Freedom From The Mundane

Image: fanpop.com

So yesterday was my 7th wedding anniversary. Seven years with Gail. The remarkable thing looking at it, is that of all our friends who said we’d never make it because we “bicker too much” or “are both too fiery for our own good”, we’re the ones still going strong while the rest (and there [...]

August 17th, 2010 | Tags: Edinburgh Book Festival, Edinburgh Fringe, fine dining, Gilded Balloon, marriage, Neil Tennant, Pet Shop Boys, Prestonfield House, Rhubarb Restaurant, Sean Hughes, Stewart Lee, Teviot, Udderbelly, Underbelly, wedding anniversary | Category: Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Family, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, Music | Comments (5)

Image: PlaidCreature

Spare a thought this morning for my good friend Devon Ellington. One of her beloved cats, Elsa, has been sickly of late and last night she found out the reason why: the onset of cancer.
Devon’s cats have become as well-loved members of the online writing community as much as Devon has. We’ve read about [...]

April 20th, 2010 | Tags: Albert Camus, Apple, Books, cats, computers, divorce, Family, friends, loved ones, Mac Mini, marriage, Microsoft, PCs, pets, Reading | Category: Animals, Books, Editorial Comment, Family, Fiction, I.T., Reading, Writing | Leave a comment

Image: The Hay Wain, John Constable (1821)

Lately I’ve been re-ordering albums I used to listen to when I was younger but only ever had on cassette tape. Vinyl is covered since I got my USB Turntable, which I use to convert singles and LPs into MP3 so I can listen on the iPod, but cassette [...]

February 17th, 2010 | Tags: 3 Feet High and Rising, Art, artist, beans on toast, chapbook, Day Job, De La Soul, dinner, Family, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, GDR's, I.T., John Constable, landscape painting, marriage, Music, Poetry, Publishing and Marketing, Silly Poems for Wee People Vol.2, Writing | Category: Art, Day Job, Family, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, I.T., Poetry, Publishing and Marketing, Writing | Comments (3)

Image: designersuits.org.uk

On Sunday I’ll have been married to Gail for six years. Six very long years if you were to ask her, so with that in mind, I’m taking her out to a very posh and sophisticated restaurant for dinner. It’s the kind of place where one has to make a little bit more of [...]

August 12th, 2009 | Tags: Baumler, Book Festival, clothes, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Freelance, gigs, live music, marriage, Reviews, Shopping, Slaters, suits, wedding, wife | Category: Books, Day Job, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Freelance, Music, Writing | Comments (1)

Image: Scott McAndrew

Lovely day over Edinburgh yesterday; sunny, warm, and it felt oddly like a Friday.
I had a busy day in the office as my workload increases and I find myself being pushed into newer and higher profile areas. All good clean fun but the meetings once ends up in can be less than interesting [...]

July 31st, 2009 | Tags: Baccara Burning, Book Festival, busy, celebration, Day Job, Edinburgh Book Festival, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Fiction, journalism, marriage, Stella, wedding, Writing | Category: Day Job, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Family, Fiction, Freelance, Publishing and Marketing, Writing | Comments (3)

Image: BorisWatch.com

Yesterday’s blog tour stop over at Cate Master’s was a great success. Cate gave me a special interview plus the spot came with a free giveaway of a copy of STELLA. It’s open until Sunday so you can still be in with a chance of winning, you only have to point your browser to [...]

June 19th, 2009 | Tags: 2-Tone, 30th anniversary, blog tour, Blogging, Boris Johnson, Cate Masters, computers, Day Job, debate, discussion, drinks, Edinburgh Book Festival, Family, friends, I.T., in the groove, Interview, macaroni and cheese, marriage, Open University, psyched, Publishing and Marketing, ska, skanking, The Beat, writers, Writing | Category: Books, Day Job, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Fiction, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, I.T., Interviews, Publishing and Marketing, Writing | Comments (2)