New Year's Resolutions again

First of all, I'm going to update on the ones I made this time last year.

I was going to attempt to highlight these in different colours, but Blogger is being a dick and won't let me use different coloured text (and my HTML knowledge is limited, to say the least).

So, here were the resolutions I made for 2011.

Write.

(Kept: sort of)

A couple of new things have been started, but it's getting motivated to continue them that's proving problematic. Must keep it up.

Read.

(Kept: yes.)
Managed to get through loads of books this year :)

Get a new job.

(Kept: no, but efforts made)
I've applied for a number of things, but aside from one interview have got nothing. Will keep up efforts to get work in the new year.

Learn to drive.

(Kept: nope.)

Have still failed to get a new paper licence.

Open a savings account.

(Kept: no)
Again, never sorted - but will make the effort this year as I now have money from a couple of sources to put into one :)

Renew my passport.

(Kept: nope)

This MUST happen this year or I'll have to miss out on Tom Petty in Dublin :(

Spend less time online.

(Kept: ennhhhh...)
Sort of, but could do better.

Get back into swimming.

(Kept: I should bloody well say so!)
Kept this one good style, following the mortifying discovery in April that I could no longer fit into my favourite best dress for a family wedding.

Get back into playing music.

(Kept: yep)
Thanks to the monthly open mic nights at Sammy Dow's, I am now doing a bit more singing :) Hooray!

Eat more healthily.

(Kept: mostly)
I'm going to put this one in green, because even though I've had a couple of lapses I managed to keep this up a good bit this year. I need to continue with it though.

Go to the dentist.

(Kept: HAH!)
Moving on...

Live a little.

(Kept: a tad.)

Could still improve here.

So, overall, out of the 12 listed here, I've either kept or attempted to keep most of them.

And a couple of new ones to add to the mix:

Get a new hobby.

One thing I've wanted to do for some time is learn poi spinning. It just looks like so much fun, even though I'm one of the clumsiest folk on the planet. I just think it looks really mesmerising, and it's probably a whole lot harder than it looks. I went online yesterday and bought a set of poi spinners and a beginners' guide to the art. That said, it will be sometime before I have the balls to try out fire spinning. I'm also still considering pole dancing at the back of my mind, but will need to tone up big time, having gone for a trial class some years back and struggled to keep my balance from being so damn big.

Go and visit Auntie Iz in her new place.

After two years living in Newcastle, Auntie Iz finally bought a house earlier this year. For many reasons I never got round to going to see her. However, I have promised that I will try and go down to her in February or March. It's only two and a half hours on a train, which is much closer than she was while in Sheffield.

Visit Arran and / or Bute.

It only occurred to me a little while ago that both of these islands aren't actually that far from me, and that I really ought to go and visit them both. Or even just one of them. Should probably try and encourage a pal or two to join me.

And that's that for this year. If I don't get back on before the year is out, hope 2012 brings you lots of good things in the coming year.

What did I get for Christmas?

SPOILT ROTTEN, that's what :)

First of all - apologies for lack of bloggingness, due to a laptop mishap I've been stymied somewhat. I know, I could sort an app on my phone, but the official one doesn't like my email address (this thing is run by Google but my email account is with Yahoo, as it has been for years), and the unofficial one was dodgy and kept chucking dodgy ads at me. I'm back in Shetland now (unpaid again - screw you Paid Job) and on my old home PC, still sans my presumably now lost iTunes library.

So...what's been going on?

A lot, actually.

Still job hunting. Applied for two different jobs, but was roundly rejected for one and the other vacancy was withdrawn three weeks after the closing date (but if it becomes live again I'm told I'm not required to reapply). I also applied for another job, working within libraries and other cultural spots within a certain west coast region, but I'm damn certain I don't have that - I'm hugely overqualified for it, among other things (minimum educational level was 5 Standard Grades - I now have a degree. A shame, it still looked fun).

Things are on the up with Cargo now too. We came 19th in the List's Hot 100 of 2011, up from 66 last year, and we also won their Best Newcomer award at the inaugural List Awards. Along with that, we have a load of new releases coming up in 2012 - please be sure to keep an eye on our website to get the news first.

I got very spoiled this Christmas too. I got a Vivien of Holloway dress I'd been coveting for ages from Mam, a Kindle from Dad (which I plan to give you a review of later as I may be converted yet), and loads of other great stuff that would take all day to list. I have, however, had way too much booze these last few days, and the diet fell by the wayside spectacularly. Back to the pool in the new year!

I also need to redo my New Years' Resolutions - I think I may have kept all of three of them this year. Among the ones I didn't keep was the passport renewal one, but I will need to keep this because - wait for it - I'm going to Dublin this coming June to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Woo hoo! :D

Meanwhile, I currently have no further news. Merry Crimble, readers! Hope you all got spoiled too, you deserve it.

Christmas is coming...

So yeah...I keep forgetting how stressful Christmas shopping is.

This year I appear to have more people to buy for than ever before, and some of those I've still not even thought of presents for. I also keep finding things that I know people will like AFTER I've bought them something. For instance, I found some Scrabble magnets for my granny which I know she'll love, only to belatedly discover the existence of Super Scrabble, which she would most definitely also love (indeed if I'd found it in summer I'd have gifted it to her for her birthday). Tempted to get both for her but I keep changing my mind - decisions, decisions!

Hello November

My, that came in quickly.

In the last month, I've moved, I've seen Bon Iver and Steve Earle in the space of a week (and both were great) and I've finally started my Christmas shopping. And earlier today I went to Edinburgh and saw my dad accompany a violinist from the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra at the Japanese Embassy, among other things.

I need to get back into swimming when I have enough money. I was hoping to be down to 13st 6lbs by Christmas (exactly two stone lighter than I was in August) - while that's probably not gonna happen now I'd like to try.

The most momentous thing happened this month

I actually got an interview for a Proper, Grown-Up Graduate Job.

I've been keeping quiet on this front because I wanted to be sure whether or not I'd get the job.

After having put down a deposit on a new place (five minutes up from the old one - yeah, I moved by the way) I found a job that sounded like great fun. It was with a PR company in Edinburgh (I know, I know, lengthy commute etc) who worked mainly with IT and computer companies. However, I had read the person specification they had put on the website and it sounded like it fit me. So I applied. I wasn't expecting a reply, but I thought it was worth a shot anyway, and besides, I'd just had yet another crap shift at the Paid Job. So I rattled out a covering letter, attached my CV and emailed it.

To my surprise, I got a response from them three days later, asking me to come through for an interview. I was absolutely delighted. So, among everything else that had to happen that day, I headed to Edinburgh the following Monday and was interviewed by the two people who make up the company. I personally thought the interview went well, but by Friday I hadn't been asked back for a second one. Just now I received confirmation that they'd now filled the position, but the rejection was nice enough I guess - just that really I'd been up against some stiff competition, all more experienced than me, and that they wished me well. While I'm gutted to have missed out, I hope I made a good enough impression that I might be successful if they ever recruit again.

Meanwhile, I've found two more jobs to apply for that require English degrees and that I fit the specification for. Feeling a bit more hopeful in general. Maybe I will get a new Paid Job this year - which will be grand, given that it has now transpired that the current one lied to me about my holiday allowance, potentially fucking up my Christmas plans again...

Oh dear

Writers' block, after a few half decent ideas, has attacked again. Fail.

I'm working on moving all over again. I hate moving. But this flat is too expensive now. Cheaper options must be found.

I wish the graduate climate would pick up again, my job bores me. That said, I am considering setting aside a day to apply for a Masters.

If I can ever remember how to think up a good story again

NineEleven

It's a little belated, but I want to add my two penn'orth.

I still remember what happened on this day, and I think I always will.

It was a Tuesday, and I was off school ill with what I think transpired to be a routine throat infection that didn't last long. I was 13, and in second year of high school. My mam came out of work early on that day to take me to the doctor. She was working in my old primary school at that point, with the class three years below mine (which would have been P6) but mainly with one pupil who was physically disabled.

We were sitting in the waiting room, just talking. At that point it had been about three weeks since my maternal granny had died (I marked her passing on that date with a lit scented candle in the wee small hours). She'd been a known figure in the local community, having taught French and German at my old high school. A couple of people we knew stopped by to chat to us and ask how we were doing.

The radio station on in the waiting room was Radio 2, which wasn't unusual. At that age I was a bit sniffy towards Radio 2, regarding it - accurately enough - as 'The Old Channel' (something I love about it now, funny that). So, needless to say, I was paying little if any attention to it.

Then it came on the news. Well, I didn't hear it at first, but Mam did, and was trying to tell me - only she said something about the Empire State Building first, and I got mixed up and thought it was in fact that building that the planes had hit. I started paying more attention then, but then it transpired that the ESB was, in fact, unaffected - instead the World Trade Centre had been hit, as had the Pentagon, and another plane that had been hijacked and had crashed in Pennsylvania. One of Mam's pals, who was then a nurse at the health centre (and has long since undergone a career change but that's another story) stood and listened with us, and I'm pretty sure we even spoke about it with whichever doctor saw me.

When we got home, we put on the telly and lo and behold, CBBC (which by this point I was too old for anyway) was off BBC1 and on BBC2, and the former was now was just rolling news from BBC News 24 regarding the attacks. We watched for a while, just that image of the plane hitting the South Tower and the huge grey broccoli cloud that burst out of it, before both towers collapsed. Finally I had to go and think about something else, so I went to my room and probably did what I did best then - just wrote something. Later that evening, my mam encouraged me to send an email to her friend Fiona (Auntie Bear as I call her), who lived in the region where the attacks happened. I asked if she and John - her husband of only a couple of months by that point - were okay and if they could send us any info.

The next day I was well enough to go to school, and even made it to Youth Club later that night. I still hadn't heard from Auntie Bear, so I ended up checking my mail on the office computer (which was allowed). At last, correspondence. I breathed a sigh of relief.

John had written most of the email, it went thus:


"Dear Hannah,

Hi: this is John, Fee's husband. We're both fine. As we understand the
situation right now, at about quarter to nine local time this morning, an
airplane was hijacked and crashed into one of the World Trade centers in NYC.
About ten minutes later, a second hijacked airplane was crashed into the
second World Trade Tower. Shortly after that, a third airplane was hijacked
and crashed into the Pentagon, which is located just outside Washington D.C.
in Virginia. Approximately an hour after the second World Trade Tower had
been struck, it collapsed. About ten to fifteen minutes after that, the first
Tower also collapsed. Somewhere in here, a fourth hijacked airplane crashed
in western Pennsylvania.

As you can imagine, we're both quite stunned. The casualty list is going
to be enormous; it's too terrible even to contemplate, really, as apparently a
number of buildings near the WTC were damaged/destroyed in their collapses.
We're sitting on the edge of our seats, wondering what (if anything) is next,
which is, I suppose, the very effect such terrorism is meant to have on one.
There are blood drives starting up locally; I imagine I'll donate as soon as I
can.

That's about what we know. Sorry the news is so grim, but thanks for
your care and concern. We'll keep you updated if anything else happens (touch
wood).

well hannah john has given you a pretty comprehensive report. We'll no doubt
be watching the news tonight and hoping that nothing else happens. Y'know
there are real advantages to living on Shetland, aren't there?

love aunty b"


I've never in my life felt more relieved to hear from someone.

It was all anyone spoke about for a good few weeks afterwards. A girl in the class my mam assisted with brought in a news report from online that showed where the planes had hit. In my English class we wrote poems about it; mine and one other girl's were later featured in a school anthology of writing (although hers was far superior - mine rhymed, which was probably not appropriate looking back).

That said, as horrifying as the attacks were, the resulting War on Terror generated many innocent victims too, both soldiers and civilians. I remember going to a protest march in early 2003 against the threat of war on Iraq, which was made good a month later - however, since Saddam Hussein was toppled more people have died than were killed in the war before that. Similarly, Osama Bin Laden was killed at the beginning of May this year. Firstly, so many people were killed in the 9 and a half years before they got to him. Secondly, his death will not kill terrorism. If anything it'll make it worse.

So yes, to conclude, the victims of both the events of 9/11 and those that followed were in the back of my mind today. As we discovered when Amy Winehouse died the same day as the massacre in Norway earlier this year, compassion is not a finite resource and it is possible to feel sad about more than one group of people at the same time. That's how I've felt every year since it happened, and that will never change.

Edinburgh Book Fest

Just another quick post to say that Cargo have the Special Delivery event as part of Unbound at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on the 24th. 9pm, Spiegeltent in Charlotte Square, free entry :) See www.cargopublishing.com for details.

30 Days Hath September...and I'm going to be dry for them

***WARNING: This will get a bit detailed***

Well, I've said it on Facebook, and I've said it on Twitter. So now I'm saying it here.

As I mentioned in the last post, I went home a couple of weeks ago. I spent most of it chilling at home, walking the dog, and seeing folk I hadn't seen in months for various reasons. In addition, my mam's cousin had a party to christen her new porch (well, conservatory). We brought a lot of booze, which was stowed away in the wheelbarrow (where there was most space for it), and a marquee was set up in the very large back garden for my brother's band to perform in (it was the first time I'd seen them live).

However, that night I consumed the following in alcohol:

1 x bottle of Stella Artois cidre (not cider, and more delicious for it)
2 x bottle of Magners original apple cider
1x vodka and lemonade which was given to me by someone who'd changed their mind about it and I honestly swear was one part lemonade and three parts vodka
1 x bottle of Corona beer, sans lime

I've just checked my result with Drink Aware, and that comes to be 11 units - this is less than the recommended amount for women to drink per week, but about four times more than the recommend amount per day. Oh dearie me.

I do remember most of the night, mainly because I was watching the band. At one point - even though by this point I was rather drunk - my brother even got me up to join in with the harmonies on 'I Won't Back Down' originally by Tom Petty. I actually did a good job, I'm told. Later in the evening, after the band finished, we went in and the hostess got a batch of her famous Eton Mess on the go. I remember taking loads of it and trying to eat it and dropping it down myself - classy, eh? Anyway, we went home and I got to bed at about 2:15am. Around three hours later I woke up again and ended up being very sick - only the third time I've vommed from drinking. I felt horribly ill for the rest of the day - even a large mug of miso soup failed to shift it. It was a hot day, and I walked down to my cousin's house to return something I'd borrowed from her. It would usually take me about fifteen minutes from hers to mine on foot but felt like an hour, and within five minutes I was given a pint of water because I was so ill / dehydrated. It hadn't shifted by 6pm, when we went to have dinner at the home of my step-granddad and his new wife. It is truly the worst hangover I've ever had, and I hope to god I never have another like it in my life.

This isn't the first time I've had too much to drink and felt the worse for it either. It happened after a flat party we had in April, when I had to work the next day, and I had a huge blowout over a weekend in July - once at a friend's graduation party and the following day / night, firstly with a friend whom I hadn't seen in months and my ex-flatmate, whose birthday it was. Needless to say, I felt like shit on Sunday. There's been a few times - especially when I've had cider, it's massively bad for me - that I've done stuff I don't remember when drunk. On a few occasions I've gone to bed with my contacts in. Anyone else who wears contacts regularly knows how painful that is.

This maybe doesn't sound too untoward for most folk, but I never used to drink to excess. As a teenager my ideal weekend was spent at my granny's eating jam sandwiches and playing Scrabble. I did have the odd night out, but only ever had alcohol on special occasions. I first attempted to buy alcohol six weeks before my 18th birthday and was surprisingly successful. Only after I turned 18 did I realise that the majority of pubs in Shetland weren't big on ID'ing people. I moved to Glasgow that same September, where most places that I actually went to were a bit stricter. As time went on I made more friends and went out more often. Not to say that I didn't drink to excess some nights and do stupid things before that - I once buggered my ankle after tripping on the steps at the Hilltop Bar in Yell (aka The UK's Most Northerly Pub) after vastly misjudging all the booze I'd had. I've apparently once drunkenly burped the alphabet following a binge (I don't remember it, honest), I've said things I shouldn't have said. Again, not unusual. But I used to be able to have a good fun night without alcohol so I'd like to re-experience that.

I only came to this decision earlier in the week, but after getting back to Glasgow I briefly went out for a friend's birthday. I had two vodkas and coke the whole night - having had a pint of straight coke before that - and feel great for it today. So I've decided that attempting to pack in drinking for 30 days might just be a plan.

So yeah - as of September 1st, I am, to coin a phrase, 'aff it'. No booze please. Kthx.

Long overdue update...you know the drill by now

Hellooooooooo!

Sorry I've not written since June. God, didn't realise it had been that long!

So yeah - family wedding has been. And while I am unsure as to just how much weight I have lost, I shed enough that my dress fit me :D And while that's a small victory, I'm sure I could do better, so I'm going to keep up with the swimming / eating better as best I can.

There's also been a few literary excitements in recent months, among them Valve Journal (which I have yet to review), the launch of Tracy S Rosenberg's novel The Girl in the Bunker, which by the way got to No. 1 in the Scottish Bestsellers list :), the release of Andrew Raymond Drennan's new novel The Immaculate Heart, and more recently we re-released "The Year of Open Doors" in paperback.

We then have an event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival - the Special Delivery as part of Unbound. The event is free.

Meanwhile I be back in Shetland at last, firstly for a break and secondly for my gran's 80th :)

In Defence of Teachers - Past, Present and Future

So...given how vehemently I've complained in the past about people expecting me to go into teaching, you might be surprised to find I've written this. However, I felt I needed to.

Let me begin by telling you about Megan, my younger sister. Among other things, she recently completed sixth year. Not that she needed to - of the five courses over three unis that she applied to, she got unconditional entry to all five. The one she elected to go to was the PE teaching course at Stirling University.

Now, I know what you're thinking. She's seventeen, how does she know what she wants to do already? Well, she's a lot more mature at that age than I was. She now drives, she earns a hell of a lot more money than I did at a job that provides her with more experience, and she's amazing at sports. She helped out with the PE primary classes during her free time in 6th year, as well as taking swimming classes at her job (she's a pool lifeguard if you hadn't guessed) and the kids she's worked with think she's wonderful. She's also extremely popular and has a big crowd of friends, and knows how to stand up for herself - a real people person. Basically she's great teacher material.

She's not the only one in my life like that. I know lots of people who want to be teachers, most of them from my course at uni. Good for them. Many of them have experience of working with children which they are keen to put to good use. They have knowledge which they are keen to share with others, and I think that's wonderful.

The problem, though, is that I know so many people who write off teaching as a career which one takes up when they can find no other use for their degree. I get that all the time. "An English degree, you say? You should go into teaching."

Excuse me? Who are you to judge what I should do with my degree? I don't want to be a teacher, I'd be fucking awful at it. I'm very introverted (less so than I used to be, but still), I have no patience with people who don't pay attention, I can't deal with the thought of trying to force a kid to learn about something they're not even remotely interested in...I'd just be horrible at it. I'd be up for teaching at a university for sure, since by that point folk are more interested, keener to listen and actually want to learn, but not unruly teenagers legally obliged to be there.

Teaching takes a special person. The people I know who are doing teaching are all awesome and enthusiastic about what they are specialising in. Good for them. You have to want to be a teacher, like you would want to be a doctor, lawyer, journalist, engineer, or any other professional. I'm sad to say that a number of the teachers who taught me at secondary school level really should not have become teachers. They struggled to control classes, they didn't stick particularly firmly to the syllabus, they sometimes just outright ignored us and left us to our own devices. Generally they were as much use as a chocolate fireguard when it came to helping us mould our futures. It still frustrates me to think folk like that were responsible for parts of my education. They weren't all like that of course. A few did their job well and actually cared whether or not we made something of our lives.

So why is teaching so easily written off as a career? It's not like the pay isn't good - beginners can start on £20,000 a year. It can be challenging and rewarding, and the holidays aren't bad either. It takes a special sort of person to do, it's not just a Mickey Mouse career. So don't knock teachers, past, present or future, because many of them are awesome.

Rant over. PS Sorry for the prolonged radio silence.

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Weight loss

It's paying off.

Basically I've finally started going swimming again, as regularly as possible. And it's working, because now I'm slimmer than I was. I'm just about fitting back into the Dress of Awesome all over again. I guess it wasn't too challenging - I only needed to drop one size. But I could still do with shedding a little more as time goes on I guess.

More Upcoming Stuff

- I've had more ideas for short stories.

- I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my life. Going to the uni's careers service is helping a lot. My advisor seems to love me, she seems quite impressed at the experience I've gathered - supposedly that's a lot more than most English graduates have. Result. Just need to actually put this stuff into practise and find a better job than the paid one.

- Speaking of the Paid Job...I've just put in for holidays to be told of how little guarantee I have of getting them. Great. ¬_¬

- More stuff with Cargo. Andrew Raymond Drennan's new book is coming out in May.

- It's my birthday on Friday.

- I'm singing at Sammy Dow's on Sunday. Nervous doesn't even cover it.

Thoughts on the Royal Wedding

So...late last year we discovered that Prince William, second-in-line to the throne, had become engaged to Kate Middleton, his long term sweetheart. They then announced the wedding would be held on April 29th at Westminster Abbey.

Now, a lot of folk I know couldn't care less about this year's royal wedding. I don't know if it's just to do with us being Scottish or what, but a lot of folk seem to be trying to escape the country when it does happen. Most folk are making the most of a free day off. I'll be off too. I'm not meant to be, because the nature of my work means that my colleagues aren't supposed to be entitled to the day off. However, I'm not coming in to work that day because it is, in fact, my birthday.

So what will I be doing? Well, to be honest, I'm just going to put this out there: I think I'll watch it. There, I said it. I don't have any particularly strong feelings towards the royals, but I want to see what Kate's wearing. For some reason I love looking at wedding dresses even though I'm not even attached to anyone. Sad, I know. I might not even watch it all the way through, maybe just some of it. Or I might see if it ends up on the iPlayer and watch on there instead. I think it's nice that two folk in love are getting married, but I don't know them personally of course.

Yet another long overdue update

So yeah...I got bored of Tumblr. Some days I even forget to log into it. But today it occurs to me that I've neglected this blog, and it's only 14 months old.

I forgot to say that my reading at WPM 10 went down a storm, even though I was full of nerves. A lot of people had really good things to say about it, but I was also so chuffed that I was on stage with such a good line up. Next month's line up looks even better.

Home was good too. Among other things, my dad turned 50 when I went home so the siblings and I had dinner with him, and I managed to catch up with most of the people I'd been meaning to see for ages. I do feel a little sad that I now won't be back home till August at this rate, but I'm sure it'll be worth the wait.

I should also add that Cargo will be partnering with Literary Death Match for an event at the Arches on April 14th. You can pre-book tickets at the link provided or pay on the door.

On a more personal note, it finally hit home just how much weight I've put on in the last year when my blue Vivien of Holloway was found to no longer fit me, when I had plans to wear it to a wedding in July. I'm therefore trying to cut down on the bad food I eat. Fewer chippies and better exercise. In addition I'm hosting my first ever flat party. Not sure how I feel about this, I just hope it's successful.

More hatchlings

Just lately I feel more desperate to write than ever. Wonder if perhaps the brek from the city is doing me good? After all, I seem to know of a number of writers who think such is the case...

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Hometimes

I returned to my island on Thursday morning, after a fairly bumpy boat trip up that left me relieved that I won't be doing it again for two weeks.

This weekend has been that of the Delting Up Helly Aa. It's often made out to tourists that the only Up Helly Aa festival is the Lerwick one, held on the last Tuesday of every January. There's actually a season of them from January (beginning with the Scalloway one) and ending in March (with the aforementioned Delting one). I went for the procession last night - although not the following revelry - and then the Hop night tonight (aka the afterparty).

As well as this, a trip to my gran's is in order.

Hello March

So yeah, it's taken me this long to post something. Oops >_>

I'm heading home on Wednesday

Inverse Proportion

This seems to have been affecting me a lot lately.

It always seems that when things are going well with all the creative stuff, I end up in really shite situations with the Paid Job. Last week, following Margins, I went back to work and was faced with a police incident. Now, the day after Cargo vs Chemikal, I got dragged in for a pointless training shift then not given a break even though I ended up there for nearly 10 hours. Fuck. My. Life. :(

However...

This month is March, and I hope to be having a great time :)

And finally...Words Per Minute

So yeah, that's three blogs in a row. I'm catching up good and proper. Tumblr rocks, but it's not as good for big updates methinks.

Anywomb...

Given that it's now Facebook official, I can tell you that I will be reading at Words Per Minute on March 13th at the Arches.

The event will run from 4-7pm (the last hour of this is a DJ set). I'll have a ten minute slot reading a story in Shetland dialect I wrote for uni - I don't know what point I'll be on at, having just had it properly confirmed that I'll be on, but I hope you'll all pop down to see me. Entry is a fiver. I promise I'll make it worth your while. :)

Let's Get Lyrical

So yeah, I've been somewhat absent from the blogosphere in recent weeks. But anyway...

Let's Get Lyrical's closing night shall be held at the Caves in Edinburgh from 6-9pm this Sunday (27th). It's a lyrical death match between Cargo Publishing and Chemikal Underground records. The event is being refereed by AL Kennedy. In the Cargo corner, we have Alan Bissett, Rodge Glass, Doug Johnstone, Ryan Van Winkle and Kirstin Innes, and Chemikal are represented by Emma Pollock (formerly of the Delgados) and Lord Cut Glass. Tickets are £13 / £9 on the door.

Creamola Foam

Yes, that's right. I'm writing you a blog about confectionery. Ish.

So yeah, you talk to most Scottish folk over the age of about twenty and most of them should have fond memories of Creamola Foam.



I remember this. My mam hated it, but my brother and I used to get it when we went to see our paternal granny at weekends. It was available in two flavours, raspberry and orange, and raspberry was undoubtedly my favourite one. Alas, when I was about ten or eleven it went off the market.

However, one morning I was walking down Merkland St (near Partick underground / train / bus station) when I passed the sweet shop there, I saw this pinned to the door:



So yeah, not Creamola Foam, but an exact replica.

The following day I bought two tubs - one raspberry, one orange - and went on my merry way to work. On my break I tried glasses of both. Indeed, it was pretty good. Exactly as I remembered.

Then came the flat bit at the bottom of the glass after all the foam has gone. I have to say, I'd forgotten what a disappointment it was. A little too authentic an experience, perhaps.

Maybe somewhat pointless, this one, but I needed to let it out :) Normal, more sensible service shall resume shortly.

The Margins Festival

So...I'm taking a brief moment before I lace up my sexy new DMs and head out to work at The Paid Job (boo) to tell you about The Margins Festival, which is being brought to you by Cargo Publishing.

It's basically a wee four-day book and music festival running from 17th-20th of this month at Stereo on Renfield Lane, Glasgow. We have a range of writers and musicians performing at each event, and the cost of each event is £1. Bargain! Go and check out the above link for more info :)

Sorry blog

So, it's been a wee while since I got an update in. Think this is following joining Tumblr - it's addictive. But that one was originally begun as a supplement to this one, so this one I need to focus on more.

What have I done since then? Mostly worked, sadly. And discovered the genius that is The Nostalgia Critic :)

We have launched the Crate.

Go to Cargo Publishing's website, please, and click on the Cargo Crate tab. I can't even explain in one blog how awesome it'll be. :)

Cargo Crate

So, it occurs to me that I've told you little about this upcoming launch.

Cargo Crate is the new eBook and audiobook label from Cargo Publishing. We are holding two launches for it.

The first is at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh this Friday (21st), from 6-8pm, which is now sold out. However, the second will be Sunday 23rd from 3-5pm at the Arches in Glasgow, for which tickets are still available. At both, Alan Bissett will perform some of the Moira Monologues and Simon Sylvester will read some of his Twitter fiction. Both events are free.

Please come :)

I have come to the conclusion...

...that any neep can write, but it takes a special person to write well.

A shame that I would only realise this now, but there we have it.

I appear to have recovered from flu for the most part. I'm still stuffed up a little, and coughing, but I can definitely go back to work (thank fuck, can't believe I had to take time off AGAIN).

I've just discovered that one of my two big cousins (as in the 'proper' cousins, the two sons of my paternal auntie) got engaged at Christmas, so that's cheered me up. My granny's excited too. I think she's just chuffed to live long enough to see one of her grandkids get married. I'm chuffed for her as well, I know how much that means to her.

Sorry, this entry has no real focus to it, I just needed to let stuff out.

Tumblr Blog

I've decided to take a photo every day for a year, just for the hell of it.

I know I'm slightly late, given that we're now two weeks into 2011, but one of my New Year's Resolutions was to live a little. Given that I work shifts this can prove difficult at times, but it's worth a shot.

The new blog on which I'll be carrying out this little project has been started up on Tumblr, and can be found here.

I hope this project won't bore you too much. I know it'll give me a little more to do with my time this year :)

Not much else has happened. My bed broke the other day and I'm sleeping on the couch until the letting agents send someone round to fix it. I also think I've contracted flu, and after feeling unbearably ill during yesterday's shift I phoned in sick for today, but I think I'm perking up a little now after consuming plenty of fluid. Which reminds me, better go get another Lemsip then tuck up with a book. Also my mouse broke, meaning I have to use the stupid touch pad on my laptop which I swear I'm about to take a mallet to...>:(

Small Update

Just lately, I'm having no luck.

1. Working so much on my stupid paid job means I've neglected my internship. Stupid hours, of course. Either waking up at stupid o' clock in the morning or coming home at stupid o' clock at night means I get nothing done. Alas, my rent ain't gonna pay itself.

2. My bed broke, so this blog entry comes to you from my couch.

Ohhh...so much going wrong! Argh!

Ah well, the Cargo Crate launch is next weekend :) I hope that perks things up.

Happy (Belated) New Year

Fudge, this is my first post of 2011! Took me long enough...

So yeah, happy new year to you lot who are kind enough to stick with me and read this.

The festive ended up being somewhat bittersweet for various reasons. I ended up having to come back down and work at New Year, so my original plans were scuppered. I didn't get back from my shift until about twenty minutes to midnight, so after dashing to my nearest 24 hour shop for mixers myself and my flatmate simply toasted the new year then watched a film. It was nice.

Other than that, just working at The Paid Job. I've had to do overtime this week because of having to take Christmas off unpaid, and if I'm offered any more in the next few weeks I'll need to take that too.

There's also some exciting stuff coming up with Cargo Crate.

This will be Cargo's label for ebooks and audio books. We will officially be launching the label on the 21st of January at the National Library in Edinburgh and on the 23rd at the Arches in Glasgow. Check Cargo's website for more details.