A busy old week
I cannot believe how much work on the book I’ve achieved this week. The target is to finish the first draft by the end of the month, then let it stew until it’s time to edit with fresh eyes. Once done, I will have two novels, both totally unwanted by agents or publishers.
Angiebabe stayed at my house for over a week but went home on Thursday. She said, “At least you’ll be able to get more writing done.”
That’s not exactly true. While she has been here with me, I’ve done 10,000 words. She’s golden. Doesn’t interrupt me when I’m writing which is a great incentive to do more. You see … it’s the only way to shut her up.
Ouch! How did that pair of shoes hit me from fifteen miles away?
Chip Shop update …
Okay, I’m still confined to a promise not to have a go at Gothic Girl, but I am worried as she looked very … well, orange if I’m to be honest, judging by her appearance while serving me this week’s fish and chip meal.
I think she overdid it with the skin toner. Either that or she’d had a bath in the batter mix.
A great guy, who definitely left his mark.
I always say that when people depart this world, as long as somebody remembers them and all the wonderful things they’ve said, then they are never really dead.
I came across Bob on Myspace a few years back. He was from the States and always commented on my posts, including my ‘Living with David’s,’ where he’d say, “You done good, Son.” I’d subscribed to his writing as soon as I’d found this fascinating and entertaining character. He was blunt, to the point and didn’t suffer fools gladly, but he had one heck of a heart with a tale to tell. When I was going through a real bad patch, Bob wrote, “Nick, I got to be honest, if we were sharing a drink and you started going on like this, I’d get up and leave.” He had a point, and after a cyber-kick in the butt from Bob, I snapped out of my depression.
After desolation hit Myspace and everybody gave up on the site, I lost touch with Bob and only found out the other week he’d passed away. I visited his old Myspace site and fortunately, have been able to read some of his wonderful blogs again, one of which, I have no hesitation in reproducing here.
I MIGHT START GOING TO CHURCH AGAIN – by Bob
I mainly don’t go to church because it is the same damn thing every Sunday. You sit there, sing a few songs, and get your ass chewed out about all the sinning you are doing. While I’m pretty much against over-sinning, I believe a moderate amount of it is good for a body and makes life slide along smooth and easy.
But I drove by a church over there on Barton Chapel Road a couple of hours ago that might appeal to me; they had them a fairly decent free-for-all going on right there in the parking lot. Thirty or forty men and women, whamming the dog crap out of each other, chasing one another around cars and breaking the Golden Rule all to hell.
I’m thinking I may go see the preacher over there. If he can promise me a riot with each sermon I have to sit through, I’ll sign up.
PEACE ON YOU ALL.
When I visited his Myspace site, I discovered that he, like me, had abandoned it long ago. His last status update said, “Ain’t been here in a while. Like going back to a favorite whorehouse and finding a tofu store where it used to be.”
That was … simply – Bob. You done good, Fella!
And another sad loss …
Farewell Davey Jones, singer with the Monkees and the reason David Bowie is called – Bowie. Some nice tributes but nil points to the one I saw on the late night, ‘Sky News look at the next day’s papers.’ They showed a clip of ‘I’m a believer.’ One Monkees song that Jones ‘didn’t’ sing lead vocals on. Shame on you Sky, couldn’t you even try to get it right?
Nob of the week.
John Demmerling, head of Woodlands Primary School in Telford, took a week off work in school term-time to go on holiday with his children. This is despite his own school policy being that if a parent takes their kids out of school, they get hit with a £100 fine.
Now there are always two sides to any story and it transpires, Mr Demmerling worked many extra hours over the Christmas holiday period as the school was in the middle of moving to a new premises. It had been agreed with the school’s governors, that anybody doing the extra work, would have to be allowed time off within the new term, in lieu of hours already done.
Not a problem, if it was kept low key but it’s a huge own goal, don’t you think, to take your own kids out of their education and apply double standards while still trying to enforce your own. Yes, have a week off, but stay at home and save your skiing holiday for when everybody else is off and not going to complain.
Dunce of the week, Mr Demmerling? Go and stand in the corner.
I’m feeling short-changed.
I had a serious lack of judgement and taste yesterday when I purchased a copy of the Sun newspaper. Yes, the rag I’ve lambasted for the past couple of weeks, somehow found it’s way into my shopping bag. All well and good, I suppose, but when I got home, I found half of it was missing. Pages 25-48, appear to have been lifted by somebody else prior to my purchase which makes me beg the question, why?
Insert expression of shocked and stunned – here.
Okay, I’m not too worried as the Sun is hardly at the heart of journalistic excellence and without those missing pages to read, I’ll simply have to get on and write some more of my novel. It does slightly bother me that I paid 50p for half a paper though. I mean, how can I sleep tonight without knowing who Katie Price is shagging or if some reality TV nobody is facing a big fat gypsy tax bill?
Oh my, I’d best shut up. Otherwise I’ll have the sarcasm police after me.
Cheers.
Nick
This is a really good piece, Nick.
I feel better for reading it (except for the yellow font)
Looking like you’re almost one book ahead of me: “Drake’s Fulcrum” will be finished this month and agents approached.
Keep up the good work!
Oh … Okay, how does dark-silver font look? 🙂
Glad you enjoyed anyway. I can’t wait to get my hands on Mill Lane again, after sorting Jessica out. 75,000 now on that one.
To quote a man who was very dear to me, “You done good here.” You hit the nail square on with your tribute to Bob. I will miss him forever……
Also, liked the bit about the girlfriend’s flying shoes. Thanks for a delicious roast to go along with my morning coffee!
I’m so glad you think I did him justice. Enjoy your morning coffee, it’s evening here now.
Nick
Thanks for the link. Enjoyed all of this. I only got to know Bob for a little while. He commented on my writing and I on his. He was always friendly to me in the status steam…he called me “Bub”. He will surely be missed.
Thanks for stopping by once more.
Bob was indeed a good-un and as I say, to touch on so many and be remembered like he is, he’s never goning to be gone.
Nick
Bob was the best! When we were leaving MySpace, I begged him to join us on FaceBook. He wouldn’t budge. I loved that old guy!
I kind of wish I’d gone with the flow and migrated elsewhere now. I lost touch with so many and now regret that. I launched this site at the start of Feb. Bob was one of the first I thought of to try and reconnect with. Guess I just missed him.
That story of him telling me to ‘snap out of it,’ is 100% true. Okay, I’d have done it sooner or later, but Bob made me do it THEN.
Nick
hi Nick!!!
So good to read you again. I’ve missed these roasts. Good luck with your books
and all…………….You’re a good guy and writer.
your ole buddy from myspace, Voo
Hi Voo, Glad to see you here. Just read your status on Myspace too. Sorry you’re having some bad times. Hope it gets better for you.
Nick
A good read but those shoes are not mine. Who’s are they – Care to share?
The amount of times you lose clothes, it’s quite possible you forgot you actually own some shoes. …. Think she’ll fall for that one???
I would have loved to have known Bob. He sounds like my kind of guy.
Having exited from a fairly rigid church background I can opine that most behaviours identified as “sin” by preachers are merely examples of human nature exerting itself. How many people truly rob banks or murder people? As a percentage, not that much.
But, uh, how many people masturbate? Oh, I’d say pretty close to 90%. Yet what is the major pulpit emphasis for so many churches? It’s all about sex. Don’t do it with your neighbour, don’t do it out of wedlock and for God’s sake – DON’T DO IT TO YOURSELF.
I have to ask: well, why exactly? If there’s a God and He created us, did He give us our naughty parts just to torment us? It would seem so wouldn’t it? So I have to conclude He didn’t. And that He actually made those parts for our enjoyment (p.s. to a certain church: and not just for procreation. Although it certainly helps, for those of us who are hetero). (Um, I am. Hetero that is. Just wanted to get that fact out there, while still standing up for my gay brothers and sisters)
Bottom line: I don’t have much use for religion anymore. It served a purpose, but ultimately it was man-made. And so I think that religion, like politics, should be taken with a grain of salt. Or as Douglas Adams penned – in a different context entirely – it should be deemed “mostly harmless”.
Oh and as one aspiring-to-be-published author to another: good luck – hope you get your second book done and your first one sold, forthwith.
(That’s what we say to one another, right? “Good luck”? And not “break a leg”?)
I was brought up too, being force-fed Church but I kind of take the approach that in all my years, I never had once ounce of an indication that there was a God looking over us. What with all the rubbish in the world, if he is there, I don’t see him as very loving. Flirting with being agnostic, recent years have turned me so anti-religion when I see all the corruption and hypocrisy.
I simply won’t commit my life on the basis of secondhand words written 2000 years ago. When politicians claim these days, they are mis-quoted, what chance an old book like that? Like you, I’d probably put more store by the words of our modern prophets, like Douglas Adams. His words sometimes make more sense than the biblical ones.
Good luck to you too.
Nick
Great Job!!!
Great Write.
Great Tribute.
Im sure he would of been proud…
Thanks. Hope he’d have liked it.