Saturday 16-10-01 Soaked

We did another Park Run, despite the rain. It wasn't supposed to rain between 9am - 10am, but apparently the forecast was wrong. And it was torrential. Some of the runners were squealing because the rain was coming down so hard. It was bouncing up off the tarmac to knee-height, it was coming down so hard. At one point, and then for the remainder of the race, I felt like I was running in a corset because my top had absorbed so much rainwater. I did think at one point I would be better off taking it off and dumping it in the hedge, and recovering it after the run (but I didn't do that). Nevertheless, I was only 45 secs slower than my time last week. I'm quite happy to have run through the deluge, and I am happy that the deluge didn't slow me down - noticeably. I did predict that PBs would tumble, and I was wrong, but there is always next Saturday morning.

I spent a long time moving and alphabetising my CDs, so they are now arranged nicely in the living room. I realised that I have a couple of CDs missing, and I also have a couple of duplicates, most notably Circlesquare by The Wonder Stuff and Comforts of Madness by Pale Saints - they will probably go on eBay. 
I think I will have to prune my collection; they should fit into two of these units. I will digitise as much of it as I can (I've digitised a lot of it already, but I find it hard to let go of the physical discs) and there are some CDs that I've never listened to, so I can probably get rid of those without too much of a problem. I do find though, that when I get rid of CDs I always want to listen to them the following day/week/month, even if I haven't listened to them in years. So I don't want to sell or bin discs completely so that I don't have them at all, but it would be nice if they were stored tidily across the two units. 

In the afternoon we went to see the GiL, who seemed to be in good spirits. She had been out to The Spotted Cow for lunch, as is her habit most days. For a 97-year old, she is doing well. I think she could do better if she accepted help, but that's not in her nature. Her short-term memory is shot; she kept asking if she'd given the girls money, and she asked me several times how my job was going: "any sign of promotion, Rob?" We'd bought her a few bites to eat, some pork pies and a quiche, and some biscuits. And a bottle of wine, of course. We stayed for a while and then headed home. 

TW went out in the evening, and I caught up with the last episode of Banshee, a really good, enjoyable gangster/criminal/satanic thriller. I don't think I've ever seen such a relentlessly bloody, vicious series. I also watched a bit of Kate Tempest on BBC2, which was great. I'd heard a lot about Kate before, I know that Scroobius Pip is a fan, and I was interested to hear her stuff. I was blown away, and now I'll need to go out and get another CD or two... :(

And that was Saturday. 

Friday 16-09-30 Forgetful

Oh, how we laughed.

I got up as soon as the alarm went off yesterday morning. I say "alarm", but I have the radio programmed to switch on to Radio 4, the Today programme, and so I normally stay in bed and listen to it for a few minutes because they are normally discussing something interesting, or they are about to round up the day's newspaper headlines.
But no time for that this morning, I had sold some comics yesterday on eBay and I had emailed the winner to tell him I would post them today, but I hadn't even packaged them up yet. So out of bed, quick shower and dressed, and downstairs. Bubblewrap, sellotape, scissors and brown paper, and it was done. I told the girls that they needed to get dressed, and the normal morning hubbub ensued. Teas were made, breakfasts were had, questions about locations of school uniform were answered. I was aiming for the 07:47 train, so I gobbled down some own-brand wheat biscuits, gulped my tea, and then headed upstairs to clean my teeth. That done, I was back downstairs, popped my shoes on, gathered up my workbag and comics to post, and headed to the door. Kisses to the children and TW delivered and farewells made, the door closed and I was on my way, leaving the hubbub behind. I popped my headphones on and got back into one of the many podcasts I listen to while travelling between home and the office.

It wasn't until I was crossing the Shoreham bridge that TW phoned. "I could f***ing kill you", she said. Oh, dear. What had I done? I wasn't aware of anything I'd messed up. "You've left your cake on the side", she let me know. In all the rush of the morning, and the packing up of the comics, and the breakfasts and the rush to catch the right train, I had forgotten to take the cake with me to work. Macmillan Cancer fundraising would have to do its best without my deliciousness. I couldn't believe it; that was the third time I'd made that cake, the second time for charity, and I'd forgotten to take it in to work.
To compensate, I donated a tenner while at work. And it made for a funny story, so that was a good thing. And it meant I got to have a big slice after dinner last night, so it wasn't all bad news. But it was completely unintentional.

I had lunch out at the Bangkok Kitchen on London Road with a friend, that was nice. I had a massaman curry, which is peanut-flavoured and is basically a plate of satay.
And TW was out in the evening, so I got to watch the penultimate episode of Banshee, which was as gripping and bloody as expected. I'm really stringing out my enjoyment of the show.
I had two beers which is less than my usual intake on a Friday night, due to the Park Run in the morning. Hopefully I can improve on my last time, which was 30:43. We'll have to see.

TTFN.

Banshee

Catching up on Banshee, the new U.S. drama somehow related to True Blood. I believe the same creative team are behind both. However, whereas True Blood is fantastical and a tale of good vs. bad, Banshee is a grim ultra-violent tale of bad vs. worse.
It's grim. Did I say that already? The episode with the albino in prison is especially memorable / repugnant. There is a liking for stretching out the violence too far in this show, so where other shows might have the fight last two or three minutes, Banshee pulls it out to seven or eight. And then pounds the unconscious skull with a hundredweight.
I will always remember 'are we good?' with a shudder.
I'm sure in years to come, it will take on the same horrific meaning as 'is it safe?' in Marathon Man. Not that I've seen MM in full, and I'm not sure that I want to; it is more a case of having to. Banshee could turn out and if to be a turning point in TV.
Where The Sopranos was psychological, and True Blood was sexy, and The Wire was involved, and Battlestar Galactica reinvented the space odyssey, Banshee has pushed ultra-violence that bit further and made it integral to the plot.
The story of the ex-con taking on the role of the Sheriff and then defending his position by all means necessary is a good plot device - you start rooting for him, but then as events occur, you start questioning exactly what is going on, and who you should support.
The scene in the prison with the albino is particularly intense, or at least it was for me. I believe I'm on now ep09 of 10, and that still pings around in my head when I'm at a loose end. It's quite an intense scene.

Anyways, I guess I'm saying that Banshee is compulsive viewing, and I'd recommend it.