I saw a man walking a dog. I thought it was a pig.
woof woof. all dogs must be kept on a lead. woof woof.
it’s a dog’s life.
come by shep, wheeet, wheeet.
siiittt
Archive for the ‘miscellany’ Category
dog quotes from Saturday 17th April
Saturday, April 17th, 2010driver talk
Sunday, March 21st, 2010The suspension on this one can be quite firm. If you are looking for passenger comfort you want a Mercedes.
Conversation overheard whilst passing a parked coach, one driver talking to another.
active yoghurt and a slice of ham
Sunday, March 21st, 2010I might just have one of these active yoghurts and a slice of ham
Life’s a struggle
Sunday, February 21st, 2010Life’s a struggle, when you are a paperboy and it has been snowing all night. As I drove out to get some coal in the Jeep this morning I passed a paperboy trying to make headway on his bike. It somehow made me think of the Pony Express and how the mail must get through.
In this case it wasn’t just the mail. It was the Sunday Times, Telegraph, Express, News of the Screws and others. This doesn’t quite bring the same sense of urgency especially as I long since stopped taking a Sunday paper in favour of reading it all on the internet.
Returning with a boot full of fuel and birdseed I saw another paperboy laden down with a heavy shopping trolley. His face was a picture of grit and determination, the attraction of payday on a Saturday outweighing the obstacles to getting the job done.
cocoon
Sunday, February 7th, 2010I sit here in my cocoon gazing at the football grey February morning. The only sounds are the muffled voices of people outside the envelope punctuated by the occasional thud of ball.
Cars turn up and doors slam. The electrified East Coast line marks one boundary but no trains yet. It is Sunday morning.
From my vantage point I can see the whole pitch. The green of the grass is in noticeable contrast to the otherwise dull winter scene surrounding the ground.
the trip to casualty
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010the school
the daughter
the tap dancing practice
the double wing
the slip
the elbow
the sling
(more…)
the boy who lost all hope
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010He lay prone, face down on the pew in the kitchen, left arm dangling limply onto the floor. On his face was a look of utter hopelessness, the vacant stare of the condemned man, the innocent about to be consigned to an undeserved fate.
There had been a time in the run up to that moment where he had sat there earnestly, waiting for the good news to arrive. The radio was on in several rooms leaving nothing to chance. There was no way, when that announcement came, that he would not hear it. So there he had remained.
He displayed none of his usual appetite while he waited. Such was his concentration, intensified by an anticipation that told you the stakes were high.
The others had heard of their good fortune quite early on in the process and had already begun to celebrate. This did not help. In fact it was part of the problem.
As the kitchen clock ticked, the remaining time shrank away and the realisation that it was not going to happen finally hit him. His shoulders dropped and pure anguish radiated from the shapeless form.
His school stayed open whilst his older brothers and sister got to stay at home to play snowballs because theirs had shut!
Cock-a-doodle-doo
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009That place between sleep and full consciousness is a lovely one to savour. The dream hasn’t yet been forgotten and the usual neighbourhood morning activity outside is only starting to become apparent. Car doors slamming, engines starting up, rubbish vans reversing far too quickly up the one-way street beeping as they go, the odd bird jumping about on the slates above my head. This morning there was a cockerel. It wasn’t part of the dream, it was a proper, real, cockerel with as good a cock-a-doodle-doo as they get. I wonder if Cardiff City council are re-introducing them in an attempt to bring nature back to the inner city. Or perhaps it’s just another installation by the local art centre. Either way, it was good to hear. If it’s still there in six months in can add its voice to all the other birds (mostly seagulls) that wake me up at 4am every day.
Lime Street
Friday, December 11th, 2009Brightly party coloured frocks and heels with emigrants sequined mingle at Lime Street.
Stepping onto the platform feels as if we are heading towards an ocean liner and a new life.
The Steam Bar is only a partial destination. A woman adjusts her set.
The black ties have upped and gone and the dark haired barmaid with the cleavage has wiped the table. Gold lame and glittering red but no regulars.
Passing conversations
Sunday, November 8th, 2009Passing conversation in the queue at one of the mens toilets in the Millenium Stadium – one person coming out talking to another going in. It lasted five seconds.
Hey how’d the MOT go?
Not bad thanks – only forty quid.
Good, got away with that then!
They continued on their separate ways.
He turned to me and said – that was my dad.
Looks like AA Gill
Thursday, November 5th, 2009Smart grey suit with dark lapels, grey silk Liberty handkerchief, crisp white shirt & expensive watch on his right wrist
Effeminate voice.
Completely out of place at the buffet bar on the 7.29 from Newark Northgate to London Kings Cross.
Dark outside
Sunday, November 1st, 2009It’s getting dark outside. The clocks went back last week and the nights have closed in on us. I like this time of year. This afternoon I cleaned the grate out and set the fire ready for a cosy evening on the settee.
As I fetched in some kindling from the woodpile at the bottom of the garden a small bird flew across the lawn and into the hedge. Getting ready for a quiet nestle in the nest for the evening no doubt.
We are all at it. All is well.
The passing of a passing acquaintance
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009I saw him in a bar in the City. He was stood on his own with a newspaper and a beer, dressed casually at a time when most others were pouring out of their offices in their city slicker suits. Although we nodded at each other as I caught his eye I made no effort to engage with him. I was in the company of business associates with a specific discussion to be had.
I had heard that he had moved on from his job with one of our competitors “to spend more time with his family” or some such motive. He was outside my threesome and suddenly it felt as if he was a total outsider. I no longer saw him at industry gatherings. He was completely out of the picture. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk to him. I just had other priorities and now very little in common.
I continued with my closed conversation and when next I looked he had gone.
What happened to the lollipop man !?
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009All last year he was there, ushering, waving, shepherding. I got the occasional nod of acknowledgement as I stopped at his polite but firm behest. Sometimes I stopped before he had even asked. I felt in tune with him. If I was early he would be there leaning against the hedge, waiting for his punters to turn up. Dressed in his bright yellow coat and carrying his lollipop he was always there. It was comforting. You felt good to be with him, albeit for the few short seconds it took to drive past, or to slow down and stop, then pass. You felt you were part of his community and that his short working day was a wonderful contribution to that community.
This morning as I drove to work it occurred to me that I didn’t see him on the first day back to school. Then I didn’t think about it for a few days. I must have been away for some of that time and so as I drove up to the traffic island opposite the school today I looked out for him. There he was, or so I thought from a distance. That bright yellow coat and black hat. However something didn’t seem right as I drove closer. It wasn’t the old lollipop man! It was a lollipop lady and not him. It depressed me. I have nothing against the lady but I felt that my links to that community were suddenly strained. I became concerned..
His was another walk on role in my life. Really a background piece of transient action as the tapestry rolled on.
You are now entering the congestion zone
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009You are now entering the congestion zone
6th form college enrolling now
High Quality Offices To Let
Marks and Spencer – Simply Food
Paul Ponsonby Specialist Distribution
The Firm – in cinemas September 18th
not completely confident female cyclist
Crouch End Number 91
London Euston
Internet Phone Booth
Dorian Grey – in cinemas 090909
Going Green for London
Mayor of London’s Skyride Sunday 20th September
OMG! my chunky just got funky?