During the ten years I was interested in writing drama, I had eight plays produced on radio and on stage, but I was always more interested in writing prose. I've had two novels published by three publishers, but I have eight unpublished novels. All ten books are now available on Kindle.This blog was set up to give me an internet presence and help to promote these ebooks. So I'm a writer and playwright who lives in Edinburgh.
Tuesday, 31 May 2016
In the war against the machines part 234
I was hoping to post photies of the allotment and such like. I| was going to blog photies of the plants I put in today. I built a cage of green netting. There was also a photie of a seed that flies through the air for a day or two every year at this time, and I saw the clouds of them today and I wanted to know what it was. This seemed appropriate since a friend noticed a great hatching of insects on the Inverleith Pond at the weekend, but couldn't find out what kind.
My friend pressed the wrong button on this computery thing and I now have windows 10. After hating windows 8, but getting used to it, I did not want windows 10. I want the machines to stay the same since every change costs me time. The war against the machines is about resenting the amount of time these machines take out of my life.
So the windows 10 seems not to be as good as windows 8 when it comes to uploading photies from the mobile phone. I think you have to download some kind of app. It seems to want me to do something about backing up the photies using Google or something. Anyway, today I spent about an hour or so on trying to sort this, and, of course, I have failed.
The Yahoo Mail thing came on with big, big letters, like for the semi blind, and it took me a while to sort that too.
I hate the machines. I needed a good electric typewriter with some memory. Had I had such a thing today, I would have spent all the time spent in the war against the machines in writing my Ecuador book.
The photies are of Sikkim.
Monday, 30 May 2016
In the summertime!
I now how no appointments, dates, arrangements or anything else I have to do, have planned to do, or are going to do. I have no holidays booked. I am looking forward to unrehearsed and unexpected events!! This is the part of the year I've been waiting for. So far this year, I've been nine weeks on a meditation retreat and just over two weeks in India/Nepal/Sikkim, and all during this I've been waiting for it all to end so I can get on with just enjoying my allotment and the summertime.
The editing of the Ecuador book is going well. There's always nervousness at the start, but I did start last week and I'm going to do just enough to keep me enjoying doing it. I think I might have a version I can start to try to interest an agent in probably quite soon.
The photies are of the trek to Sikkim and the Singalila Ridge, or whatever it was called!
Wednesday, 18 May 2016
The editing begins
I'll put random snaps from India/Nepal/Sikkim trip on the blog because it takes to long to sort them out. They all might be from Kalimpong and Gangtok. The last one is of a hand made paper factory.
Things have settled down now since I got back from India a week and a half ago. I'm really looking forward to this summer. All I have to do is see as few people as I can manage and everything will be alright.
After a dodgy start .... this is because I haven't really been working on the book since I got home from the Holy Isle a couple of months ago ... I'm now into re-writing the Ecuador book. I want to meditate in the morning and write in the afternoon. That's the way to do it!!
Wednesday, 11 May 2016
Apple blossom time
I had a lovely day today! What a lovely day! The allotment this afternoon was bathed in sunshine. Did some digging and read the paper. Great.
It always takes a while for things to settle down after these long flights, but I feel almost human again today. Some things make me feel better and I put them all into this perfect morning: dog poses, back bends, headstand, tai chi set and about three hours of meditating. That makes me feel good.
Next week I'll try to start work on my book again.
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
More photies
I was not looking forward to going to Sikkim, but I had a really, really good time. This was largely because I was able to meditate a lot. The best bit of the trip was walking along the Singalina Ridge. I could practise walking meditation and when we stopped, I could practise sitting meditation. In the evening, everyone went to their tents at about half seven or eight and since I had a tent to myself,(best £100 I ever spent) I could sit and meditate for about three hours at the end of the day. There really wasn't much else to do, especially when the wind was just about blowing folk over outside.
At the moment, I'm feeling a bit crap. Jet lag, I guess and drinking too much last night. Anyway, I am starting a diet (which means I'm not a vegetarian anymore) to try to kill of harmful yeasts. I'm not one for fancy diets usually, but my lips are getting scabbier and scabbier, so I want to do something proactive. One of my fellow trekkers advised me to do this diet and she treats folk for this kind of thing as a means of making a living. It won't do me any harm. I'm also going to have to give up alcohol and any boost in that direction is a good thing. Also, I am thinking seriously about starting a three day fast next Monday, thinking of starting that by drinking six pints of slightly salty water. The internety thing says that the nasty yeasts live in your colon. Well, drinking the six pints with give that a kick up the backside.
I am really looking forward to this summer!! I'll have a read at my Ecuador book and decide on the editing and re-writes. I'll probably be looking for an agent in a month or so, but if it's not up to scratch, I'll just start something else, probably a drama or some fiction.
I'm going to the allotment this afternoon and will probably take a look at the Botanics. The channels keep opening. If I can stop drinking for a few months, I will become a happier guy!!
Monday, 9 May 2016
Sikkim trip photies
Got back near midnight last night after travelling for about twenty four hours. Three flights. Hoping to stay put over the next six months. I'll upload these to the blog (which is a pain in the arse!) because I said I would. I'm having to upload them one at a time. I do not think this is a very efficient use of my time!
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