Monthly Archives: Feb 2009

The bird is nearly wound up.

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10°C, same dry greyness, some breaks

Same again: :these kids shine; treat carefully

Trouser-fit: I have trousers that fit. You don’t know what a novelty that is, one shop in the world now stocks 34" waist x 36" inside-leg, Gap. Now the legs reach to the top of my shoes instead of the top of my socks. Though they are now two weeks old, the novelty hasn’t worn off yet. Neither has the novelty of a winter coat that is slightly too big. Last weekend, I bought 2 shirts that are also slightly too big. That was more deliberate though; on the days I cycle to work, my neck is thicker. That means buying too-big a shirt despite the protestation of the shop staff. It is a bizarre fact that men’s shirts are sold by neck size. Sizes
are in the habit of being rather bizarre. Bicycles frames- same. Hats, same.

How are you doing?

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8°C, same weather again, but wind makes it colder

Reviews: these student interviews are a treat. A point in my job where I can sit with the most wonderful people and ask them : how are you doing?
they are committed to answer, I listen; we eat chocolate and tick boxes.
If only it wasn’t quite so tiring, if only I wasn’t so totally spent this evening. I could then really relish the conversations had with these inspiring people. This whelming malaise has washed out the thoughts I would have entertained this evening.
Goodnight.

Hope is lost

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10°C, cloudy, dry and N winds- same as yesterday.

A strangely easy week this; perhaps in lieu of tomorrow.

Hope is lost: for the world. Four VI-form girls drove to the supermarket across the road today at lunchtime. A trip less of than 1/3 of a mile. You might be thinking "how lazy", but in practice it was not. If they were lazy they’d choose the easiest and quickest way to get there. I beat them in both directions by walking. They only had a few lunch snack packets to carry; they were, all four of them able-bodied. Yet they compressed themselves into a tiny car and probably spent most of the journey standing at the lights waiting for green.
Their real motive remains hidden. When I have some clue, I’ll mention it here.

Complicité: Shun-kin

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8-12°C, good forecast.

London: a trip to the theatre. Entirely performed in Japanese, with minimal sets that seemed to combine stage design of Brecht and traditional Japanese music
(Nõ). The first 40 mins took a bit of work to plough through for me, but after that, I was in. It became an intimate emotional experience, the language was no problem- taken care of by translations displayed on the wall. Would that I knew even basic Japanese. Anyway, full stars or whatever accolades you like, stuff like this makes cinema seem weak.

Benjamin Button

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5°C, light cloud, some stars.

The Curious case of Benjamin Button Was that a long film? It touched on some raw nerves that film. The poignant themes were carried on concept of an odd man who grew younger as those around him aged. The power laid in the big life issues that we all often have to deal with: love, loss, longing and the clash between life-long desires and moving our lives onwards. Even though it was nearing 3 hours (incl. adverts) I thought some parts could have been longer, it seemed a big heavily cut in parts. That’s Hollywood I suppose.

To do…

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7°C, thin overcast. Not so cold now.

List of things to do: get bike wheel rebuilt, frame some photos; finish “reader” portrait; home decorate,

More A6 time passing.
I have more CDs: The Eels, Johan Johannssen. and one that is so relentlessly poor that I shalln’t name it.