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Posts for October 2003 (8 entries)

Down from the hills

28th October 2003, lunch time | Comments (2)

They sat there, the three of them, on the veranda of the pub and watched the traffic move past: a thin black man on a whining moped, revving furiously; a young couple in a new Renault and in mid-argument, hands and arms in flutter-flight; a huge lorry, barely able to make the turn; that damned idiot on the moped again…

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Various different

26th October 2003, lunch time | Comments (1)

One of my mother’s pet peeves has long been the phrase “various different”. It seems like needless repetition of the concept.

But as it turns out, “various different” is perfectly acceptable:

Various different is not redundant; it means “a variety of different things,” and it is Standard. (Various things and different things are not quite the same, either.) But be aware that some commentators still object, even if unreasonably, to various different anythings.

A totally different world of hair

18th October 2003, lunch time | Comments (9)

The delightful Sabrina answered a question of mine:

Can white people grow afros? Can I grow one? Is it just big hair, or does it do something special, like go frizzy?

No, they can’t. No, you can’t. It’s special hair that requires special haircare products and stylists. It’s a totally different world of hair, as white people who adopt black children find out when they manage to break — yes, break — their children’s hair. They go to an afro salon after that.

The subject reminded me of my first few weeks living in Brixton, in south west London…

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A higher frequency of excitement please

17th October 2003, lunch time | Comments (10)

Starting this blog has highlighted something for me: I don’t do anything interesting on a day-to-day basis…

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A trip from home

7th October 2003, lunch time | Comments (0)

Yesterday I left the house, drove into Yeovil, and saw a doctor.

I think (and I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure I’m not) that it was the first time in a little over two weeks that I’ve left the house and not gone to play tennis…

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Frickin’ mouth ulcers

6th October 2003, lunch time | Comments (21)

Upset girl and her stuffed toys

I’m pretty hacked off — I’ve got mouth ulcers.

Yes, I know we all get mouth ulcers, I expect you’ve had them, but I get mouth ulcers.

Sometimes I can’t talk for a couple of days, sometimes I can’t clean my teeth without spitting blood for 5 minutes. My mouth hurts all the time, I can’t eat certain foods and I look like I’ve been given a fat lip.

I’ve currently got eight of the damn things. They can be up to the size of my little-finger nail and last for 2 months at a time.

Do you get all that?

No?

Well don’t go wasting one of your Genie-in-a-lamp wishes on it, it’s a lousy thing to have. Sure, it’s not life-threatening, but it’s enough to make a person feel pretty miserable.

So, that’s why I’m hacked off.

Bloody things.

Hrumpf.

Multi-functional, all-in-one everything

4th October 2003, lunch time | Comments (2)

There are too many things in my life.

Not people and jobs and decisions, but actual things — books, diaries, shoes, clothes, newspapers, pens, computer stuff.

It’s everywhere.

I started off working in this room with only a laptop, nothing else. Now I have…

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Celebrity, rugby, Spain and Russia

4th October 2003, lunch time | Comments (0)

A few thoughts for the day:

  1. Why, when celebrities are rushed to hospital for drug overdoses, aren’t they arrested for possessing and using illegal substances? Isn’t there a law against that? Courtney Love just spent the night a la hopital and I bet the police don’t do anything about it. Seems odd to me.
  2. Only six days until the Rugby World Cup kicks off. 48 matches. Ha ha! And it looks like I’ll get to see almost all of them on regular TV.
  3. Isn't the World an odd place? News from the Daily Telegraph…

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