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Shopping and Funding
4 February 2005
Chaz’z happy day: this morning, having finally got rid of all my university work for a week or two and needing therefore to think about doing some real work, needing also some more toner for my printer, I thought I’d walk over the moor to try one of those refill-your-cartridge-for-half-the-price places. We do actually have a new one near at hand, but I went in there a few days back and, uh, well, they would be able to do it, honest, but they haven’t had the training yet... I forbore to ask why exactly they had opened before they were able to do the job they advertise.
Anyway: I walked over to Jesmond, which is the posh suburb, and thought I might as well browse the shops while I was there. So I bought a pair of jeans (which are not black, shock horror! But a lovely demi-mourning purple, so that’s okay) and a Justina Robson novel, both at knockdown prices, and a couple of baby John Dory from the really good fishmonger (and he let me have them for a quid, which I suspect was a bit of a knockdown also). There is admittedly not much flesh on a baby Dory, but dipped in seasoned flour and fried crisp in butter-and-oil, served with an omelette aux fines herbes (parsley, tarragon, chives and a hint of thyme today), they do make a lovely lunch.
And then I went to find m’friend Gail, and we had coffee and klatsched; and so home, for the lunch detailed above. Then down into town for a meeting with Rachael from the Arts Council, who bounced cheerfully at all my ideas where I had honestly expected her to frown and sigh wearily and murmur "no, can’t do that, sorry." Which means that I now have four applications to pull together - for Murder Squad, for a new venture I can’t talk about yet, for Northern Gothic and finally for me - but that’s okay, Fenham View is Application City.
Then I little time reworking my recent ghost story in the pub, and home again to write e-mails and read books and watch Tony Robinson entirely debunking The Da Vinci Code. I admit to dozing off, round about the time of the Rosslyn Chapel, but two hours ten of debunkment was asking a bit much of anyone, the book’s not worth the attention; and I was awake again for the Priory of Sion. Then I had a bath, and am about to go to bed, and am feeling that all in all that was a pretty good day. I have shopped, seen friends, had a meeting and done some work, and all of it successfully; what more could a man ask?
© Chaz Brenchley 2005
Reproduced here by permission of Chaz Brenchley, who asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.