November 19, 2009
I’m putting an article into the local magazine (my g76) on a regular basis and thought it worth sharing the first one.
A Brown View on Life.
1. ‘Stuff.’
It’s nearly Christmas and for many people it’s time for the attack of the ‘pressie panic.’ What should I get for Gran? Does my son really need an X Box, a Playstation AND a Wii? When will I start shopping? A friend of mine is a Christmas Eve shopper; in fact it’s now a matter of pride that he waits until the last possible moment to buy anything as he knows it winds up his partner.
This got me round to thinking of Christmas presents that stand out. Presents that I really appreciated. And that’s where I started to struggle. I’m not being ungrateful but presents that I remember with affection are a bit thin on the ground and that’s a bit of a worry. So I talked to my wife about it and the conversation shifted to all the stuff we have bought over the years and what items we value. We started to draw up a list and it took on an interesting slant.
Take for example the double, collapsable buggy that we bought when our youngest was a few months old. It was a star – three trips to the US and my eldest, by now five and the size of a seven year old, happily flopped into it with his sister when the going got tough at Disneyland. Designed for a a couple of light babies – good for ten times that. Brilliant. Or the fold away cot that is still in use today with my brother’s newborn – fifteen years after we bought it – a multi coloured gem that has provided a string of children with a play area and bed non stop since the day it was removed from its box and shows no signs of being retired to the bin just yet.
What about the folding card table that we inherited from my mother in law. Forty years old, cheap as chips when it was bought, repaired within an inch of its life and now serving as a table for the barbecue food – genius. Then there’s my waterproof radio for the bathroom. Shaped like a penguin; eyes for tuning and sound, bow-tie for selecting FM or AM, mouth for speaker - it has faithfully worked for years whether it is in the shower with me singing or sitting in the rain as I repair the garden fence. And, to top it all, bathroom radios recently won the award for the most useless item in the house. Voted on by WHO? Useless! My penguin is crying at the insult.
So what will I be looking forward to this Christmas? A thigh massager for the car? A holographic picture frame that changes colour? A four foot high Rubick’s cube? I have no idea but, as you open your presents this year, just take a moment to think about the stuff that has made a difference to your life. The stuff you look at and think – now that is a great thing to own. I bet you’ll be surprised.
November 6, 2009
Been down and dirty with the keyboard working on the next novel and a burst of short stories for various competitions. Win or lose I’ll post them up to the site once .
October 17, 2009
I went to the UNICEF Crime Night last night at Hillhead Library. The night featured Helen Fitzgerald, Caro Ramsay, Karen Campbell and Alex Gray – really interesting night and all in aid of UNICEF – see http://www.unicef.org.uk/regions/products/index.asp?product=31.
I also picked up the runners up prize in the short story competition. It is called I Scream, ‘Ice Cream.’ and I’ve posted it to the short story section.
October 15, 2009
Just went to Weegie Wednesday last night – excellent. Met up with Helen Fitzgerald who was really nice and it turns out our kids are in the same year at the same school – spooky
October 11, 2009
It is Weegie Wednesday this Wednesday at the Universal Bar in Glasgow. It is always a good night and I’m looking forward to this week as it is a crime night. If you are interested you can find more out at Facebook -http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=101857616173&ref=search&sid=1582261177.1051786058..1 or at http://weegiewednesday.webs.com
October 2, 2009
I’ve uploaded a very old short story. I can’t remember what inspired it but there is something that I like about it. It’s not a crime story although there is a death (in fact there are three deaths). Then again when I read it again maybe it is a crime story.
Anyway let me know what you think.
September 13, 2009
Just been to see Crime Time at the local theatre – Denise Mina, Helen Fitzgerald, Karen Campbell and Louise Welsh. It was a good night and all four were v interesting.
September 12, 2009
Great news. Waterstone’s have just agreed to take the book across all their Scottish stores from the end of this month on their ‘Buy 3 for 2′ offer – on top of Borders listing the book on their ‘buy one get the second half price’ deal across Scotland things are picking up momentum with the book.
September 5, 2009
I’ve uploaded an old short story that has been sitting on my hard drive for years. In fact so long that the original had a reference to a video recorder and if I remember correctly video recorders were still expensive and state of the art when I wrote this. I’ve changed the reference to a DVD player but maybe it should have been a V+ box – but a DVD player will do.
Let me know if you enjoy it.
September 2, 2009
I’ve been putting the nose to the grindstone with my writing. Balancing this and work is fun and games but so far Falling has gone to a reprint and distribution is improving by the day so maybe all this time at a keyboard will pay off. I need to get another short story up on the site and I’ll try and do that this weekend. anyway i thought i would just post a quick update – I really need to put more into the site – an early New Year’s resolution maybe.
Gordon
