Finally, after much procrastination, I have finished Richard Ford’s Bascombe Trilogy. That is, The Sportswriter, Independence Day and The Lay of the Land. It hasn’t taken me so long because the books were hard work, far from it. It has taken me so long because I haven’t wanted to leave the life of the narrator, Frank Bascombe. Read the rest of this entry »
The recent post about my fiction-writing exploits attracted a series of comments that have led to an informal writing/writers group of sorts being discussed and (kind of) formed. I won’t give it too fancy a name, as at the moment it looks very much like three people emailing each other with their stories, and feeding back accordingly.
So, do you write fiction? And do you fancy joining us? Read the rest of this entry »
What is it about that old saying that everyone has a book in them? Why do we all believe it? Is it reassuring just to know that at any time we could depart from our mundane lives in order to write the Great (Insert Country of Origin Here) Novel? Is it almost enough to just know we could do it, without having to actually go through with the messy business? Read the rest of this entry »
Music has always borrowed from the past. ‘Pop Will Eat Itself’ is not just the name of an old English indie band. It is a pretty succinct summation of what popular music was, is and will be. Yet, of late, there have been many interesting developments that go beyond mere pastiche or obvious imitation. Read the rest of this entry »
So, all that beer talk gave me quite the thirst. And boy did I go to town satisfying it last night. It was a friend’s birthday, and he is probably the most beer-geeky of my friends. He appreciates a good drink, and I appreciate that. The night was going swimmingly enough, but we were ending up in the kind of trendy bars where you might get a fancy lager, but you’re unlikely to come across anything more interesting. Read the rest of this entry »
Wait until next year 