Tag: journal
-
121: BURNT
The family are away this weekend… … and here’s a potent reminder of why (some) dads should never be left to look after themselves. In case you were wondering, this was a pizza. The laziest form of food to cook yourself. And I still managed to fuck it up. ‘Cowpat?’ asks a friend, when I…
-
120: PARP
It’s the next day and I’ve just arrived at the open mike event – for local authors – at our nearest town’s literary festival. The time is 7.30pm… and the event appears to have started earlier than advertised on the ticket. When I walk into the room (which is in a chain hotel near the…
-
119: CREATIVE DRINKS
I’m in a bar in our local town, having ‘creative drinks’ with a bunch of local arty types. To be honest, I didn’t realise there were many arty types in our local town, bar the handful who congregate in their favoured coffee shop… plus a few painters Lizzie knows. But there are a surprising number…
-
118: RETURN OF THE JOURNAL
It’s the third day of the week I’ve booked off work… and I’m continuing to use the time in a pretty lazy manner. Sitting in cafés having coffees. Sitting a lot at home, tapping at my laptop – when I can be bothered to even do that. I’m about to have lunch in our kitchen…
-
112: BED RAIL
Lizzie and I are changing the sheets on our bed. That hardly sounds newsworthy in itself… except these days we don’t change the sheets as often as we used to (when Lizzie was ill) and I’m going to have to come clean (sorry for the pun)… they’re not exactly looking pristinely white. Maybe I’ve been…
-
110: DEAD POP
Wow. Is it really just over thirty years (spring 1993*) since I appeared as an extra in the Radiohead video ‘Pop Is Dead’? Yup, I’m that shaggy-haired guy (I had hair in those days) on the right, below. My friend Jenny and I heard about the shoot, through our friend Hugh, and went along to…
-
107: CHOCOLATES
It’s Valentine’s Day. The first Valentine’s Day since Lizzie got the all-clear from her cancer. And… … unfortunately… … it’s crap. I can tell things are getting off to a bad start, when I present Lizzie with her card and box of chocolates. The card goes down OK. After all, it’s a Valentine’s card. As…
-
106: LONG ENCOUNTER
I’m on the train from London Paddington to Honeybourne station – fifteen minutes drive from home. I had to catch the 20.50 from Paddington, as my usual train – the 19.50 – no longer appears to be scheduled. I guess that trains which take people away from London – as opposed to into it –…
-
104: COMEDIAN
I’m in the kitchen, emptying the dishwasher… whilst hungrily eyeing the delicious supper Lizzie’s left out on the hob (which she and the kids have already tucked into). I figure, if I look industrious – doing the dishwasher – Lizzie won’t mind me also tucking into the delicious supper… even though it’s yet another meal…
-
103: MILK
It’s a weekday morning and I’m rushing to get the 7.58 train from nearby Honeybourne Station, in Worcestershire, to London Paddington. This morning – disaster – we’ve run out of milk. I realise it when I’m in the kitchen, halfway through preparing a flask-full of coffee to take on the train. I panic. This is…
P. D. Clifton 