tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60548552024-02-21T07:27:00.854+00:00moosifer jones' grouchinggrouches and waffle<br>
images are thumbnails - click to see full photos<br>
passing fads and fancies are on <a href="http://del.icio.us/magslhalliday">my del.icio.us</a>.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comBlogger533125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-11211638001586349672008-08-04T12:04:00.003+01:002008-08-04T12:13:19.490+01:00So long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, adieu!After many months half-hearted poking about with things, I have finally got my website installed under wordpress. I've also imported the grouch over to it and am in the process of fixing all the categories. So new posts will be over on <a href="http://magslhalliday.co.uk/">http://magslhalliday.co.uk/</a>. I'm not going to delete the blogger archive, although I may end putting up a redirect (if blogger allows that). <br /><br />Subscribers:<br />Live Journal<br />I'll get the syndication changed but it may be a few days.<br /><br />Other subs. <br />Change the sub to <a href="http://magslhalliday.co.uk/?feed=rss2">http://magslhalliday.co.uk/?feed=rss2</a><br /><br />I've been with blogger for a long time, since November 2003, but it's time is up. The changes that came in with blogger 2 meant I had to fiddle about a lot more to create my own style at which point it became obvious I should go for a more complex and geeky CMS like Wordpress. Ah well.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-31954494059138705662008-07-29T20:39:00.003+01:002008-07-29T22:14:38.299+01:00The Melancholy of Mags L HallidayI had to take this afternoon off sick, since mere caffeine and working did not give me any focus. I hate that with colds: the muzzy head which prevents you really getting on with things. You've not <i>really</i> ill, no fever or vomiting or pain, but you're not going to actually achieve anything. And I never know what to do when the medical advise would be "take it easy" but I don't actually need to lie down in a darkened room like a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Siddal">Pre-Raphaelite heroine with a laudenum habit</a>.<br /><br />I have therefore sat on the sofa drinking Lemsip and watching <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Melancholy_of_Haruhi_Suzumiya_(anime)">The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya</a>. <i>Again</i>. <br /><br />I blame the Chap: you can't go around giving me a new <a href="http://expressions.populli.net/dictionary.html">UST</a> with season 2 nowhere in sight. Now I'm reduced to watching <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHy4n3RWqjk">fanvids</a>, which aren't even about Kyon/Haruhi, and trawling google for rumours of <a href="http://www.ninenines.net/ninesblog/blog/2008/haruhi-2-disappearance-of-suzumiya-haruhi/">the next season</a>. I've even agreed that, as the Chap owns the DVDs, I'll buy the translated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haruhi_Suzumiya_%28light_novels%29">light novels</a> when they come out, just to get myself more of the Kyon/Haruhi tension.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAegt5t97jY">Part 1 of episode 1 on YouTube</a> (subbed, not dubbed: I prefer the dubbed version - heresy! - because Kyon sounds more like a sixth former and less than a grown man).Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-56348747530091800222008-07-20T22:22:00.005+01:002008-07-20T23:15:28.993+01:00Conjure the wandering starsSo, Tennant's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet">Hamlet</a>. The press are <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/who-is-hamlet-playing-the-time-lord-is-perfect-preparation-for-david-tennants-new-role-870518.html">already writing of it</a>, and Jonathan Miller sneered at it for '<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2099823/West-End-has-%2522an-obsession-with-celebrity%2522,-says-Sir-Jonathan-Miller.html">celebrity casting</a>'. Last week, I saw the PR shot for it, and it instantly brought to mind another image.<br /><table border="0"><tr><td><a href="http://davidtennant.albumpost.com/album748/aaa"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmnyFJWZ8Olq02CyTigSGmKb0mCTigTIt2jhhbg2gSFydkkU08gWDsPai4vva3SA6GCcOdhoo8RRiivDYownIdO7Mn3XWYblSKz5jypcC1dNPV8yRWdCaMsVMW7qkhr0E5Wn7dQ/s320/aaa.thumb.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225212525592783378" align="left" hspace="20"/></a></td><td><a href="http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/f/friedric/2/209fried.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdqdp1jBtqJMxMx850EI6n0N2Z4L2Xxc2R2-eaCTLd8p2Rn21kuVp84-xL4bpuiPgAS0FW29qEhJRBkw4FKeqXL1IxiaWdaGq7zVNEznYZWKiyksq2pQjfsyktXme7jSZg5ObT0A/s320/friedrich.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225212878189877202" align="left" hspace="20"/></a></td></tr></table><p><br />Friedrich's <i>The Wanderer Above the Mists</i> (or <i>The Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog</i>). It's an arresting image, from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism">Romanticism</a> period in art (painted around 1817). The same period which saw the rise of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublime_(philosophy)">sublime</a> as a form of beauty, and concepts of nature v nuture emerge from post-Revolutionary France. It was also around the time when Shakespeare went through a massive revival, led in part by the Lambs' <a href="http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/33/71/">Tales from Shakespeare</a> (1807), and Hamlet became a tragic hero (rather than a whiny emo boy back from gap year to find 'Uncle' Claude has moved in with mum). All this suggests the tone the production intends to take with the play: a Romantic who ends up caught up in that fog that he looks down on. <br /><br />The military coat (as well as making me go "Captain Jack!"), also recalls Branagh's <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116477/">Hamlet</a>, which looked to create a strong sense of both the political/military forces waiting on the borders, and the idea of a Germanic stoicism - Hamlet having studied in Wittenberg - in the face of the threats Hamlet faces (real and imagined). <br /><br />It opens next week, and I shall read the reviews with no end of trepidation. Naturally, I have tickets for September but I can't work out if I'm more excited by seeing Tennant as Hamlet, or by seeing what looks like it'll be a smart production of Hamlet with Tennant as the icing.<br /><br />I picked a quote from Hamlet over the other possible title for this piece, which suggests the latter reason for the excitement. The other title? "Don't cry, emo Dane prince!"Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-16580761093018539992008-07-19T11:10:00.003+01:002008-07-20T23:14:42.090+01:00Le Tour de Exe<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2682189442/" title="Exe - sailboat by Mags, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3242/2682189442_4250c474d1_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Exe - sailboat" /></a><br />I made myself get up just after 7am, so I could cycle down to Starcross before the day really started. Naturally, my chain slipped off at one point (due to messing about with the gears) and I shall spend the rest of the weekend scrubbing <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2681373255/">bike oil</a> out of my fingers. <br /><br />As you pass the <a href="http://www.turfpub.net/">Turf Locks</a>, you go from riding alongside the <a href="http://www.jim-shead.com/waterways/History9.html#EXSC">ship canal</a>, fairly sheltered, to riding along a seawall with no protection from the wind. But that bit also brings the smell of salt air and the clack of cordage on masts, so you really feel you're a long way from the city. <br /><br />It took 90 minutes to cover the <a href="http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2092540">9 mile route</a> (nb - I actually start somewhere else in Exeter but I'm not going to pinpoint my house here). Around 2 miles were along the seawall - which is not a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalled">metalled</a> path - that made me glad I still have my off-road tyres on. The train back? 9 minutes. <br /><br />Getting back into the city, and the rain is threatening, so I'm going to settle down to watch <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/7514166.stm">Mark 'the cock' Cavendish</a> take another Tour de France stage.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-27264361153686432272008-07-13T13:01:00.003+01:002008-07-13T13:12:32.900+01:00Transmission starts<a href="http://www.bigfinish.com/25-Doctor-Who-Short-Trips-Transmissions">Doctor Who: Short Trips - Transmissions</a>, which you may vaguely recall me <a href="http://moosiferjonesgrouch.blogspot.com/2008/04/crank-up-cocktail-shaker.html">writing about</a>, is available now and contains a story by myself as well as many others. I've had reports of it being in <s>Forbidding Prices</s> Forbidden Planet.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-38432588900812584962008-07-12T12:44:00.002+01:002008-07-12T13:02:31.486+01:00A Cat Called MaliceI just discovered Polydor records have taken the very sane step of becoming a YouTube channel. Specifically, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/polydorclassics">Polydor classics</a> puts up high quality classic music videos. One of my favourite uses of YouTube is to track down old pop videos - you get onto a seam of a band or year and lose hours clicking on the 'related'. This morning I watched an old <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOsQFPU4kOo">Aztec Camera</a> clip Alistair posted, which led me to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtFlbz136m8">Ever Changing Moods</a>, then <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF6XPXQH9Aw">Long Hot Summer</a> and finally this:<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DXwmNBYMUMw&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DXwmNBYMUMw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />I can watch the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdl8hE07sYE">young Paul Weller</a> for hours, although I'm a bit bothered by his current <a href="http://blogs.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/worldcup/2007/10/rushing_up_that_hill.html">Bradley Wiggins</a> style <a href="http://www.paulweller.com/gallery.php?item=119">haircut</a>. <br /><br /><br /><br />Meanwhile, Sébastian's new kill count is:<br /><ul><li>Rodents:<br />Rats - <s>1</s> 2<br />Mice - 40<br />Voles - 11 </li><li>Birds:<br />Sparrows - 5<br />Dunnocks - 1<br />Robin - 1<br />Ringed pigeon - 3<br />Uncertain - 9</li><li> Other:<br />Frogs - 1<br />Unidentifiable remains - 3</li></ul><p>Yes, there's a rat in my rose bed, what am I gonna do? Actually, I picked it up and sealed it in a plastic bag till bin day. Séba has a new collar with a quieter bell, and within days he's killed a rat. Which is both good (less rats) and bad (rats bite when cornered). <br /><br />There was also a young hedgehog under my kitchen table, which had got in through the open back door, got itself confused in amongst the boxes of tools etc. and was sounding distressed. I moved things and used gardening gloves to pick it up and put it under some foliage in the garden. You'd really not believe I'm in an urban area, would you?Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-81112983392707296842008-07-10T00:30:00.000+01:002008-07-10T00:34:29.927+01:00Cute, in a stupid arsed wayIt's already <a href="http://iriswildthyme.blogspot.com/2008/05/intermission-pottery-wheel.html">been noted</a> that I am loving <a href="http://www.theageoftheunderstatement.com/">The Last of the Shadow Puppets</a>. The first thing they reminded me of was Tenament Symphony era <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgBcEbbiSNY">Marc Almond</a>, mixed with a large dose of <a href="http://www.thedivinecomedy.com/">The Divine Comedy</a> circa <a href="http://www.thedivinecomedy.com/discographyCasanova.php">Casanova</a> (e.g. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeWITeExEy4">Something for the Weekend</a>) and a dash of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQiDs9tKZv4">Lee Hazelwood</a>. A cocktail recipe of music almost bound to make me love them. I love the combination of torch songs and guitars. The opening bass-laden intro on the first track of the album reminds me of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI_xYIxUTE0">Valerie</a>, as well, but then I'm nearly as obsessed with Mark Ronson's arrangements as the trailer editors on the BBC.<br /><br />I've just put the Shadow Puppets album on again, whilst updating my <a href="http://www.copywriting.com/blog/copywriting/copywriting-swipe-file-tutorial/">swipe file</a> (a posh phrase for ripping out good headlines from Glamour). And a slight worry resurfaces. I have fleetingly wondered if there was something a bit <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of-ABC-0KM8">Space</a> about The Last Shadow Puppets, but I've also just been reminded of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhgw0ZOBg3A">The La's</a>. <br /><br />Hmmm. I'm starting to suspect this is an album I will adore for six months then neglect for years.<br /><br />Also cute, in a stupid arsed way: <br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JXO0Baqzme4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JXO0Baqzme4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />And, yes, I have also favourited the 'learn the dance' versions.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-64887135203754384682008-07-09T23:26:00.003+01:002008-07-09T23:30:02.079+01:00The big four ohNot mine: his.<br /><br />Sébastian's new kill count is:<br /><ul><li>Rodents:<br />Rats - 1<br />Mice - <s>39</s> 40<br />Voles - 11 </li><li>Birds:<br />Sparrows - 5<br />Dunnocks - 1<br />Robin - 1<br />Ringed pigeon - <s>2</s> 3<br />Uncertain - 9</li><li> Other:<br />Frogs - 1<br />Unidentifiable remains - 3</li></ul>The pigeons have been downgraded from wood to ringed - smaller and a softer grey, in keeping with what I've been finding. The mouse was brought in still struggling. Which is, actually, horrible.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-46330278322306393762008-07-05T12:11:00.003+01:002008-07-05T12:21:12.823+01:00Pigeon DetectivesSébastian's new kill count is:<br /><ul><li>Rodents:<br />Rats - 1<br />Mice - 39<br />Voles - 11 </li><li>Birds:<br />Sparrows - 5<br />Dunnocks - 1<br />Robin - 1<br />Wood-pigeon - <s>1</s> 2<br />Uncertain - <s>8</s> 9</li><li> Other:<br />Frogs - 1<br />Unidentifiable remains - 3</li></ul>One bird was just a handful of feathers - I'm starting to think the black and white feathers with a yellow edge might be <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/siskin/index.asp">siskins</a>. The other was a pigeon of some sort, as Sébastian very kindly left the guts and the feet to allow for identification. I'm hoping it was a wood pigeon as it wasn't a flying rat style urban one. I'm hoping this because last week there was a poster up on the gates of the St Thomas Pleasure Gardens about a lost pet collar pigeon who "can't really take care of itself".Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-86632466113870576282008-06-24T19:27:00.003+01:002008-06-24T20:03:06.343+01:00Living with colour<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2608482496/" title="Design for Modern Marriage by Mags, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3048/2608482496_638d7fe26c_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="Design for Modern Marriage" align="right" vspace="5" hspace="5" /></a>As a kid, I used to spend many hours flicking through the household encyclopedias. The ones with the vaguely Edwardian line drawings kept me entertained but I really loved the late 50s guide to decorating (aka "the orange book"). The colour plates had that awesome acid palette of lemon and lime, and the food was bizarrely coloured. I've since collected a small shelf of such books, such as the Conran '<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2607651879/in/photostream/">House Book</a>' of the 70s (all murky orange and brown) or a recent 1950s 'Guide to Modern Marriage' (right - click through for the full glory of that cover). <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2608404332/" title="Sunday Times: Living with Colour 5 Aug 95 by Mags, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3002/2608404332_53c153b4f9_m.jpg" width="184" height="240" alt="Sunday Times: Living with Colour 5 Aug 95" align="left" vspace="5" hspace="5"/></a> As part of the whole M-process, I'm trying to declutter my attic enough that the chap can fill it with his <s>junk</s>belongings. Today, I started following <a href="http://unclutterer.com/">unclutterer</a>'s advice and <a href="http://unclutterer.com/2007/04/20/paper-clutter-begone-part-1/">scanning papers</a> I no longer need. The scanned images will go to flickr or be burnt to a CD and the paper will got to recycling (via the shredder if necessary). The first thing I found to scan was this clipping from 1995 (left). It rather neatly indicates that the things that you read as a child will dictate your tastes as an adult. I grew up absorbing the wonders of late 50s futurism, and now I love <a href="http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/photo_gallery/">Mad Men</a>, spend too much time on <a href="http://www.designspongeonline.com/">design*sponge</a>, buy retro and am having a <a href="http://www.sovintagepatterns.com/catalog/item/4526942/4887875.htm#image_1">1958 wedding suit</a> made. When I opened that Sunday Times clipping, I instantly thought "I'd still love that room".<br /><br />I did the initial paperwork at the registrar's today, which was surprisingly painless. Bored Exeter readers will be able to see the notice pinned up for the next fortnight.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-2489416043323939042008-06-23T22:45:00.003+01:002008-06-23T23:25:50.754+01:00This is a local shop, for local peopleI've been meaning to try this for weeks. The exciting excel spreadsheet below indicates what I bought at <a href="http://www.stokesplc.co.uk/">Stokes</a>, my <a href="http://moosiferjonesgrouch.blogspot.com/search?q=stokes">sometimes blogged</a> favourite local greengrocers where the eggs are from five miles away and almost no food is wrapped in plastic. It compares the prices I paid on Saturday against the online prices you'd pay tonight to buy those same goods (or as near as possible) in two well-known supermarkets in the UK. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2605697066/" title="Quick comparison by Mags, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/2605697066_91df003b25_o.jpg" width="457" height="268" alt="Quick comparison" /></a><br />I've helpfully used conditional formatting to show if the supermarket prices per item are higher (red) or lower (green) than my local greengrocers. Yes, geeky. For eggs, I compared Stokes' supply against large free range eggs from the West Country (one specified Devon, the other is Woodland, which is IIRC a West Country brand). Some of the maths involved division and multiplication as some items are not sold loose in supermarkets. Like flat mushrooms, which I bought loose whereas in the supermarket you can only buy in 250g plastic cartons wrapped in cellophane. Stokes sells aubergines by the kilogram, whereas supermarkets price them per fruit. Or vegetable. I've never really been sure about aubergines. <br /><br />The final trigger for this was watching a somewhat patchy <a href="http://www.channel4.com/news/dispatches/?intcmp=docpage_flash">Dispatches</a> on the rising price of food* which highlighted the fact that I didn't feel the price had risen that much. It turns out that's because I'm already saving money by walking down to the local greengrocers on a Saturday morning. So when the middle class media are chattering about how shocking the cost of large free range eggs are, wonder where they are shopping.<br /><br />---<br /><br />*my problem, aside from finding Jay Raynor a more irritating food critic than Giles Coren (who at least willingly dons <a href="http://www.justhungry.com/the-supersizers-go-elizabethan">Elizabethan gear</a> to wander around Southwark and Borough), was that a part of the piece talking about the wholesale price of rice mentioned that it had <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/world/2008/costoffood/default.stm">doubled in six months</a>. It also mentioned that some rice-producing countries have brought in controls on exports to the West. Yet it neglected to point out that these controls were to <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7465366.stm">protect the internal food supply</a> i.e. prevent their own people starving.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-57533989348103606632008-06-01T12:46:00.004+01:002008-06-01T14:20:32.945+01:00Things to make and doIt took me several weeks to plan and organise, then three weekends of work to do it, but I've revamped my attic workspace.<br /><br />Before and after:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2541347624/" title="Old workspace by Mags, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2191/2541347624_a24c857ff0_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Old workspace" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2541355642/" title="Finished workspace by Mags, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2392/2541355642_1a5d224627_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Finished workspace" /></a><br />I still need to put all my books back on the <i>actual</i> shelves, clean and put down the rugs, and get more magnets so I can put more things on the wall, but I'm pleased.<br /><br /><lj-cut text="read all the details">The desk really triggered the whole thing. My old desk (barely visible) cost £35 from PC World or some similar chain in 1996. It was MDF with a flimsy black veneer and, within two years, the cupboard space on the left was being held up by the PC tower and the drawers on the right were held up with my first year notes from uni. The problem, even as I looked for a better one, is that to get into my attic furniture needs to be flat-packed or able to be disassembled. It's just not possible to get a solid desk up two flights of narrow stairs which turn through 180 degrees four times. Every modern flatpack desk I saw, I loathed as they lacked soul. Every old desk I saw was solid. <br /><br />Then I spotted an old oak leather-topped desk in the <a href="http://www.pdsa.org.uk/">PDSA charity shop</a> near my house. Everyone was looking at it, but dismissing it because there were rips in the bottom of one drawer and sellotape covering the crossbar. I looked. I tried lifting a corner and realised the top part came off, leaving two pedestals of drawers. At £35 including delivery, I decided it was worth the TLC required. <br /><br />Here it is in the garden as I fixed it up:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2450148980/" title="Garden Office by Mags, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3201/2450148980_ca36b2480f_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Garden Office" /></a><br />Initially, I considered sanding it down and painting it but I decided I liked the scruffiness of the ink stains and worn black handles. I protected the old leather top with newspaper, sanded down the rough bits on the surface, scraped off the old sellotape and sanded down the rough edges of the cross bar, revarnished the top and used olive oil to repair a minor scratch to the leather. The middle drawer has been temporarily repaired using mounting card and superglue. At some point I'll find some balsa wood and do a proper job on it.<br /><br />Knowing I had a new desk to get upstairs, and knowing that would be quite disruptive, I decided the time had come to sort out the rest of the workspace. <br /><br />Not least the minor worry about the ceiling. One of the joys of a listed house is that it tends to list. Given this was originally a farm worker's cottage, and is as vernacular as architecture can get, I have never expected to have any straight lines. However one ceiling panel in the attic had bowed, cracking the paint and plaster around it and leaving a thin gap between the ceiling and the wall. I rather nervously hit it with a hammer and discovered - to my relief - that the board was sound, just bent. So I pulled away all the loose paint and plaster, used an old piece of quarter-circle dowling to push the panel back up on the wall and trusted to polyfilla to fix the rest and reseal the wall/ceiling joint. Well, polyfilla and some great plaster board tape which is like netting. Looking at the before photos, I'm slightly surprised by how bad it actually looked.<br /><br />The existing shelves, bowing under the weight of the books, were made from MDF recovered from a skip in 1994, along with some bricks liberated from a building site around the same time. They've done a sterling job over the last decade but the time had come to get something a little more grown-up. Having realised that <a href="http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/">IKEA now deliver</a> in the UK, I picked some <a href="http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90111027">heavy dark wood shelves</a> called Markör which would fit A4 folders as well as books and got a delivery date just before the last bank holiday. Thus setting the timescale for all the work.<br /><br />At the <a href="http://www.openhouse.org.uk/">Open House London</a> day last year, the chap and I visited <a href="http://www.architecture.com/TheRIBA/RIBAVenues/RIBAVenues.aspx">RIBA</a> to see their mix of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/1392402137/">retro</a> and modern. We ended up having a long and interesting conversation with an architecture student in a library workspace they have. One thing that wowed me was their magnetic wall. This is done using a primer paint with ferrous material suspended in it. You then paint over with whatever colour you want. And use magnets to hold everything to the wall. Given that I always use the wall behind my desk as an ideas/inspiration space, I loved the notion of making it magnetic. No blu tack marks, no pin holes damaging the plaster. I got the <a href="http://www.rapidonline.com/Educational-Products/Science/Magnets/Magnetic-paint/78897/kw/magnetic">magnetic paint</a> from <a href="http://www.shawmagnets.com/">Shaw Magnets</a> via <a href="http://www.rapidonline.com/">Rapid Electronics</a>, which was the best value (a full litre for under £30, compared to £35 for 900ml for a different brand). And it works!<br /><br />Unlike my wifi router, which had become increasingly unreliable. As the PC had to come down to the lounge whilst I was renovating, I took the opportunity to send the wifi router off to <a href="http://www.belkin.com/">Belkin</a> under warranty and use a CAT5 for a couple of weeks. Yesterday, I cycled over to the courier depot to collect the new router and today I brought the desk contents and the chair back upstairs. <br /><br />The chair was made over a few nights ago. I'd got it from my old office and <a href="http://magslhalliday.co.uk/about/moosifer.htm">Moosifer Jones</a> used to love sitting on it. And dribbling. Look closely at the photo of the old workspace and you can see the stain on the rather drab grey wool. I'd bought the fabric back in the winter from the <a href="http://melindaschwakhofer.wordpress.com/2007/05/26/love-happiness/">Exeter Fabric Centre</a> knowing it would be for this chair. Initially, I planned a <a href="http://www.designspongeonline.com/2007/10/diy-wednesdays-office-chair-upgrade.html">full rebuild</a>, then I considered using drawstrings to keep the new covers loosely in place. Finally, I discovered I could use an old set of blunted scissors as a bradle and tightly force the material in the gap between the cushions and the back. Not perfect, but workable. With the scraps, I made a little matching cushion for Sébastian and put it in one of the spaces on the new shelves. We'll see if he takes to it.<br /><br /></lj-cut>So, there it all is. There are minor other things to do (not least repainting the rest of the attic, and updating the lights) but I'm pretty pleased with how it's turned out. Especially at a total cost of around £230. I'm sitting at my new old desk, on my elderly but snazzy chair, looking out over the gardens of the neighbourhood and I'm glad I took the time to do all the work.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2540534877/" title="Workspace with notes by Mags, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3190/2540534877_4202de1d3a_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="Workspace with notes" /></a>Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-74728375109604885172008-05-26T12:58:00.002+01:002008-05-26T13:02:49.924+01:00Straying<a href="http://factorfictionpress.co.uk/webcomic/2008/05/26/strays-1/">Strays</a>, a comic strip I wrote for <a href="http://www.factorfictionpress.co.uk/girly/index.html">the Girly Comic</a> a few years back, is their featured web comic for the next few weeks. Lee Kennedy did the artwork, and I certainly found writing it a massive learning curve. Page 1 is up today, with the rest to follow. Hope you enjoy.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-38586121251220858242008-05-23T09:17:00.002+01:002008-05-23T09:33:45.770+01:00Benny, the Vampire SlayerI first started emailing my latte sister <a href="http://lordshiva.livejournal.com/">Kelly Hale</a> because we both loved Buffy. There were a lot of emails about whether Spike was better than Angel (well, d'oh) and how lovely Willow was, except when she wasn't. We both loved Buffy and Doctor Who: she'd written <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimm_Reality">Grimm Reality</a>, which is one of my favourite characterisations of Anji. And now we, along with the super-smart <a href="http://infinitarian.blogspot.com/">Phil Pursar-Hallard</a>, are writing a collection of Benny long stories all about vampires: <a href="http://www.bigfinish.com/Bernice-Summerfield-Professor-Bernice-Summerfield-and-the-Vampire-Curse">Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Vampire Curse</a>. <br /><br />PPH writes very engaging high concept stuff with an excellent dry wit. Kel writes super-sexy stuff with high emotional intelligence and an eye for the absurdities which makes you laugh out loud. So, no pressure then. The collection of novellas will be out in December this year. <br /><br />In the meantime, <a href="http://www.bigfinish.com/25-Doctor-Who-Short-Trips-Transmissions">Doctor Who: Transmissions</a> is out next month. Plug plug.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-5657454953766557362008-05-18T12:17:00.002+01:002008-05-18T12:24:56.506+01:00Have you tired turning it off and on again?I'm in the midst of finally turning my attic space from a spare room with office set-up to a proper workspace with sleeping facilities. Over the decade since I moved in, success unclutterings of downstairs and the bedroom have left the attic laden with lots of boxes, a sagging bit of ceiling panel and the shelves I found in a skip 15 years ago. Next weekend is a long one, so I'm planning to refit the difficult end of the room (the bit with the sagging panel), but I'll still need my PC. So this morning has been spent shoving sofas around downstairs and setting up the PC in the corner on the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2450148980/">new desk</a>.<br /><br />All went well till the final stage. I successfully moved sofas without finding extra kills under them. I got the PC downstairs and didn't drop the heavy monitor. I disconnected the wifi bits as the temporary workspace is about 2m from the network router box and I've a CAT5 that will reach. I connected everything up...and got 'local connection only' on the network connection. A call to a 25p/min helpline produced the following answer: switch the router off and back on again. And it works!<br /><br />The IT crowd were right.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-17958329845987149572008-04-22T23:16:00.000+01:002008-04-22T23:21:05.199+01:00Wiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!I'm writing this via the Wiimote, the Chap having enabled the interweb channel so we can get the BBC iPlayer through the TV. This means I can read my google reader via my TV - woo!Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-80955893199791148912008-04-20T14:34:00.002+01:002008-04-20T14:41:15.976+01:00What hoe!In a burst of Spring-ish enthusiasm, I bought a hoe today and have already cleared the path of unwanted plants as far as Kuan Yin. I also planted a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scabiosa">scabious</a> in the long narrow border and am planning to restart my gardening notes so I stop repeating mistakes. <br /><br />Whilst clearing the patio, I also found one of Sébastian's kills which had been left. Lovely. So, Sébastian's new kill count is:<br /><ul><li>Rodents:<br />Rats - 1<br />Mice - <s>37</s> 39<br />Voles - 11 </li><li>Birds:<br />Sparrows - 5<br />Dunnocks - 1<br />Robin - 1<br />Wood-pigeon - 1<br />Uncertain - 8</li><li> Other:<br />Frogs - 1<br />Unidentifiable remains - 3</li></ul>as there was also one on the rug this morning. <br /><br />I'm actually very glad to be getting presents again. He's been being fussy about food, drinking more water than he used to and losing weight, so I naturally worried. Despite him being overweight by any definition. Two weeks on vet-prescribed "sensitive" cat food and he's back to normal, and the weight is slinking back on. A couple of kills is rather reassuring.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-64360921793145670162008-04-16T23:14:00.005+01:002008-04-18T20:54:37.148+01:00Crank up the cocktail shaker!The story I proofed the <a href="http://moosiferjonesgrouch.blogspot.com/2008/03/martha-jones-md.html">other morning</a> has now been announced: <a href="http://www.bigfinish.com/25-Doctor-Who-Short-Trips-Transmissions">Doctor Who: Short Trips - Transmissions</a>. I've a short piece in it (well, duh, it's a collection of short stories after all) featuring my favourite companion combo of Tegan and Turlough. Technically, I've not returned the contract yet, but I think it's probably not going to be jinxed at this late stage. I mean, it's been approved by the high heid yins now and typeset and stuff.<br /><br />It's set in Imperial Russia in 1905, starting in Vladivostok. I know: it's such a departure from writing a story about a <a href="http://www.bigfinish.com/benny/BSN016_collectedworks.shtml">haunted Russian treasure</a>, or a <a href="http://magslhalliday.co.uk/novels/ws-index.htm">war in the far East</a> at the turn of the twentieth century. At least this time there's no Russian bloke called Sasha in i...oh. Anyway, I'm starting to see why historical authors end up wedded to a period. After the initial germ of the idea, I immediately knew where to go to find the necessary historical research. I was a bit flummoxed to find the travel section in the local library has been creeping along the shelves, so books on Russia and Siberia weren't quite where I was expecting them. Hopefully I'm not going to end up as the Who equivilant of Jean Plaidy.<br /><br />I went to see 'The Other Boleyn Girl' a few weeks back with someone who has read all of Jean Plaidy's books. Our opinion, when we stopped laughing hysterically, was that it was worse than Plaidy. The only way I can sum up why not just us but half the audience was cracking up is to mention that it's a film set when Henry VIII's lusts meant he split with Rome, established the Church of England and abolished the monestaries (i.e. the Reformation). And yet they didn't even have a speaking role for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolsey">Cardinal Wolsey</a>. Now I'll bend the historical truth for the sake of the story (<i>Gudok</i> starts in Vladivostok even though, during the Sino-Russian war, the trans-Siberia railway started in Port Arthur because Vladivostok sounds so wonderfully Russian and Port Arthur doesn't*). However, even I would think twice about <i>cutting out Wolsey entirely in a story about Henry's decision to split with Rome</i>. There was a bloke in red robes who scowled at one point, but that's your lot. <br /><br />*railway historians may, in fact, find some other inaccuracies in the story. However, I grew up on the railways and rail-geeks do not scare me.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-50712734514607936942008-04-06T23:10:00.004+01:002008-04-06T23:20:45.339+01:00Kuan Yin in the snow 2008<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2394100662/" title="Kuan Yin in the snow 2008 by Mags, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2124/2394100662_3b1ef8db93_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="Kuan Yin in the snow 2008" vspace="5" hspace="5" align="left"/></a>I woke with the hail hitting the bedroom window. Weather rarely hits the glass, so the noise meant the wind was from the North. The thunder meant I didn't go back to sleep fully, and then the chap suggested I look out the window. It was early, but the snow was falling like fat feathers and the road was covered. I was excited but by the time I realised I had to get up to take photographs, the snow was slowing and the sun was starting to appear. And my camera batteries were nearly dead. I hauled on boots and got this shot, and one of the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2393269029/">painted buddha</a>, off before the camera shut itself down.<br /><br />I do have more, taken with my new phone, but by the time the camera was recharged and I was back outside the snow had gone. At 8am this morning, though, kids in the St Thomas Pleasure Gardens were making their first ever snowmen.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-43359646124482660072008-03-30T12:56:00.004+01:002008-03-30T14:45:23.727+01:00Martha Jones, M.D.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2372984365/" title="martha jones MD by Mags, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3093/2372984365_13ed23ebe8.jpg" width="500" height="395" alt="martha jones MD" /></a><br />Yes, making Doctor Who Sims and then trying to get them onto their perfect career path is an epic waste of time. I know that. So my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2372984155/">Captain Jack</a> is an adventurer, my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2373822288/">Fitz</a> is a musician, my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2372984419/">Sam Jones</a> is a political lobbyist and my Martha just became a doctor (having previously been fined for inappropriate behaviour with a patient - probably all that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frGVZdl4q2Q">snogging the Doctor</a> business).<br /><br />I know I should be doing other things but I already cycled five miles, did some laundry and tidied the garden this morning*...and I need to get <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2373822236/">Anji</a> onto the business woman career path...<br /><br />*ETA: oh, and proof read a short story before it goes up to the BBC high heid yins for approval. <br /><br />Meanwhile: Sébastian's new kill count:<br /><ul><li>Rodents:<br />Rats - 1<br />Mice - <s>36</s> 37<br />Voles - 11 </li><li>Birds:<br />Sparrows - 5<br />Dunnocks - 1<br />Robin - 1<br />Wood-pigeon - 1<br />Uncertain - 8</li><li> Other:<br />Frogs - 1<br />Unidentifiable remains - 3</li></ul>Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-55948881730946723452008-03-29T17:02:00.004+00:002008-03-29T21:40:10.616+00:00Scissors, paper, rockI may be facing a unique dilemma: how do you pick between two good hairdressers. Not how do you find a good stylist: every woman knows that is done through demanding to know who cuts a friend's hair and then switching to them. And switching hairdressers is normally easy: you go to the new one, the one you've poached from a friend, and forget the previous one existed. I'm in the different position of having to chose between two equally good - but different - hairdressers <i>at the same salon</i>. <br /><br />I've been with K for a while, having loved their work on a friend. A few weeks ago I <i>had</i> to have a cut and K was on holiday. With massive amounts of trepidation, I accepted the salon's suggestion of J. When you have a thickcut fringe bang on your eyebrows, a new stylist is terrifying: they're going to put scissors <i>right next to your eyes</i>. And a new stylist also means explaining your current cut instead of saying "about an inch off". K and J are very different personalities. K is that most blissful of things: a silent stylist. J is camper than John Barrowman. K knows my cut and dries it messy or neat depending on my need. J changed the style a bit but did a lovely job of drying it so it was pure Manga cartoon. I sort of want to continue with J but I also want to stay with K. I need my hair cutting this week, and Tuesday is the only free day. But both J and K work on Tuesdays so I have to choose between them....argh!<br /><br /><br />Meanwhile: Sébastian's new kill count:<br /><ul><li>Rodents:<br />Rats - 1<br />Mice - <s>35</s> 36<br />Voles - 11 </li><li>Birds:<br />Sparrows - 5<br />Dunnocks - 1<br />Robin - 1<br />Wood-pigeon - 1<br />Uncertain - 8</li><li> Other:<br />Frogs - 1<br />Unidentifiable remains - 3</li></ul>Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-58718498077353045012008-03-19T20:06:00.002+00:002008-03-19T20:26:32.781+00:00Is that from 'Accessorize'?<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/2332114190/" title="steps by Mags, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3071/2332114190_e4353e6263_t.jpg" width="100" height="75" alt="steps" align="left" vspace="5" hspace="5"/></a>The chap and I dashed along Holborn last week in order to pick up the ring (or "the bling", or "the thing", depending how freaked I was at any given moment) during our lunch break. After two visits to Hatton Garden, including one with appointments at a very nice attic studio recommended by someone at work and at the place we eventually went with, I had overcome my <a href="http://moosiferjonesgrouch.blogspot.com/2007/11/but-we-dont-care-about-young-folks.html">shyness</a> around expensive jewelery. So we ordered this art deco ring from <a href="http://www.london-victorian-ring.com/engagement-rings-deco.htm">The London Victorian Ring Company</a>, fitted with a square cut ruby that I chose myself. It's shiny! In some kind of automatic learned action from my mother, when I got back home I immediately cleaned out a dish to sit on the window sill and hold it whilst I'm doing the washing up. <br /><br />Continuing the red theme, progress has started on the outfit. I <i>know</i>, there's a year to go and minor details like a venue should really be a priority, but Kel will be handmaking <a href="http://www.sovintagepatterns.com/catalog/item/4526942/4887875.htm">this suit</a> for me. In a ruby red, natch, but without that hat. <br /><br />I'm still a bit 'eep' about things, and convinced that too much online chatter will jinx things, but when something has happened I guess it is safe to blog about it...Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-88614720246624523072008-03-18T21:49:00.002+00:002008-03-18T21:51:55.810+00:00Sébastian's new kill count:<br /><ul><li>Rodents:<br />Rats - 1<br />Mice - <s>34</s> 35<br />Voles - 11 </li><li>Birds:<br />Sparrows - 5<br />Dunnocks - 1<br />Robin - 1<br />Wood-pigeon - 1<br />Uncertain - 8</li><li> Other:<br />Frogs - 1<br />Unidentifiable remains - 3</li></ul><p>I am stupidly busy, but I have (probably) sold a short story and got around to tagging all my photos from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magslhalliday/tags/berlin08/">Berlin</a>. I will get around to writing it up, at some point, but it already seems an age ago.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-14360474256406523482008-03-01T12:05:00.003+00:002008-03-01T12:11:02.564+00:00What's your problem, pussycat?Sébastian's new kill count:<br /><ul><li>Rodents:<br />Rats - 1<br />Mice - 34<br />Voles - 11 </li><li>Birds:<br />Sparrows - <s>4</s> 5<br />Dunnocks - 1<br />Robin - 1<br />Wood-pigeon - 1<br />Uncertain - 8</li><li> Other:<br />Frogs - 1<br />Unidentifiable remains - 3</li></ul><p>Séba seems to have an objection with his food bowl, despite it being in exactly the same bowls in the same position since he arrived a couple of years ago. So he's being the kind of fussy eater who will only eat if I'm in the kitchen with him. Despite this new-found pickyness, he's not bothering to eat his kills. I do wonder if he's attempting to explain that he wants this kind of food instead, so he's on a chickeny flavour cat food this weekend.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6054855.post-71014280735560643912008-02-25T23:25:00.003+00:002008-02-25T23:49:24.237+00:00I'll be backSébastian's new kill count:<br /><ul><li>Rodents:<br />Rats - 1<br />Mice - <s>33</s> 34<br />Voles - <s>10</s> 11 </li><li>Birds:<br />Sparrows - 4<br />Dunnocks - 1<br />Robin - 1<br />Wood-pigeon - 1<br />Uncertain - 8</li><li> Other:<br />Frogs - 1<br />Unidentifiable remains - 3</li></ul><p>There I was trying to watch <a href="http://virgin1.virginmedia.com/scc">The Sarah Connor Chronicles</a> and wondering why on earth the focus of the narrative is on Sarah Connor, and her monomaniacal maternal instinct, rather than giving John Connor something to do other than pout and whine and feel the burden of his <a href="http://www.tv.com/episode/93/summary.html">Slayerness</a>* when my very own cute Terminator stomped in. Not only was he determined to take the mouse right up close to the drying laundry but it was <i>still kicking</i>. Thank you. <br /><br />There was also the remains of a vole last week, but I was busy with the being away etc.<br /><br />*It probably doesn't help The Sarah Connor Chronicles that the protective terminator is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Glau">Summer Glau</a> aka River the chosen one in Whedon's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_%28TV_series%29">Firefly</a>. As with Torchwood the other night (BBC3), I don't think I should keep being reminded of how well Whedon did modern horror/scifi when watching something else.Magshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14076409812424646539noreply@blogger.com