Nest

         There were floods yesterday, but today I did manage to get up to the allotment. I found a sparrow's nest in the bush by the hut. Reminded me of the wrens who used to nest in the old hut. I don't miss the rats.

Fasting.

         I couldn't resist this photie this evening. What it looks like out of the window! I wanted to write facing this window when we first came to this flat, but it never happened. Well, I think I've finally given up writing now. I've been trying to do that for about ten years. Of course, I'll start again sometime.

          I've had nothing but cups of tea over the last two days. I've been wanting to do a three day fast for ages, but I usually can't get passed breakfast! Don't know if I'll keep it up tomorrow, but it's been really a lot easier than giving up tobacco.

          The after-effects of  the vase breathing have gone through the roof, of course. They always react to purification, but I was interested to note how much has changed since the last time I did a three day fast, two years ago. Also, I was more anxious last time; more crabbit this time.

Another lovely day!

          It was such a lovely day I had to go and sit in the allotment and then take a wander round the Botanics. But the photies were all taken in the allotment. There was a shower of seeds that looked like petals. It was like snow. This is magical realism in Chilly Jockoland. Anybody know what kind of tree creates a storm like that?

Another lovely day!

        The yellow flowers are from last year's turnips!! Turnip flowers! They look rather like the flowers on rape seed plants. I know that because I was beside a rape seed field today when Gilliebabes and visited her sister down at a respite place near North Berwick. Tonight a fox visited me while I was meditating up the allotment.

Stormy weather!

          I just got home in time to avoid the storm. Thunder, thundering, and all. Then I had to rush out again and get a keyboard, which I'm now writing on, to replace the one that didn't like the glass of wine I swamped it with. The new keyboard only cost £8. I couldn't believe how cheap it was.

          The first three photies were taken from where I was sitting meditating in front of hut. You can see the storm coming. I was sitting outside the hut because inside the hut was like a sauna, now that I've blocked the ventilation holes.

In the War against the Wasps!

          The photies were taken over the last couple of days. This really is a lovely time of the year when it doesn't rain. Even when it does. Life bursts out all over!!

           The wasps weren't put off by me knocking down their first attempt at a nest. When I was there yesterday, they were back!! Oh no!! I don't want to have to fight the wasps for the hut. It was bad enough with the rats in the old hut, but rats at least try to hide away. So I knocked down the second nest and blocked up the spaces where the wasps can come into the hut, the little gaps at the apex of the roof for ventilation. I'll be back up there tonight to see if they have been deterred.

            The cycle run today was great. I've really enjoyed the last couple of cycles. Today Poisonous and I went down a tunnel near Pollock Halls and ended up in Portobello.

Wasps

          I haven't been sitting in the hut much recently. I usually meditate in the flat or, when I'm up the allotment, on the nice bench there is there now. But I was meditating in the hut yesterday - just for a change - and there was a big wasp in there with me. That was alright, but today I noticed that there is a wasp nest starting up near the apex of the roof. It looked like something wonderful, something kind of alien and inexplicable. Fabulous really.

        I was stung by wasps once or twice a few years ago now. Surprisingly sore! Those wasps weren't anything like the size of the ones I saw today and yesterday, so with much regret I knocked it down. I wouldn't be too bothered with the odd wasp buzzing about when I'm meditating, but I don't think they'd tolerate me, so I got my retaliation in first.

       I got two books delivered today, both connected to Namkhai Norbu. The one I'm really looking forward to is Rainbow Body. He's writing about his uncle in it, the one who dissolved into light on his death, hence the title. I told my friend from Hong Kong about the rainbow body business and she said she didn't believe it. I don't believe in believing in things, but I accept the profundity of my ignorance to the extent that I try not to dismiss anything. Twenty years ago, I wouldn't have believed that folk could keep themselves warm enough through meditation to stay in caves bollock naked half way up the Himalayas. But I'm  that can be done now. And I'm a huge fan of Norbu after reading his book "The Crystal and the Way of Light." If he says his uncle dissolved into light, I sure he's not lying!

       How far we have travelled into the juju!!

The Communist Conspiracy and the End of Civilisation!

          I've stopped just eating mainly soup and breid. I've resurrected my wok dinner of pre-soup days.

          When I was up the allotment this evening, I was pleased to see the first tatties appearing. The digging is almost done.

          Of course, I stopped paying any attention to politics when I inadvertently joined the evil bourgeois. I thought politics was only for the poor people who needed the state whereas us rich basturns were able to just loaf around, living on the fat of the land and doing bugger all good for anyone. I thought the only politics the evil bourgeois engaged in when they could be bothered to take their snouts out of the trough was  involved with pulling the safety net away from the poor people. But is seems this is no longer the case and politics are now important to us rich basturns. At least, that's what Brian Wilson told me last week.

          Brian Wilson has moved all the money he stole off the poor people out of the country. He told me last week that I'd better do likewise since when Chilly Jockoland becomes independent, the economy will collapse and all the rich people will become skint just like the poor people, only worse since they won't be used to it.

         I couldn't have been happier!! The collapse of capitalism is coming at last! And the lordy lords will just be as poor as the already poor basturns. Ground Zero. Hurrah!!

        Of course, one of my heroes lived in a cave and all his clothes fell off him eventually, and he only had nettles to eat, and he went green. The other one lived in a depression in the ground and lived off  the roots of wild plants. So when I'm sitting in the hut up the allotment, well, this is complete luxury. I'll even have vegetables to swop when the currency collapses. And the evil ones will not have any money and thus will be unable to drag me out to the pub to stop me meditating. It's just win win all the way for me really! What a fortunate creature I am, I am! What a fortunate creature I am!

         

       

       

         

More cycling!!

            Poisonous and I had a bit of a cycle this afternoon. It was most enjoyable. Somehow, we ended up in the same part of the Forth shoreline as last week. There's some very strange housing down there. Poisonous says all it needs is some Russian soldiers with balaclavas and AK47s, but it looks alright. You just cycle along and hardly see anyone.

           It's eleven days now since I stopped the tobacco and I hope now to be going into phase two of the purification process. Stage one was drowning the Nicotine Dragon in alcohol. Now, I'm just a wee bit crabbit, but I could do with a drink. Tonight will be the first night I don't have alcohol or tobacco.

           I would have started stage two yesterday, but Poisonous phoned me to say he was bored. Flatheids can get bored quite easily if they have no hobbies. It's hard to feel bored if you can meditate. In fact, you are always looking for nothing to do so you can do the bliss!!

           Last week I was far too busy!! I was drinking with Froggie McDuck, my nephew, on Tuesday. On Thursday Brian Wilson showed up on the eighth day of no nicotine with fags sticking out of every orifice as usual, and as soon as you see him you realise you haven't a hope in hell! Here come the flatheids to take away the bliss!! Then yesterday Poisonous was feeling bored!!

           Now the font has changed. No reason for that.

           Next week I don't have to see anyone till Friday!! Hurrah!! Solitude is challenging, but I have to grow to love it so I can improve the old concentration. So I'll be really pleased if I don't do booze or tobacco .... well, I'd be pleased it I never did them again, but if I can get to next weekend, that would be something to celebrate! I'd drink to that!

Lovely Day!

          Let's have more days like this!! I went up the allotment and then had a walk through the Botanics. I found a great spot to do a bit of meditation there today.

           I found out that the BBC radio drama folk didn't want the script I sent in. Here's what the email said:

I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.  I enjoyed Samsara – some of the lines and situations were very entertaining.  As you say it’s an absurdist black comedy. It reminded me at times of Edward Bond.   I just find it hard to think where it might sit on Radio 4.  It’s fairly brutal stuff for the afternoons – and yet that’s where almost all the new writing goes.  I could see this working really well on stage where the audience would enjoy the absurd situation and the blackness of the humour but it also felt to me primarily a theatrical situation – one set-up, one dynamic, and no real story once you’d bought in to the basic premise – and I think the lack of a story would make it harder to hold on to an audience on radio. So, I’m afraid that it’s a no from me – but if you’ve still got theatre contacts I’d go down that road.  Again, I apologise for the delay in considering your script and I’m sorry that I can’t offer you a more positive response.

          That is a very fair response. Samuel Beckett can get away without having much of story line, but I'm not Samuel Beckett! The boy's dead right really. Who wants to listen to folk stabbing each other and swearing and eating bits off each other in the middle of the afternoon.

          The main thing is that I really enjoyed the writing ... well, it was really more like hacking or editing a not very good stage play. Anyway, I'm not going to finish it, but I'm happy that I understood how to improve it. And it didn't take me hardly any time at all. You never know. One of these days I might bulk it up again and re-write it for the stage.

           I feel quite relieved that I don't have to go to meetings with producers and actors and all. If I need to write, I'll stick to prose. Writing at all is a distraction  really since what I would love to be able to do is get myself sorted out so I follow the short path!!!