Monday, February 26, 2007

Admin, flashes, a review and the vampire student

A morning spent clearing up the admin from last week, and an unexpectedly clear day due to the cancelled lunchtime steering group meeting. I am therefore frighteningly up-to-date, with the time to enjoy some wonderful pieces of satire in the student newspaper, “Barefacts”. The non-news section was a riot – one skit on branding (and the ridiculous amount of money the university spends on it to no apparent purpose) and one on equality for vampire students (why should the undead get all the fun?). But I suspect that both Lord H and I will struggle with the sudokus. Honestly, don’t these students have work to do rather than setting difficult puzzles for us intellectually-challenged staff?...

Had a walk round campus at lunchtime and spent some time by the lake staring at the swans and dreaming of fame & fortune. Heck, don’t tell me: I should have stuck to the swans …

And I’ve written another piece of flash fiction for this week’s Writewords (http://www.writewords.org.uk) challenge, which carries the theme found in the title:

Another time, another place
Her eyes met his. He smiled, the burden of his day lifting just a little. She smiled back. Three steps, and then they’d passed each other, heading in different directions, into their different lives. He felt once more the weight of his wedding band. Another time, another place, he thought.

I’ve also decided that I’m going to be a fly-by-night committer too and on 15 March (which is a Thursday), instead of going to my dance lesson – when Keith W will allegedly be back for it, but hmm, I’m not holding my breath … – I’m going to go on a Writeworder night out in London instead. Well, there’s certainly a higher chance of some of them actually being able to go, and heck I shall enjoy it.

At home, I discover that Keith Please (a quite well-known poet who lives locally and is a very, very nice man) has kindly given me my first review of “A Stranger’s Table" (http://www.poetrymonthly.com):

“The smart – in the best sense – title paves the way for the variety of voice and subject matter to come. There is throughout a refreshing lack of inhibition in the use of language, yet not a single piece is overwritten. A fine collection.”

Heck, I'm still smiling!

Tonight, Lord H is out at his theology class and I’m hoping to get some more of “The Gifting” done. Might even get Simon and Johan out there on the ocean, you never know. And there’s also some ace TV on – a thriller called “Instinct” looks particularly good, so I imagine I’ll be watching that. I’m such a TV tart ...

Today’s nice things:

1. The lake & swans
2. Writing the flash fiction piece
3. Getting my first review of “A Stranger’s Table”.

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk

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