He was speaking Farsi, the man on the train. At least I think it was Farsi. There was certainly something middle eastern about the cadence, something that betrays a level of animation and exasperation even reading out a shopping list.
He wasn’t, I don’t think. His level of engagement was too great. He sounded angry, in [...]
Bangladesh is a city, right?
Two Germans and an American on a train. They decide to play the country game. You know, where one starts with A, the next B etc.
The American starts: Oh, A. Hmmm. Do states count?
The Germans: No.
The American: Oh, Albania!
The Germans: Very good, that’s a great one.
German 1: Belgium.
German 2: Cambodia.
After a few moments consideration:
American: I [...]
Occasionally I can come home to a house smelling of freshly baked cake.
I can sometimes come home to a kitchen floor flooded with soap suds when a housemate puts washing up liquid in the drawer of the washing machine.
Today: both of the above.
Please, America. Please don’t shoot him
Ending the day with fewer words than I started. When I have too many words, this is a good thing. When I have too few it’s pretty bad.
I cooked a rather magnificent curry the other night. It has lasted three meals. The spices were bang on right, but I threw five cardamom pods into the mix. Count them. Five.
Three days on and I have just finished the last of my three meals. Like many curries it got better with age. During my [...]
It was a clear morning this morning. Blue sky and a crisp air. Having been cooped up most of the week either due to inclement weather or inclement mood I felt a long walk through the local park was in order.
I’ve never been along Jesmond Dene before. I have no idea why. Less than ten [...]
Trying to capture thoughts is like trying to catch clouds in a butterfly net. Nebulous thoughts, shy from direct sight, fleeting from all manner of concentration.
Like a Magic Eye poster, the more I look, the more the illusion fades.
Writing has been avoided for days, weeks even. The thoughts not strong enough to carry the words.
The [...]
I like Dopplr. I wouldn’t like Dopplr apart from the icon that tells me my average velocity is similar to that of a giant tortoise. I like that. The concept is good and the actuality is funny.
It doesn’t always get it right.
Whenever I come to Glasgow it tells me:
Coincidentally you would be there too.
Coincidence? [...]