I began the mammoth task of sifting through my email yesterday. I’m still missing several days from last week despite being assured they will come through once all the data is copied over, but I remain dubious. AM – can you resend your email please? It looks like it’s got lost and I may never get it now.

I received a rejection for my short story, Foreign Object, yesterday. A wee acceptance right about now would have been just the thing to give me a boost, but the rejection came with two personal notes of feedback from the two editors who reviewed it. Both were positive and both very useful, something one hardly ever sees but is always extremely grateful for.

Day job was tiring but I think it’s down to the fact I have been loaded with a chesty cold since I got back from Spain. I’ve tried vitamin supplements, hot toddies and steam treatment but it seems to only want to shift at its own rate. Slowly. It makes me feel very lethargic during the day; heavy eyes, phlegm-filled coughs and a sore head. And with Thursday night approaching I must shed as much of it as possible.

There’s a possibility that the League Cup semi final between St Mirren and Hearts could be played at Easter Road Stadium in Edinburgh. Gus McPherson the Buddies manager has publicly pleaded for common sense, because the only person that a decision of that nature would suit is me. It would mean I could go to the game on foot! Fingers crossed, because I think the last place Hearts would want to go is the Hibs ground.

Did quite a lot of reading in the evening and wrote out a couple of lengthy emails to friends. Also nipped out to Costco with Gail so she could pick up some photography stuff. We stopped in their “canteen” for a bite to eat. I had the Shepherd’s Pie, which was surprisingly nice other than the ball of fluff I discovered in it near the end. How could I complain though? If one is going to eat in a warehouse what else can one expect?

However, the trip was not all wasted for me. I came home with a membership card and a tray of a dozen mixed muffins, two of which, have already bit the dust.

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I really need to do something to cheer this blog up so I’ll begin with a short review of my recent trip away to Fuengirola in Spain. I went away with the determination to refresh myself and let my hair down and for the most part I achieved it.

I drank with my friends, partook in furious laughter and comical sessions of camp gaiety, and enjoyed a couple of lazy afternoons under a low 80 degree sun. It was a great few days away with The Diners, as we now call ourselves. I also came home with a new name—apparently I look like Christopher Biggins, and boy did I play it up in the pub when that joke went around. Great fun!

I got home early on Tuesday evening and was pretty tired, grabbed a small bite to eat and hit the sack early. Work was very busy last week and I began to feel quite run down by the weekend. I had really been looking forward to a weekend doing nothing, and so on Friday I had a DVD night with Laura and we ordered pizzas for dinner.

Later that evening, though, I went out to feed by bunnies and was gutted to find Mopsy, the tanned one, lying dead in her hutch, her sister nosing about her wondering why she was just lying there. I removed her body and looked her over—nothing, no marks to say they’d had a fight, no sign of illness or disease. Then I realised this had been the first year I hadn’t brought the rabbits inside the few nights all the fireworks were getting set off around the neighbourhood. The only thing I can positively attribute her death to without any proof, is a heart attack brought on by fireworks.

I have to admit I’m pretty gutted. She was only 3 and a half and should have lived at least another 3 years. Saturday was pretty mournful as a result and I spent most of my time with Laura. Yesterday I spent another day with Laura, this time we went up into town and went for coffee, hot chocolate and pastries. We also went out to the big pet shop at Corstorphine and stocked up on food for the remaining bunny, Pippin, and bought her some new toys. She seems more than aware that the hutch is a large and lonely place now, and she seems to have lost some of her spirit. Hopefully she’ll forget.

I’ve done a lot of reading over the past couple of weeks—a lot of reading—I’ve not been in the frame of mood to write at all other than the odd journal entry. Reading has traditionally been an entertaining thing for me, something I liked to do for enjoyment and relaxation. Over the past few weeks, though, I’ve found something else in books—solace, retreatment, and more than a little self-examination.

The Scruffy Dog Review has re-launched after a short absence away. Check out the new look site by visiting www.thescruffydogreview.com.

My email is working again although I am still missing emails from last week. It shouldn’t be too much longer as the company copies millions of accounts from one server to another. I can understand now that takes time but I wish they’d more their arses.

Fiction
* Complete writing Baccara Burning
* Re-submit any rejected/recalled short stories
* Enter/sub more fiction/poetry competitions/deadlines

Poetry
* Write at least one poem per week

Editing
* Stay on top of RR submissions
* Prepare RR issue 9 for December 2009
* Start preparing RR issue 10 for March 2010

Freelance
* Get a few more gigs to review for NotW
* Launch SDR website
* Work with new client for driving instructor site
* Keep up all websites updated and relevant

Marketing and Promotion
* Publish November newsletter
* Bring Podcast idea to life

Reading & Learning
* The Kenneth William Diaries by Russell Davies
* The Butt by Will Self

Non-Writing
* Re-launch diet

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‘Tis the eve of Halloween and all around mysterious things are happening. Work has pretty much taken over everything I’ve been doing, and there are things happening in the day job just now that I must attend to. I’ve not dropped the ball with absolutely everything though, and have managed to keep a few things going, but all in all it’s been a bad month.

As you can probably tell there’s been some shit. Not going into anything but it’s not been the most glorious of months at all. There have been a few high points but it’s not really a month to remember in any respect. My period of renewal seems to have died on its feet.

I’m reading a fabulous book just now. My wife bought it for me out of a second hand stall for £1—The Kenneth William Diaries is about 3 inches thick and full of his own personal diary entries from 1946 onwards. I never thought it would be such a marvellous read; funny, witty, and providing an amazing insight into one of Britain’s most beloved of actors.

This time tomorrow I will be in Spain. It’s my annual lads’ trip away to foreign climes, and with all the hours I’ve had to put into the day job lately, and my need to let my “hair” (sic) down and try get everything back into balance, it really cannot come quick enough.

I’ll spend this evening in an airport bar with the Group Captain and Five Bellies, then at 5am tomorrow meet up with the final member of the squadron, Mikey P From the Crazy Y-B. Then it’s Malaga here we come. Last year it poured torrentially the entire time we were there, and we watched the rain bounce from the inside of a variety of pubs. Great days—I’m hoping for more of the same.

If you’re interested, I’ll be doing my utmost to Tweet over the weekend. No pictures unfortunately because my phone has no camera, but you can track my adventures around Fuengirola by following me on Twitter.

I find myself having to utter those words I always promised myself I never would, but I would be lying to you if I said anything else other than, “life got in the way of my writing.” Just typing it makes me feel like a loser, but as Devon said, my GDR wrap-up is as much about what didn’t happen as what did, which is just as well because it makes for dire reading. It follows after this post.

I’m aware I’ve got a stack of email and blog entries to catch up on, so if you have emailed me I will get back to you next week. I’ll try and fish out the urgent ones before I leave for Glasgow this evening.

Hope you all have a great weekend. See you on the other side where hopefully things will have improved.

Fiction
* Complete writing Baccara Burning – not done
* Complete editing on Greener is the Grass – not done
* Positively work towards clearing away fiction backlog – not done
* Re-submit any rejected/recalled short stories – not done
* Enter more fiction/poetry competitions – done
* Meet fiction/poetry e-zine deadlines – not done

Poetry
* Write at least one poem per week – done
* Finish developing ideas for new chapbook – still ongoing but have more poems to work with

Editing
* Stay on top of RR submissions – done
* Prepare RR issue 9 for December 2009 – not done
* Start preparing RR issue 10 for March 2010 – not done

Freelance
* Get a few more gigs to review for NotW – not done
* Work with new client for driving instructor site – waiting for feedback/go command
* Complete SDR website for 3rd November launch – done
* Keep up all websites updated and relevant – general updates to stay accurate
* Complete ST column for SDR re-launch – done

Marketing and Promotion
* Publish October newsletter – done
* Bring Podcast idea to life – not done

Reading & Learning
* The Butt by Will Self – done
* Try and fit more reading time in – done
* The Kenneth William Diaries – IP

Non-Writing
* Re-launch diet – ROFL!!!!

Things That Turned Up
Non-writing events have impacted my writing more than at any other time in my life.

Submissions Made
None

Outstanding
Fiction
Barcelona Review 1
Every Day Fiction 1
Spinetinglers 1
Gemini Magazine 1
Identity Theory 1
Be A Better Writer 1

Poetry
World Haiku Comp 5
National Poetry Comp 1

Slick – still out there

Successes
None. It’s been a bad writing month – negligible writing month – and it’s down to the one factor I always tried my best to avoid saying: “life got in the way”

Failures
Everything.

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As I stretch my neck up and look back, I peer fondly over what was my birthday weekend. If you remember, my actual birthday was in September, but the gifts bought for me by my two sisters had been coordinated to fall on this weekend. And it worked into a most memorable occasion.

First up was a trip through on the train to Glasgow to my sister’s south side flat. After dropping my bag off and a quick cup of coffee at Binny’s, we headed off to the Clockwork pub on Cathcart Road for a couple of pints of Guinness and a catch-up.

From there we headed out to Paisley to see St Mirren take on Motherwell in a Scottish Premier League football match. This was my birthday gift from my other sister, Fiona, and was also my first game at St. Mirren’s new stadium, St Mirren Park, just five minutes from the old Love Street stadium.

It’s a cracking wee ground with not much to it but enough for the club to be able to be run efficiently and keep the fans happy. Tiny in comparison to the likes of Ibrox or Parkhead, but at least our stadium wasn’t built on sectarian generated cash.

The match was a cracker. We were 3-1 ahead then in true Paisley style managed to throw the lead away and it ended up in a 3-3 draw. A frustrating result, but most Buddies were in agreement they would rather watch a match of that calibre and excitement every week as opposed to the “normal” kind of play we endure.

To top the afternoon off, I was sat typing a text into my mobile phone at half-time when I heard someone shout my name. I looked up and there was a bloke standing next to me smiling. I recognised him instantly as Gordian Mothersole, a friend long lost in the mist of time.

We had lost touch several years ago after new jobs, marriage and house moves confused everything, but here we were standing on the terraces talking like it had only been a couple of months. We swapped phone numbers and agreed a much lengthier catch-up was required, almost certainly over some cold beers.

From there, me and Binny jumped back on the train back to Glasgow and met up with my other sister, Fiona, and her hubby, Nolon in a pub in Central Station. We had a quick drink before jumping into a taxi to take us up to the far end of Sauchiehall Street—the taxi driver was an absolute arsehole with a rude manner so received no tip and a slammed door—and we found ourselves in what is apparently, but unknown to me, one of Glasgow’s more famous Indian restaurants, Mother India .

Eating from the fixed price menu, I had the Ginger and Green Chilli Fish Pakora (haddock marinated in ginger and chilli puree, then deep fried with spicy vegetables to start). It was delicious! The fish was so fresh and fluffy, and the accompanying sauce and chickpeas had just the right amount of heat. Very filling, though, but having not eaten since breakfast I knew I would be fine.

Moving onto the main course while supping on my pint of Kingfisher lager, I chose the Delhi Style Lamb (Lamb cooked with peppers and whole tomatoes with a touch of yoghurt). It arrived wrapped in tin foil with a small pot of mashed potatoes, and on opening the silver parcel I was met with the most gorgeously aromatic scent of Indian spices and herbs. It tasted utterly sublime. I ate the lot. The lamb was fresh and cooked to perfection, and the peppers and onion didn’t overload or remove anything from the dish. I cannot recommend Mother India enough if you are ever in Glasgow.

From there, the four of us walked down towards the Clydeside Expressway (not the M8 motorway) and crossed over and into the SECC. My birthday gift from Binny was to see the comedian, Michael McIntyre.

The gig was in the large hall (no.4), normally reserved for large music concerts, so to see it laid as an all-seated venue made for a very strange experience. It also meant that although we had very good seats, I found myself watching him perform on one of the three massive screens erected around the stage, which kind of defeated the purpose of a live gig for me.

That said, he was very funny. Fiona and Nolon are huge fans but I was pretty new to his comedy. Just as well I enjoyed him, because if I hadn’t found him funny I would probably have fallen asleep with all the food and drink swilling inside me.

With the gig over we all went our separate ways; Fiona and Nolon back to my parent’s, and me and Binny back to the flat. We stayed up for a bit longer but soon crashed out.

Sunday didn’t really change much either. We went out to Ludovic’s for brunch and then watched a box set of The West Wing before ordering a Chinese takeaway. Not the healthiest of weekends but it WAS my birthday weekend—sort of.

This week I have a full schedule and part of that involves wrapping up my monthly GDR, something I am not looking forward to in the slightest.

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Woke up feeling a touch flu-like this morning. An itchy throat, sore eyes, runny nose and touch of chestiness, did not make my morning the easiest to get going. Coffee did the job getting me up and running, and a multi-vitamin pill and hot shower took care of the rest. Not ideal but it was enough to kick-start the system.

It wasn’t as bad a morning as the bloke I saw getting hauled into an ambulance on Leith Walk at about 06:40. His scooter was a mess and the car that crashed into him wasn’t any better off. The police were taking statements when I passed but it looked a pretty bad one; the bloke’s crash helmet was lying in two pieces on the ground.

I’m looking forward to my weekend. I’m going through to see my sister, Binny, tomorrow. We’re taking in the St. Mirren versus Motherwell match in Paisley (my first time at the new stadium) then meeting up with my other sister and her hubby, Fiona and Nolon, for a curry in Glasgow before going to see Michael McIntyre at the SECC.

I saw an itinerary of McIntyre’s show: 8pm – 8.50pm then 9.20pm until 10.20pm. I’ve never heard of a comedian taking a break in my life. What’s he going to do for the half hour in between? Read over his lines to make sure he’s learned them? I’ll remain sceptical about this until I see the show and hopefully be proved wrong. You wouldn’t get Billy Connolly wandering off for half an hour—apart from anything else it will surely break any rhythm he has built up—unless, of course, it’s 100% scripted.

I watched the football on the telly last night. If Celtic and Rangers are the best Scotland has to offer then it’s no wonder we, as a footballing nation, get slagged off all the time. Both teams got royally humped at home and neither showed any cutting edge or genuine flair. Looks to me like the only piece of genuine talent in the country at the moment is Craig Dargo.

Lots to get through today, so I’ll leave you with The Friday vid…

NB: I just realised as I was about to post this entry, that the title applies to the first TWO paragraphs, and not just the first. I promise you it was an accident. Damn, there I go again…

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I wrote some poetry last night, my first writing of any form for almost two weeks. It wasn’t great stuff but at least it was writing, as in, the pen transferring my thoughts onto the page.

It was a start. It felt familiar. It felt like sitting on a steam train that had scraped enough coal together to coax it into forward motion.

I look at my in-progress manuscript of BACCARA BURNING and often wonder if I only want to write it because I love the characters more than the story. Could it be that although the story is in front of me, it’s struggling to flow simply because deep down all I wanted to do was something with Stella and Randolph again?

Then I sit back and think, “no it’s not!” The story flows from book one, the characters have been developed, and if it were a standalone, the central plot would hold up any book. It’s tough. Maybe Devon is right when she said the other day that the second book (or sequel) in any series is a really hard thing to do. I have to admit to having gone in blindly to this and not realising just how hard it might be.

A record label contacted me the other day about a possible review of an album being launched this weekend. A SORT OF HOMECOMING contains a lot of new and fresh music from Scotland and contains a track from the band Vertis, who I reviewed in August for NotW. The album arrived today and I’m going to review it for the SDR. The press release also uses my review and there’s an offer for press tickets for the launch in Glasgow in Sunday night. It’s a possible…

Diane – Yes, I can’t see me doing NaNo this year. I think I’ll be in a better position next year to do it once I get all my WIPs complete and polished. Last year I realised I wasn’t getting anything out of it and it was pulling me from other things, but I’ve since re-organised things and just want to tick the boxes of unfinished work.

Devon, about the list of Madness gigs I published yesterday: 10 years ago I used to follow Madness around the country when they were on tour. Halcyon days but tough on the liver!

Finally, here’s a video of what Glasgow used to be, and still is, best at!

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Not got much to say to today; it would only be adding to yesterday’s statement. I received some more sad news during the day making it hard to concentrate on things, when all I wanted to do was help someone in pain. I love you—you know who you are.

Autumn’s not begun the way I wanted and I don’t have that feeling of renewal yet. The day job has rocked my routine slightly and with my manager on holiday things are pretty hectic at the moment. It’s enjoyable work, though, but hard to concentrate with all that’s been going on around me.

I’m aware this post sounds pretty depressing so I’ll pick up the tone and post a couple of cheery items. First, here’s the full gig listing for this year’s Madness Chrimbo Tour. Then, a wee video from the past…

December
01 – Bournemouth Intl Centre Tickets
02 – Brighton Centre Tickets
04 – Plymouth Pavilions (SOLD OUT)
05 – Southend Cliffs Pavilion (Matinee Show)
05 – Southend Cliffs Pavilion (SOLD OUT)
07 – Swindon Oasis
08 – Leeds O2 Academy
09 – Sheffield O2 Academy
10 – Birmingham O2 Academy
12 – Newcastle O2 Academy (Matinee Show)
12 – Newcastle O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
13 – Glasgow O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
15 – Manchester Apollo
18 – London O2 Arena
28 – Dublin The O2
29 – Belfast Odyssey Arena
31 – Edinburgh Hogmanay

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There’s a lot happened this past week—this past month—that I’m not going to go into here, suffice to say, some of it has been good and some of it not so. I’ve done no writing, no blogging (you may have noticed), and I haven’t even picked up a book. Put it down to life being its usual shitty mixture of kicking you when you’re down and leaving you to figure out the rest.

It’s been a hell of a year when I look back. It’s been full of some of the most amazing events and celebrations, but it’s also been full of tragedy and trauma. It won’t be easy to remember the best of this year without also remembering the worst.

So to the business in hand, which is trying to pick up the pieces of this blog and get back into some form of routine. I’ll try and re-cap some of the better events as I recall them.

I went to a surprise 40th birthday party in Hamilton at the weekend, the theme of which was a Ska/Bollywood night. Fuelled by not nearly enough Carlsberg I sang karaoke—Embarrassment by Madness, what else?

Friday night I spent in Clark’s chewing the fat with my colleague, Julz. Guinness ruled for the several hours left in the day after leaving the office. I worked over 60 hours last week, spread out over a training course and working on a couple of critical system incidents. The pints, when they came, were much enjoyed but all the hours I had to spend in the office meant I missed out on the Muse Conference this year.

I’ve had a couple of website queries in to which I have still to reply. I’m not even sure one of them is legit so I’ll return with an appropriately open reply.

No music gigs to speak of. Maybe this week. Everyone is getting very excited about next month’s Specials gig and then the Madness extravaganza in December. Those two events should at least finish the year off on a high.

I’m looking forward to the weekend coming as I’ll be off to Paisley to see St. Mirren playing Motherwell in an SPL match (birthday gift from my sister, Fony). Following that I’m going for an Indian in Glasgow then I’m going to see the comedian Michael McIntyre at the SECC (birthday gift from my sister, Binny). It should be a cracking weekend!

Until then, though, I have to try and pick up the pieces, not just of this blog, but of my entire writing life.

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It was a fine Sunday to complete a full weekend of writing. For a Monday morning I feel oddly invigorated and somewhat charged, though the actual writing process over the last two days was pretty sore and uncomfortable.

After a bright and early start to my Sunday I was onto the page writing more on BACCARA BURNING. It was flowing well, a feeling of purpose overwhelming the prose with each sentence—then I hit a wall. It was like running down a hill, picking up speed with my feet barely touching the ground then WALLOP! I smacked into the wall waiting at the bottom. I couldn’t go any further with it, couldn’t figure out where it was going or how I’d got to where I was. Very annoying and depressing.

I downed tools and felt a strange panic settling over me. I found myself uttering the words: “will I ever get this fucking book finished?” A good question and one I will be glad to answer hopefully sooner rather than later.

So I worked on other stuff. With PAINT done and dusted for now I turned my attention to poetry and the idea I came up with on Saturday. It doesn’t seem quite so good 24 hours on but it still has potential. I’m really not sure. It’s been over two years since my last chapbook and I miss the excitement of producing these small and exciting pamphlets of poetry. I can’t pressure myself, though. I’ve found in the past when I pressurise poetry it has a long term negative effect.

I’ve been eating quite healthy this weekend—scarily healthy in actual fact—and for the first weekend in several I didn’t indulge in a lamp carry of any sort. No pakora, no bhaji’s, no naan. *sigh*

Today I have a lot on but my main aim is to figure out a way of turning BACCARA around so I can get it to the finish line. I simply MUST finish this book—painlessly if possible.

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A full day and one with many satisfying writing outcomes. After a long week, I really needed to get into some good solid writing if only to preserve my own sanity. Thankfully, I got the required dosage of creativity and writing pleasure I needed—and managed to eat into my GDR list while I was at it.

After a relaxing and most enjoyable morning up town (see yesterday’s post) I loaded up my new CDs into my iTunes and got to work. First on my list was to write up some letters that need to go out in Monday’s first post, or at least before the start of the next strike action.

I wrapped up my short story, PAINT, with a new and tighter ending. I realised almost every other option I had drawn up for it was crap and only making the whole issue much more convoluted. The right ending was the simpler one—of course.

More good work on BACCARA BURNING. I can sense the end is not too far off. This has been one tough book to write. The term “it came out sideways” pretty much describes it.

Poetry! There was poetry writing yesterday, too. I came up with the possible—and by that I mean remotely likely—idea for a chapbook not quite like anything I’ve ever done before. Not sure if it will work, though, so I intend to keep doing what I’ve been dong and seeing what I have at the end of it.

Check this news story out for proof that Britain isn’t maybe not quite as bad as some of the politicians would have us believe: Man donates rape reward to victim.

Today: more writing. Tally-ho!

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ne⋅glect  [ni-glekt]
–verb (used with object)

1- to pay no attention or too little attention to; disregard or slight.
2- to be remiss in the care or treatment of.
3- to omit, through indifference or carelessness.
4- to fail to carry out or perform (orders, duties, etc.).
5- to fail to take or use: to neglect no precaution.

This definition, particularly number 4, pretty much defines my relationship with my blog over the best part of the last week. Neglectful of Freedom from the Mundane; neglectful of my readers. It’s not good enough.

There is a reason, though; a damn good one, in fact, though it’s not something I can go into just now. Things are afoot behind the scenes; discussions, planning, organising, and until that has been completed, only then will I be able to make an announcement.

In short, I do apologise for my neglect, but there were other priorities.

So, what have I been up to since Monday? Well, lots of work both in the day job and outside. I’ve done a lot of reading and a lot of work on a couple of short stories and on BACCAR BURNING. I came up with the idea for the start of a novel that got me thinking about NaNoWriMo, but I am going to stick to my plan and finish what needs to be finished before I take on any new projects of that size. It’s banked for now because I don’t want to be in the position of being able to say “I’m sitting on three unfinished novels.”

On the freelance front I’ve done a lot of website work for several clients—it seems to be that time of the year—but it’s all good stuff. I had hoped to get to a couple of gigs for NotW but they fell through at the last minute. My new business cards but I’ve still to collect them from the Post Office, and a couple of rejections came through by email.

I spent this morning up town. I bought a couple of new CDs, new (excellent) earphones for my iPod, and of course, enjoyed a lovely cappuccino and warm chocolate pastry in my usual coffee house.

That’s it for now. I want to make today count so must get on.

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Not a particularly long blog post today as yesterday was swamped. As Monday’s in the day job go, it was a mad one, though I was expecting it as the rota has been packed out for a few days now. Typical it would have to be my week on the “day shift” when it happened.

It’ll probably remain like this until Thursday afternoon at the earliest, which presents a real challenge finding the time to work in the evening and then get enough rest to see me through another 11-hour day. I worked from 8am and hardly had a chance to pause for breath until 7 o’clock at night. Even grabbing a lunch had to be timed perfectly.

Anyway, that stuff is boring. On the good side I did come home to a full roast beef dinner! Such an awesome thing to have on a Monday night when one is knackered and starving, having had only a cup of soup and egg roll for lunch eight hours previous. My energy pack was soon glowing again and I managed to draw enough from it to do some work before my heavy head hit the pillow.

I wrote up my review of Sunday night’s Billy Connolly gig in Glasgow for the November issue of the SDR, and I did some more work no the website. There’s quite a few holes in the archives that need filled before we can go live in November.

I started catching up on a few blogs that I normally read but couldn’t concentrate on reading from the screen by that point so gave up. I’ll maybe try again later today.

No time to waste. I’ve got another mad day ahead. Have a good ‘un y’all!

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I actually forgot to blog on Saturday morning. When I got up, I got tore into my “to-do” list for the day and stayed in the zone all day, and I just forgot to do it. When I first remembered it was mid-afternoon and I was lost in other work so I just left it to the side.

It’s become a bit of a habit over recent weeks. Not every week mind you, but every now and then more often than not, no blog posts have found their way onto the Freedom website. I hope you are not too disappointed, dear readers, and I have promised not to let it happen again, at least, not as much.

As far as weekends go it was a pretty darn good ‘un! On Saturday my beloved St Mirren finally won their first league match at their new home stadium—it’s only been about 10 months!—beating Hearts 2 goals to 1. Watch the Jam Tarts get a trouncing here.

I made a curry on Saturday night; that was a real highlight for those lucky people that got to eat it.

I did a lot of writing and reading over the weekend and the SDR website is now almost ready to re-launch. There’s still a bit of tweaking left to go, but everything has been uploaded into the new format including all the archives, which was the main problem. A lot of the files weren’t complete and the old fiction and poetry isn’t there, but we’re at least ready to start the marketing of it as a new lease of life.

Two competition results were announced—I won neither of them—and I also received a rejection notice from Flash Fiction Online. I was sure they would bite—better luck next time.

The main highlight of my weekend was a trip through to Glasgow last night with my wife. We left the babysitter in the house and made West, arriving in Glasgow the unusual way, i.e., through the bus & taxi lane behind Queen Street Station. My fault entirely, because I couldn’t decide where we should park or go for food. We spotted a place and parked on Bath Street and as luck would have it right opposite The Filling Station bar/restaurant.

Two steak meals and a bottle of red wine were consumed. Very nice. With Gail driving, I had the majority of the wine. Very very nice.

Down then to the Armadillo and we arrived in the auditorium with a couple of minutes to spare. At 8pm precisely on walked the big man, Glasgow’s first son, the Big Yin… Billy Connolly.

For the next two hours the laughter came. Stomachs twisted, tears rolled, chests heaved, and livers were clutched as the big man talked about all manner of things from prostate tickling to fanny kissing, dogs bollocks to dwarves, and fat people in Drumchapel to the plastic ladies of Los Angeles. The guy was hilarious and it was all over before we wanted. I’ll be doing a full review of his gig in the autumn issue of SDR.

I last saw Billy in 1994 when he played the Usher Hall and he was everything I expected then—funny, funny, funny—and nothing has changed. He’s a natural and it was a pleasure to see him playing, not only in his home town of Glasgow, but in the very area he grew up in as a boy.

We managed to get out the infamous SECC car park quite quickly and were back on the M8 just as the main hall of the venue was emptying. If I hadn’t been at the Connolly gig I would most definitely have been at The Pixies who were playing right next door. Shame, but I was lucky to get the Connolly tickets and wasn’t about to turn them down after years of trying for them.

If you’re reading this in the UK and it’s before half past ten, then tune in to This Morning on ITV. Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield are celebrating the show’s 21st birthday this week and today’s special guests are Madness.

Also announced over the weekend was the news that Madness will be the headline act at this year’s Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations. And I’ll miss it as I’ll be away up north for Hogmanay. Drat!

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It’s a dank, drizzly day over Edinburgh and the only thing putting a spring in my step is the fact that today is Friday. And yesterday wasn’t a great day either, leaving me nothing much to talk about in my blog.

I got invited to a ska/bollywood birthday party in a couple of weeks but I’m down in Newcastle that weekend so not sure if I can make it. It’s for an old chum some of us haven’t seen in a while and we’ve all been asked along as a surprise.

I’ve also been invited to an art exhibition opening from local artist Trevor Jones. The event is tonight so I won’t be able to go as I’m having a night in with Laura.

You may remember I wrote about Trevor’s work in The Scruffy Dog Review once upon a time, and as a result he invited me to a charity event/exhibition opening he was holding. Go to his site and click on ‘Exhibitions’ then the ‘ORIGINS’ @ PIZZA EXPRESS link – see if you can spot me in the gallery.

People are trying to talk me into applying to go onto Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me. Apparently I would make a good contestant.

I found a new way to cheer up my writing muse if she should start to feel low. When those strange folk over at Google were photographing the streets for Google Maps last summer, they happened to pass Charlotte Square a few days prior to the book festival opening. View the result here!!

I’m pissed off because I missed the deadline for the New Writing Scotland anthology. I spent too long trying to figure out an ending that I totally forgot the reason I was writing the damn piece in the first place. Highly annoying but hopefully I can find a home for it regardless.

The reason I wanted to submit to NWS wasn’t so much because it was NWS but because I want to make a move into getting published more at home and in print. I feel I should be getting myself noticed more by my immediate peers in Edinburgh and Scotland, and this is one way to do it. It certainly won’t do any harm when my next batch of novel queries hit the post boxes.

That’s it for today. Hopefully I’ll make it up to town tomorrow for a coffee and a gander, then on Sunday I’m going through to Glasgow with Gail to see Billy Connolly at the Armadillo. Now THAT is going to be a super night out!

Before I go, tonight is MADNESS NIGHT on BBC4 here in the UK. In their 30th year, and to celebrate the release of their latest extremely well received album, The Liberty of Norton Folgate, the entire evening is dedicated to the best band out of London.

Here’s the full schedule. Might be a god night to set your videos!

9.00 pm: Madness at Glastonbury – live performance from the band at the legendary festival.
10.00pm: Young Guns Go For It – documentary on the band featuring interviews and clips and performances
10.40pm: The Liberty Of Norton Folgate – Julien Temple’s film of Madness performing their album at the Hackney Empire, using a music-hall style to tell stories from London’s musical development through the years.
12.35am: Take It Or Leave It – Madness’s very own movie, filmed in 1980 charting the band’s rise to fame and starring the guys as themselves.

Also, if you have nothing better to do, tune in to the Paul O’Grady Show on Channel 4 this afternoon. The show, which was recorded on Wednesday, includes an appearance from the lads themselves.

And now for something completely different…

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