badgers and moons

Current work: Medical continuity
Listening to: Nick Drake
Reading: over the weekend: the other two in Kimberly Raye’s Blaze series about vampire cowboys (enjoyed hugely), Liz Fielding’s ‘Wedding at Leopard Tree Lodge’ (her usual fabulous characterisation and dialogue, plus a really different setting – utterly gorgeous), and now Kandy Shepherd’s ‘Love is a four-legged word’ (great fun)

Badgers? Badger cubs, to be precise. DH went out cycling with his best friend on Monday night. Came home with the news that they’d spotted two badger cubs. As in wild ones, in the scrubby bit bordering the cycle path. He’d taken a video (which he says I am not allowed to upload to the net, bah humbug – but what I can tell you is that when badger cubs chatter to each other it sounds like six-year-old girls having a fit of the giggles) and also took a couple of snaps before their mum called them and off they trotted. He did say I can post the pics here (well, hey, how often do you see pictures of badger cubs in the wild? And hmmm, there’s a lightbulb), so here they are (including a close-up).






Other than that, what have I been up to? I had to switch over Monday and Tuesday this week to accommodate a meeting, so it was guitar on Monday (aka chilling out with a bit of Gershwin) and visiting Dad (not the best of visits, sigh).

Tuesday started brilliantly with an unexpected email that put a huge smile on my face (and no, I can’t share yet, but I will as soon as I can). Then it was the annual SEN meeting, which went very well indeed and I’m pleased with the outcome; and then in the evening I had an interview with a local journalist as well as doing a talk at the library in Holt.

Both went well, and I had some really interesting questions from the floor (one man in particular was brilliant because we talked about new media and the development of language - apparently he’s the star of their reading group and is an ex-English teacher, which I can well believe – it’s lovely talking books with someone so articulate). Another interesting question: do all writers love poetry? (I think it's an interest in language, full stop.)

Alan from the library service was an utter sweetheart and took some pics for me – so this is me in action.



And this is what I spotted when I came out of the library – very atmospheric. (You know the poem, 'The Highwayman'? Definitely like that. A ghostly galleon, with clouds obscuring part of it from time to time as I drove home, and at one point there was a red halo. Nick Drake was just so appropriate...)


Today - the plan was to nip into town and do some admin (aka bank run, buy a new mouse mat and SD card, then nip into John Lewis and talk to them about netbooks), but that was all scuppered when school rang. Cue the entire morning spent in A&E with son. He’s fine, but the wait was pretty tedious. Maybe this is a sign that I should NOT buy a netbook… I was starving (that’ll teach me to have my breakfast before the school run in future rather than after) but, the second I sat down to eat, the doorbell went. (Postie with German translations.) And when I sat down again, the doorbell went again - this time the Green Party.

Not going to go political here, but I was very disappointed to discover my constituency has moved boundaries. I'm even less happy with my current MP. I lobbied him some years back - he didn't reply to a single letter from our school, but the man who shared his office was very responsive. If this man had even 1% of the integrity of that MP, I'd be a lot happier - but I think he doesn't give a damn about the constituency. Unfortunately, he has a majority at the moment, so I might end up voting tactically for the first time in my life, for a party whose policies don't quite fit my views, because the party for whom I would normally vote is unlikely to win the seat. (Then again, they've annexed seven wards... so that might be enough to change things. More thought needed on this issue.)

It’s also parents’ evening today. Son, bless him, got me a bunch of appointments together at the beginning, another at the end, and one smack dab in the middle; given that I've already spent several hours waiting today, I think I’m coming home in between appointments!

And tomorrow… Tomorrow, I will knuckle down and start the new book properly.