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Paul Gravett’s Brum Visit

A very good day, today, as I caught up with old comics pal Paul Gravett for the first time in aeons.

After meeting up at New Street (sorry, Grand Central, the station’s been a New York Wannabe since 2015 now!!), we went to the new-ish Wetherspoons there for a long lunch. We had fish & chips, and I had two or three of those refillable coffees (Paul stuck with tea! Very English!).

This was a great opportunity to pose for an awkward selfie with me squinting at the camera screen…

Me and Paul at Wetherspoons

Note my Darkseid badge! I brought Paul one too. After eating, I had a “commission” to do…
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New Film Project: Triangle

Well, Triangle is the provisional title, at least… maybe we’ll keep it… anyhow, I finished the first draft of the script last night, small extract below. The film, which should run about 20 minutes, is a neo-noir set in Birmingham and we’re gonna do it in glorious black & white!! It’s quite hard-boiled and the ‘second act’ is more than a little Sin City in tone.
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All Bad Things: Cast & Crew Screening

Incidentally, today is my birthday. Don’t ask.

Last night, we had our cast & crew screening for All Bad Things, plus the two Club Vamporama shorts “Who Is Bette Noir?” and “Hail Cthulhu!”, plus we screened some early footage for the Terror at Bell’s End trailer.

We drafted in our good friend & talented author/performer, Jasper Bark, to MC the proceedings, which was held at the Victoria, Birmingham city centre. I think overall the night went very well and we had most of the cast & crew from our various projects there.

The evening kicked off with the superb local actor, William Hayes (with whom we are planning to work very soon), giving a stirring rendition of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”.

All Bad Things Screening William Hayes October 2017
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Happy 2014

Well, I’ve left the blog unattended for aeons again. Just wanted to sneak in before this year is over and done with.

Hasn’t been a very good year, apart from the Bowie stuff. Chaotic, frustrating, lacking in any of the progress or affirmation I’m looking for.

And then, on November 25th, the author Joel Lane, who’d become a very good friend of mine in recent times, passed away suddenly. His delayed funeral, which I attended, was on December 23rd.

Gray Lodge January 2012
The January 2012 Lodge meeting—Joel is at the back, partially obscured. The others are Steve Green, me and Theresa Derwin.
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Birmingham: Shit Or Not?

One of the things demanding an amount of my time recently has been trying to move. This activity has actually become an enduring theme in my life in recent years—and I still haven’t managed it. I don’t live in Birmingham per se. I live in a small town about 15 miles North. I’ve spent a large chunk of my life in this town variously. I’ve escaped a couple of times and somehow been sucked back in. As much as I hate this place (the small town), I’m sure it’s at least a bit unfair to aim that hatred at Birmingham as such.

I’ve even been looking for a place in Brum. But I have a few technical hurdles, let’s say, and being a dog owner happens to be one of them. Poor old Fred.

Fred Smile May 2010
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Lunch in London

Lunch on the South Bank near to the Royal Festival Hall, to be exact. Saturday, Aug 21. With Paul Gambaccini, Dez Skinn and Tim Bateman, plus John Anderson who took the below snap. Martin Skidmore was meaning to come, too, but he couldn’t make it.

With Gambo Dez Tim South Bank August 2010
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