I’m not posting this from my blog interface, but rather, hand-coding it. Blog software’s been a bit knackered for the last month (it’ll hopefully be fixed soon), so I’ve been unable to post. [Note: Of course, this has since been reposted using the new blog interface!]
Well, you know, weird turn of events. After the last move, to Ilford… I found myself without an Internet connection for two months, almost. And the new home had cockroaches. This was an unbeatable combination, quite honestly. I finally decided I had to give up on the Down South Experiment, so, would you believe… I write this five weeks after my fifth move in a 14-month period, back where I began, my old home-town (actually, the same street as before to boot!).
I don’t see this as permanent, but for now, just a bit of stability seems like a good idea. Apart from the trauma of moving five times, anyhoo. My sleeping patterns are shot to hell, worse than they’ve ever been and very nearly upside-down. But, the upsides: I have Wifi, there are no cockroaches, a large living-room into which all my junk fits nicely… and today, a new washing machine arrived, which was nice. (No, really. I am allergic to hand-washing.)
The old place hasn’t changed much. A few little changes here and there, but much the same. It’s so much quieter, less ‘busy’, than London. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. I think I’m indifferent to that aspect, actually. It’s just an interesting observation. The flat I’m renting was almost totally unfurnished, so, as I had generally been living in furnished places the last year, this has involved some cost and trouble to get it into reasonable order, and I’m still not quite there. I will hold onto more things next time I move. I still need a bloody vacuum cleaner at the moment. I left my old one in Brighton.
I miss being able to hop onto a train and get into the West End in 30 mins or so. Brum is a nice city, actually, but it doesn’t exactly compare to London. On the other hand, local facilities are a hell of a lot better. Small local shops tend to be cleaner and better stocked than in London, for some reason. Oh, and being able to buy bottled milk easily is a minor plus. I hate milk in cartons or plastic. It goes off in no time, where milk in a real bottle, as long as you keep it in the fridge, lasts for a week or longer.
The other big issue, and the one I want to sort out while I’m back here, is my working situation. I’ve not had any work for months. Go figure: I work on a Jonathan Ross show and then proceed to work on nothing! Freelancing is that kind of rollercoaster. No security. I don’t like that aspect at all. I’m gonna give myself a couple of months to make some progress, and failing that, seek out a more ‘normal’ kind of employment…
Paul and I are working on a comicsy event for the ICA to be held in late March. I’ll say more when things progress a bit. I have a few leads on cartooning work (I have a drawing for someone I should be working on right now, actually).
I did a couple of Club Comicana strips with my Jenni and Marie characters in November, while in Ilford, shortly before the last move.
And here’s the first one, which I did about a year earlier for Comics International #201, before it was sadly taken over by someone I didn’t want to work with.
More when the blog’s back in working order. Meanwhile, I can be contacted at the e-mail link above. No need to be shy. I like to hear from people, believe it or not.