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Phew

Just back from London again. I know, I know, it all seemed sorted out last time I wrote, but the truth is, I put a holding deposit on the Streatham Common place out of something like desperation. On reflection, it became clear to me that I simply don’t like Streatham very much (it’s far too bloody similar to round here, if you want the truth) and the place itself was a wee bit minging. Not terrible, but not to my liking. The open-plan downstairs was a negative, for me, and we won’t mention the state of the mattress in one of the bedrooms… (No, really, don’t ask.)

Today, Paul and I looked at another place just round the corner from this one. It was actually a bit better, and slightly cheaper, but the advantages were negated by it being right on top of a primary school as well as having severe fencing problems in the back garden… and the bathroom was a fucking disgrace. *sigh*
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Life in the Fast Lane, Lemme Tell Ya!

I’ve neglected the blog a bit again lately, but as I’m not getting much feedback off it and things have been fairly busy anyway, frankly, I couldn’t be arsed.

As mentioned last time, Andy came down on the 30th and left on the 4th. It was a good time on the whole. On the Sunday night, you’ll be shocked to hear, we didn’t get an Indian… we went for pizza instead—tuna and jalapenos. Maybe not everyone’s taste!

Bacchus July 30 2006
Ugly, blurry pic took in Bacchus, July 30th.
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Filling In

Andy Luke of Something-or-Other Fame is due here sometime around 6pm. I’m meeting him in Brum. He has housing problems and I don’t mind the company. He’ll be down till Friday, so I’ll have to curtail my animal sacrificing and cannibalism activities for a while…
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The Lost Weekend

During my absence I had a long weekend, June 30th-July 3rd, with Andy Luke of Livejournal Fame (or is that Andy Luke of YouTube fame?).

Andy was due here Friday afternoon. At noon that day, the guy next door very kindly took mom’s clothes in his car for me, to donate to a local charity shop. Four bags, plus a bag of clothes hangers. Sorting that out really did my head in. It’s like another door closing, you know? I was depressed and went back to bed for a while. Andy arrived around 4.15pm; I finally woke up (again!) at 4.30, called him and explained the situation, and all was well.
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Mom

Mom

That’s mom, some years before I even existed, in the early to mid-’60s. The older woman is her mother, my nan, who died in 1989. It’s one of four little photobooth snaps mom carried around in her purse right to the end. I found them last night and shed tears.

I want to remember her a little bit. Paul called me this afternoon and we were on for over two hours. A bit of a life-saver, that. He was interested to see some of the older photos as he met her a couple of times and spoke to her on the phone occasionally.
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Up and Down

Today, I finally finished the new “Networks” column for Comics International #197. I think I’m about a week behind the deadline, but I’m not the only one, and Dez has been understanding of current circumstances, so all is well.

I didn’t attend the Bristol Comic Expo. In the end, it came down to the fact that thirty quid for a train ticket on the day, for just a few hours, was unjustifiable expense. Now, if it had been London… a ticket on the day to Marylebone would’ve been much cheaper (though not from New Street—that other station whose name I never remember, at the back of M&S).
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Loose Ends

Well, a goodly amount of boredom reigns supreme today and I’ve been installing some apps. Firstly I upgraded from the Windows Messenger (which I’ve almost never used) to the MSN thingy. Then I installed Skype. Paul was singing its praises some time ago, before I had Broadband, and I think he makes most of his landline calls on it. I don’t make many calls anyway, so I’m not gonna buy any credit for that just yet. I’m registered with the e-mail address in the header above on both, anyway, if that is of interest to anyone.
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Stuff and Nonsense

Oh. Hi. Missed me, did you? I haven’t felt like writing anything for a while. There’s been some worry about mom’s health (there still is, but I’m not going into details), which has kind of sapped my will to write STUFF on here.

Or even Stuff and Nonsense… 😉

I’ve recovered a bit of faith in my drawing abilities, I think. I just completed my third NetworX strip as part of my “Networks” column for Comics International. They’re simple, dumb little things, but there’s satisfaction in creating effective staging within a mere three panels. You can’t say much; the challenge is making it count.

Hmmm. Now I have to do a drawing of Orson Welles for The End is Nigh #3. Mr. Ed is writing a War of the Worlds feature and has given me an ultra-ambitious description of the illo which I am going to stubbornly downgrade to something much more simple! 😉
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