Cigarettes and Alcohol
Despite (or perhaps because of, depending how you look at it,) Alan Bennett's plea that we all boycott huge chain bookshops in favour of independent booksellers, Waterstones has prominently displayed "Untold Stories" in the window and marked it half price. As such I would recommend anyone who hasn't yet to buy it as it's one of the best books I've ever read.
My mother, on the other hand, is now well into the PG Wodehouse biography I bought her for Christmas, and as such seems to have assumed the role of one of his characters, most probably aunt Dahlia, and suddenly it's "good-oh" instead of "good", "What-ho" instead of "Hello", and we're all "chaps".
That Charles Kennedy is an alcoholic is not news as such, just confirmation. About two years ago he gave a speech to the University of London Union about student funding which didn't make a great deal of sense, and he smelled of alcohol, was late showing up, and generally didn't make a very good impression. Phil Willis, on the other hand, was excellent, and went up in my estimation even further the following year when he almost gave me a job. At the time we were quite miffed with Kennedy and all branded him an alcoholic. When I found out last night that he was I felt rather sorry for him, and slightly guilty. I am pleased to see, though, that Andrew Pierce, the journalist I semi-stalked for a year after he came and talked to our school about, amongst other things, how much he hated Margaret Thatcher, is still the Big Political Cheese at The Times, and has been given the task of filling in the rest of us on the whole thing.
I did finally write some New Year's Resolutions and have already set abut following them. The first is the obligatory "do more exercise" and on Wednesday I joined the gym and swam 20 lengths of the pool. The second is to do more work on my MA. So far this has amounted to 20 minutes in the staff room scribbling notes from a book on industrial settlements. And finally, I am going to approach my writing more seriously. To this end I have made yet more amendments to "Ducklings" and sent it to the Hampstead Theatre.
The Royal Court has still not replied, which perhaps is a Good Thing.
Am currently covering Reception and mulling over my fourth and final resolution, which is to get another job.
My mother, on the other hand, is now well into the PG Wodehouse biography I bought her for Christmas, and as such seems to have assumed the role of one of his characters, most probably aunt Dahlia, and suddenly it's "good-oh" instead of "good", "What-ho" instead of "Hello", and we're all "chaps".
That Charles Kennedy is an alcoholic is not news as such, just confirmation. About two years ago he gave a speech to the University of London Union about student funding which didn't make a great deal of sense, and he smelled of alcohol, was late showing up, and generally didn't make a very good impression. Phil Willis, on the other hand, was excellent, and went up in my estimation even further the following year when he almost gave me a job. At the time we were quite miffed with Kennedy and all branded him an alcoholic. When I found out last night that he was I felt rather sorry for him, and slightly guilty. I am pleased to see, though, that Andrew Pierce, the journalist I semi-stalked for a year after he came and talked to our school about, amongst other things, how much he hated Margaret Thatcher, is still the Big Political Cheese at The Times, and has been given the task of filling in the rest of us on the whole thing.
I did finally write some New Year's Resolutions and have already set abut following them. The first is the obligatory "do more exercise" and on Wednesday I joined the gym and swam 20 lengths of the pool. The second is to do more work on my MA. So far this has amounted to 20 minutes in the staff room scribbling notes from a book on industrial settlements. And finally, I am going to approach my writing more seriously. To this end I have made yet more amendments to "Ducklings" and sent it to the Hampstead Theatre.
The Royal Court has still not replied, which perhaps is a Good Thing.
Am currently covering Reception and mulling over my fourth and final resolution, which is to get another job.
posted by RLS at 9:41 am
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