardonnay.

Far too much washing up!
Great evening though, and the first time we've had NI for dinner in three years. And we've known them ten years.
Good to catch up with them - he's always full of stories.
Some I'm sure he shouldn't pass on, being PC, but it makes for an entertaining chat.
Well after midnight though - and a bit too much wine than is entirely sensible when you plan to work late nights the rest of the week.

The first sample spread has come in for the new DK Atlas of the World.
Can I turn it around in 36 hours and return the file by Tuesday??
That will be a challenge.
And I don't know Illustrator CS very well.
At all.
But its really easy - seems I know a lot more that the client anyway!

"We are what we do" is an organisation that Flo was told about yesterday during he visit to the Mayor's office. She takes over the chair of the school council next year.
it seems really interesting and stands for a lot of the principles we believe in. Shame the silly website their literature promotes is only a reserved domain name at the moment…
More later.

Its day three of potty training in our house. Again.
Uh oh...
LC had a complete nightmare with it on Monday and was so confused (and no doubt still tired after the weekend) that it was a disaster. She wee'd three times before breakfast and had run out of clothes by the end of the day!!
But as we know, perserverance is the key, and yesterday afternoon she seemed to get more of an idea what is going on. Trx took her to playgroup for two hours and nothing happened, then she wee'd in the pushchair on the way home but used the potty twice in the evening.
This morning she asked for her potty and used it, proudly pointing to the contents!!!
Hurrah - we reckon no more than two weeks.
Easy peasy
But that's girls for ya!

Kids awake just after 6.00, so plenty of time for breakfast and packing and all that stuff.
Left the house around 9.00.
Light traffic and light snow (!!!) arriving at the farm in good time just before 11.00.
What were we going to find?
Certainly not what we were expecting.
The bag packed and by the door in the sun lounge was the most welcome sign, and a beaming M had the kettle on all ready, shaved and wearing clean shoes!!
Hugs and smiles all round and a great couple of hours playing hide and seek around the barns and football in the meadow while Trx and her dad had a long catch up.
Left the farm after lunch 12.45.
He even remembered the route across country to pick up the A1 at Sandy, which was a revelation. I think we have all rather underestimated his mental recovery from last year's stroke.
Sent D a text to say dad was with us, which of course made his day too. Even last night he was preparing himself for the worst, and so not surprising that he too has happy and excited when we arrived in Stamford just after 2.00. Early, and we didn't get lost.
Hurray for me - proudly saying that if I've been somewhere once I can always find it again.
What a beautiful town - birthplace of our very own vicar, no less. Co-inkydink number one…
Except for the park That's shit.
They have chavs in Stamford too it seems. There's a Lidl and everything ;-)
The wedding was absolutely incredible. I haven't been to many, but this was in a different league, well beyond my experience. Great relationships between all the Reds and the whole camaraderie of the military boys is a revelation. Everyone was SO nice and the amount of compliment we got about the kids was an abundance of embarrassment.
True, they did behave well in the church and cope with the i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-y long reception, but we wouldn't have expected anything different. SO many people came up to us and made the kindest comments - and a lot had heard "all about our wonderful family" from Dave.
We must be doing something right.
Someone said "I've left my two boys with their grandma. They'd have trashed this place by now..."
What a position ot be in, and to say that about your own kids???
Hey ho.
Highlight for me personally was being asked to say grace before the meal - which I was only given about half an hour's notice to do.
God presenting me with a challenge, knowing that I was up to it and would benefit from the experience. i did enormously - it's an honour I won't forget in a hurry.
Co-inky dink number two:
We're driving from Stamford to Oakham for the reception, past Rutland Water. Everything looked familiar,a s these places often do from my twitching days, until I began to feel oddly ill-at-ease driving down the lane to the hotel.
It's only in the village where Katie used to live (War Games With Katherine, and all that!!
Twenty one years passed in the blink of an eye.
She was there
Reflected in the windows
In the flames
Dancing in that dress and
Laughing with that voice
Ashes in the grate
And dust on my sleeve
I felt agin her hand on my hand
Across the table
Long streams of silence
Connecting memories again
Just a glance
And the glancer's gone...

And M insisted he stayed through the speeches and everything, so we didn't return to Stamford until well after nine.
Three kids all slept in one bed with no fuss. Knackered.
Until 6.00
So we had four hours sleep.
I knew the wine when we got back to the house was a mistake, but hey, when the lady wants to play,
Who am I to say?

Picked up the wedding present from CLC yesterday in an inspired session.
A beautiful picture frame and mirror reclaimed from ship's timber.
Quaker style, inscribed with a verse from Luke.
And Trx likes it too, so all is well.
And it looks as if M might be coming with us after all.
He's been feeling better all week and seemed to be in a fairly positive mood earlier this evening.
Last night's prayer session at cell has paid dividends.

All the packing is done and the accessories are together.
The girls are going to look amazing… just like their Mum.
I will be the scruff of the bunch!!

Trying to catch up on sleep too. That's why I feel so tired.
And something to do with the ENORMOUS cycle ride I went on this morning.
Cycling for fun is something I could get into.
None of the equipment-based lycra type of stuff, just riding around the lanes and villages.
Doing this Treasure Hunt for church.
It's coming together well. 40 questions and 10 images over 13 miles.
Not so happy with the idea of a meal in the church centre afterwards though.
I'm not sure that will work.
Could do with at least 10 cars taking part so that we do raise some money.
And I must be careful that its not too difficult.
Or too easy, like it was last time.
I think.
Nobody got anything wrong.