So, Wednesday last week (the 4th), I viewed the new home for a final time before the actual move. I snapped a bit of local scenery, including this shot from by the front path of the house:
On the moving day itself, after the van was packed, we had some final snaps outside the old place. This is me, Paul and my former next-door neighbour Lawry (who helped with packing; if you’re reading this, hi!)…
Read More »House Move Stuff
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*
Read More »Phew
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!
Ugly, blurry pic took in Bacchus, July 30th.
Read More »Life in the Fast Lane, Lemme Tell Ya!
This was half a thought I had shortly after mom died, which Paul encouraged me to develop. I spent a couple of hours on it last night, and Paul thinks it’s good enough to ‘make public,’ so to speak, and I’ll trust his judgement.
In Memory of Mom.
(Restored & Updated in May 2026)
Read More »Mom’s Life in Pictures
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.
Read More »Mom
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.
Read More »Loose Ends
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! 😉
Read More »Stuff and Nonsense
I have been somewhat tired and distracted, but I thought it was about time I posted the full Brighton Comic Expo details on here!
On the whole, it was a fabulous weekend. Last Friday (18th) was a late afternoon set-off for me, leaving for Brum at 5pm. This was a bit later than planned, so a taxi was needed to speed things along. Travel the whole weekend was expensive, coming to a total of just under £95 in the end! Anyhow, in spite of the lateness I got into London, Euston at 7.30pm and met up with Paul. From there, it took us another hour-and-a-half to finally get to Brighton and check into the Hilton Metropole (where the Expo itself was being held).
Here’s a Saturday sea front view…
Well, gee, still neglecting the poor old blog. But worry not, it ain’t going anywhere… it simply doesn’t attract enough interest or feedback to inspire… Read More »Is It Still January?
Paul Gravett came down for a visit today, which was a chance not only for him to have a good look around Birmingham, but also for me to see stuff I haven’t seen for ages. There’s much more to Brum than meets the eye, you know.
We had a nice look around the pre-Raphaelite display in the museum/gallery—some stunning work to be seen there. Mom tells me the last time I went there was when I was just about out of nappies.
Nearby, Paul posed for a snap:
