After the upheaval of the last week (me losing kitty, getting new kitty, two resident kitties getting to grips with each other) it is finally time for a relaxing Sunday, and doing nonsense things on the internet. Therefore I give you the kitler! Yes, it's almost as sick as the bonsai kittens, but I just find it worth a mention ( Read more... )

Last night my darling Lily lost her fight against her weak heart, after only 20 months on earth. She was the cat of dreams (literally, I had dreamed about getting a white kitten, and decided to act on the dream) and the cuddliest kitten I have ever encoutered. She was glorious ( Read more... )

Because I just fell out of bed laughing, and this needs to be preserved for posterity (if you're me, this is hiLAHrious)
Have I got news for you, presented tonight by the ever scrumptious (cupcake!!) Boris Johnson, ended with crackers. What ensued:
Paul Merton pulls cracker.
Ian Hislop: 'did you win?'
Paul Merton: No. reads joke 'what did the ( Read more... )

Had the dubious pleasure today to whore myself (figuratively speaking) to sell books. Very drunken customer demanded that I recite one of Bukowski's poems from the volume he was reluctant to buy, to persuade him, and I, like a (admittedly slightly amused) fool, agreed. The poem in question was 'My cat, the writer' (may have had something to do with ( Read more... )

With the Godawful weather, the growing darkness outside, and the end of the year (at least for some people), not to mention the relative doom and gloom in my private life (or should that be annoyance and ennui?) I found myself revisiting an old favourite in the story-realm, which although black as night and bitter and sad, leaves me strangely ( Read more... )

Creepy old guy was back to smarm, and this time he had the misfortune to catch me in a foul mood, so I got to (ever so politely) tell him where to get off (basically: 'I'm not interested. I have work to do'), and he left immediately, hopefully this time to really never come back! Freak. Sjop tells me he has been eyeing her up as well, so hopefully ( Read more... )

Why is it that when you are drowning in books, people insist on lending you more??? My holiday, which I had scheduled to catch up on my back-reading (meaning to make a dent in the stacks of books in my bookcase that are sadly untouched) will now be spent getting through the equally impressive stack of books from other people that have been foisted ( Read more... )

For Sophie, who may understand, and Anna, who undoubtedly will: 'Does Karl know??!'

Why is it my acerbic tongue leaves me when it is most needed? Being told by a smarmy seventy-year old that he loves me and wants me to call him should not result in meekly taking his card and freaking out afterwards, but in a snappy and clear retort. Brain went AWOL with the shock I guess. DIRTY! EXTREMELY unclean and revolting. And why the hell ( Read more... )

"Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands ( Read more... )