Radio play.

   The first six photies were taken on Sunday when I went out cycling with Poisonous. We were down near Ocean Terminal in Leith. The bottom two photies were taken yesterday when I was up Inverleith Park with my nephew and his two kids.

             I emailed the BBC radio drama folk to ask about my script, but the boy emailed me back that he hadn't read it yet!!! When I worked with the radio drama folk before, you'd get a response much earlier than four months. But it's worse. Apparently, you don't really know if you've been successful or not until February next year, and then they're deciding about stuff for 2016!! I was in the throes of nicotine withdrawals when I sent the email and I thought I'd be as well just withdrawing it when I considered that timescale. Who knows where I'll be in 2016! But I like it. Apart from a couple of lines, I couldn't see much that I'd want to change really when I read it the day before yesterday. Basically, the play is sitting at the bottom of some slush pile of "unsolicited manuscripts". I have little expectation of them producing it and I think it's time to just forget about it and get on with writing something else!!

          This last week has been really tough. You always forget how horrible getting over nicotine can be, but I'm sticking with it!!

         

First day!

The tulip photies were taken at the allotment yesterday. The rest were from a walk around the Botties this afternoon.

At the start of the year, there was about three or four weeks or retreat. Then three weeks of drinking, and since then I've been using tobacco. Today is the first day without tobacco then for about six weeks, I suppose. Not as bad as I'd expected. The weather and the bliss does help!!

Yesterday and today.

          I took these photies yesterday which was a much nicer day than today. The red stuff is what sticks over a bit if the wall on Portgower Place.

           All goes well here. Mostly meditating today; some digging yesterday; in a different league now with the meditations.

Cycling to Cramond

          Poisonous and I cycled today and ended up in Cramond. It was a beautiful day for it; clear and sunny with a bite in the wind. My Chinese friend is dedicating her Easter weekend retreat to me giving up smoking and drinking. So no pressure there then. I'll have another go tomorrow. But it was great being out on the bikes today. I'll sleep tonight. You have to cycle up a big hill to get out of Cramond. It was either that or cycle along the promenade into the teeth of the wind. The gears on these modern bikes are great though.

A Little Victory in the War Against the Machines.

          I was able to go up to the allotment this afternoon. I dug a part of the plot bigger than I'd even done a week or so ago. This is because it is easier. There are less bits of couch grass to remove. It was very nice up there though not as good weatherwise as yesterday. But the bliss was up while I sat on the bench it was nice to feel the wind on your face and meditate outside.

         I managed to get onto Skype this morning and it worked perfectly. The webcam I bought yesterday had an instruction manual with it of course. It said when prompted to stick in the CD. There was no CD, so I  just connected the bugger and waited for the Skype to fail. But it didn't. It didn't need a CD. Maybe it needed a CD some time ago.

         Since I did not have to go to war with the machines, today has been very good indeed. My first meditation this morning lasted nearly two hours. That's a good sign that nothing was bugging me!!

In the War Against the Machines! Again!

         
          It's a carousel of thoughts, which just go round and round. You might think you've said bye bye to that one, but it's really like being in one of those grotesque Japanese bars where the dead animals just keep going round and round. No, I'll try not to eat that crap this time though it does seem to be the only thing on offer.

          I've been trying to engage with my Chinese friend on Skype for the last few days. I had a month to set this up. But I hate, just hate, footering with the computery thing. I was told it was already installed last weekend so I let it go though I knew from past experience that ... Anyway, I couldn't get it to work.

          Drivers. I remember having to find out what that was when I was trying to fix up the scanner. About three days out of my life, that took. ...

          Over the last couple of days, the start of my week, I have not been able to settle into being a recluse at all. I have been jumping on buses and going hither and yon. Clicky, clicky.How much do I hate this technology!! I asked you do do things and make choices and it is thick! How anyone allowed these basturns to make money off you by taking the piss like this is ...

          Well, tomorrow ... I hope it rains so I can stay in. I hope all the electricity goes kaput. Then all the bleepy bleepy things get eaten by nanocyberrobotcrap. That would be great!

Blooming flowers

         
          The photies are of the flowers growing in my daughter's bit of the allotment. I only grow things you can eat.

           I managed to buy two bags of seed potatoes today, Casablanca and Maris Peer. I did not want these tatties, but time has smeared by recently and I missed the opening of the allotment shop, something I usually try to anticipate. So this year there were no King Edwards and no wee onions. I usually plant four or five hundred onions. I'll have to try and buy them elsewhere, maybe at the Botties tomorrow.

           After I bought the tatties, Poisonous and I went cycling up and down the North Edinburgh cycle paths. I cycled slowly against the wind coming home and it was not much of a day for cycling, but this is just the training I need for when the Old Toothless One gets up the courage to get on his bike! We went for a drink in the Cafe Royal last night and since there were some civilised folk there called women I managed to get home unaccompanied and did not get my head stuck down the toilet this time. So it's really been a better weekend than usual.

Last two days.

         The first photie was taken on Tuesday after I'd had lunch with two old women friends. The rest were taken going to and from and being in the allotment over the last two days.

          The meditations this week have been astoundingly wonderful, but I'm no further forward with the no drinking and no smoking right now. Weird. But the effects of the vase breathing and all won't go back to where they were. Forward! Forward! All my plans are simple!

           I've been reading "Words of My Perfect Teacher"  It's written by a boy who spent some time living, not in cave or a hermitage, but in a depression in the ground, living off wild roots and whatnot. The Real McCoy! This is what it's like once you start on this juju ..."Just as for snake that has crawled inside a length of bamboo, it is said there are only two ways out - straight up or straight down. The Treasury of Precious Qualities says:
            Once in the Secret Mantrayana, you can only go to lower realms
             Or attain Buddhahood; there is no third direction."

             In other words, get your act together, son!

              The second last photie is of the bit of allotment I dug today. This is a far bigger than I can usually dig. I put this down to the finding big hills to cycle up before doing hundreds and hundreds of knee-bends now that I'm in serious training for the cycle run with the Old Toothless One. Since I started on the anabolic steroid injections, the cycling is just like being on a motorbike,  so it is!

     

Lovely Monday

         I like Mondays better than the weekend these days. On Mondays you can do what you like. You can be a recluse!! Also, Monday is my purification day and that's most positive. Tomorrow I've agreed to go to lunch with some folk, so I'll have to put a stop to all that malarkey and keep all the social stuff at the weekend.

           Meditated for about five hours today so far. Went to Lewis's to buy a vacuum cleaner. Did another one hundred prostrations. But the best bit was going up to the allotment this evening. Beautiful evening. It's great when the longer nights arrive!