Monday 30 May, 2005

I got back from my weekend in Glasgow in severe pain. My legs were stiff and aching, my ankles and knees especially badly bruised, my neck was sore and could barely move, my back felt like it had been through a mangle, and my lungs felt as if I had run a marathon while chain-smoking.

Ceilidhs are great fun but they fairly take it out of you. I've not actually been to one that good for a long time, and I really enjoyed it. Playing football in the park the day after may have exacerbated my pain, but never mind. No pain, no gain. Supposedly.

Tonight has been an evening of nursing wounds in a nice hot bath, and buying my plane tickets for London, for when I go to Australia. The trip is coming together now – insurance is the next major thing to sort out.

Then I just need to find my passport.

Thursday 25 May, 2005

The plans for Australia are coming along well. Through Global Freeloaders I have found myself some accommodation with some lovely people, plus several offers of beer, barbecues, and photos of assymetrical mullets from the other good freeloading folk of Sydney. It's made me really look forward to visiting the place.

Talking of Australia, I was delighted to hear recently that Peter Moore, the Australian travel writer, is going to be visiting the Ottakar's store in Inverness. I do urge anyone in the Inverness area to go see him on the 20th of June. He's a very funny and wryly observant writer. I was less delighted to discover that he is doing so just after my departure down under.

There is so much to do before leaving for the land of Steve Irvine and Mel Gibson, and I have many weekends taken up between now and then, unfortunately. This one coming should be good fun, though – I am off to Glasgow for a friend's birthday. It's a black tie ceilidh in the Glasgow University Union, a magnificent old building near the heart of the university. Being an Aberdeen University graduate, I should slag the place rotten, but Glasgow University's old campus, bits of it over 500 years old, is absolutely beautiful, and (like Aberdeen) a great testament to Scotland's ancient university tradition.

Aberdeen's still better though.

I'm looking forward to the ceilidh. My friend, whose birthday it is, is a joinee and various members of the cult are coming north from as far away as London. It's going to be a great laugh – not only to witness the whole "joinees en masse, meet my normal friends" thing (which is normally quite overwhelming, mostly for the normal friends), but also to see all the English people attempt to ceilidh dance. Always entertainment.

Friday 20 May, 2005

And would you not believe it – I've just discovered another Mullet! Joy! A tentative welcome to mullet number thirteen – Mullet Creek in the Falkland Islands.

At this rate, I'm not going to get a "normal" holiday until about 2007…

Friday 20 May, 2005

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith was absolutely phenomenal, thanks for asking! I can't wait to see it again. When I got home last night and dived online to check mail, I found that Rev Gareth Saunders had just got back from seeing it too, and we started discussing it on internet messenger. He told me that right at the beginning when the screen went black and the words A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away … appeared on the screen, he said out loud, in a really disappointed voice, "Aww … I've seen this one!"I'll not give any spoilers about the film, but there is one bit with Yoda that had the whole audience in stiches and applause. If you've seen it, you'll know which bit it was. I spent all of today at work walking down corridors trying (and failing) to open doors and lift coffee cups using only my supposed Jedi powers.

So that's the circle of films complete, and it is all poised for the next installment. Wonder if they'll make a fourth episode.

After a very busy week I am really quite knackered, but looking forward to tomorrow. Partly due to the impending lie in, and partly due to the fact that I have various things for Australia to sort out which will make it all seem more real and exciting. But most of all I am looking forward to tomorrow night, because I am going out with some mates, the girlfriend of one of whom is dragging out her colleagues – a bunch of dieticians.

I've never seen dieticians en masse before. Part of me has a mental image of a collection of finely-honed, Scandinavian-looking beauties with perfect skin and flawless teeth, who drink only Pimm's or light white wines.

Another part of me imagines a gang of fat, ugly chain-smokers knocking back the pints of Tennent's like there's no tomorrow.

Monday 16 May, 2005

I've been in Aberdeen for the weekend, which was good fun. I've decided, however, that I am getting very old. Staying out until 5am, even with the life-giving boost of a chicken curry pie from the legendary Thain's 24 hour pie shop, really takes it out of you. Also, students around town look like schoolkids. And nightclubs are now rubbish. But then on the other hand, staying up til 5am always took it out of me; students look like schoolkids due to the current craze of school discos in nightclubs; and nightclubs have always been rubbish.

There. I don't feel quite so old now. Even though I am approaching the age at which both Hendrix and Cobain died.

But it was good to be back, and great fun catching up with all my friends there. I meant to take a few pictures of the dramatic gothic architecture glinting in the sunshine, but I sort of forgot to take my camera around town with me. So maybe next time.

It is now officially three days until Star Wars – I am going on Thursday night (the first day of screening!) and am really looking forward to it. I know it's an old joke, but I just can't resist pointing out that they really should have opened the film fifteen days earlier, on May the fourth…

Wednesday 11 May, 2005

About the most exciting thing to happen on the work front is that the photocopier has continued to break down with such regularity that you could set your watch by it. My guerilla defacement of the blasted machine continues apace, as you can see in the photograph on the left.

Besides that, things remain busy. I have been writing lots of exciting mullet-related things, and have been getting out and about quite a bit. Just this evening I went for a lovely walk along the river. There are lots of tourists about, which makes the town (sorry, city!) look lively, but it does mean there is a bewildered face on just about every street corner gazing at a map like it is the key to lost treasure.

For the rest of the week, I have work-related travels: tomorrow I am off to Elgin (home of the marbles) and the day after to Perth (home of… well, not much). Then at the weekend I am going to go through to Aberdeen to catch up with friends there, which should be fun. The granite might even look quite nice, if it is this sunny there.

Saturday 7 May, 2005

So that's the election over. The Publican Party got well and truly humped, which has put a big smile on my face. The pubs that supported it are still showing their posters, though, as if giving one last show of resigned defiance.

In other news, I appear to have spent my entire budget for Australia on a laptop. Oh dear. But what are credit cards for? Well, actually boys and girls they are for using wisely and carefully, unlike mine today. Don't do this at home.

Just to change the subject again, the thing that has amused me most this weekend is a postcard from Mark, a friend in Aberdeen who was in France for a week with his girlfriend, visiting her family there. The postcard has a nice picture of some dramatic, snow-capped Pyrenees mountains next to a lake, and Mark writes:

Greetings from France – this is what it looks like! Blue underneath, with the white pointy bits on top! The dark stripe across the centre represents soil. Soil is where grapes are grown, and those grapes will make the wine that will once again make this country great! Jacques Cousteau did not explore the depths of the ocean on water alone! Grace Kelly did not heroically die in a car crash in Monaco after drinking milk! Vive la France!

The most worrying thing is that I'm sure I should know who Jacques Cousteau and Grace Kelly are.

Tuesday 3 May, 2005

Inverness has had lovely weather lately, even managing to be warm on top of sunny, which is somewhat of a rarity. However, to remind us all that summer is not yet here, it has rained loads today. It's forecast to be nice on election day, Thursday, though – which should hopefully do more for a high turnout than the politicians have.

So I am spending the evening writing, and listening to music. I bought OK Cowboy by Vitalic, a French techno DJ. It is very good: heavy and energetic, and yet catchy and light-hearted. I can highly recommend it. If you like French techno, that is.