I'm still here you know!

So, I am sorting out some paperwork and I found this scrawled in a notebook...its the start of something but I obviously got distracted or gave up...or maybe it was finished...

Rose-tinted glasses obscured her view,

and ignorance her eternal bliss.

Despite what friends told her was true,

he was hers and she was his.

If ever she was sad and blue,

a cuddle, a smile, a kiss.

Was all it took to start anew,

there was no greater love than this.

Stitching, adventure & catastrophe!

Hello All!

Its Monday and thus its stitchy upate time...

I have been carrying on with the sampler that took my fancy a week ago and have managed to put in about 4 hours. It doenst look like I have by my progress but I am happy with it. I really do like the variegated thread and although time consuming the effect is far better than two separate colours. I am considering using some of the thread from the original kit as a second colour (it will make sense once I finish all this colour on this page) and a dark green shade for lines.

Anyway, here are some pictures of my progress...you may recall that I had the letters B, O, P & Q before and now I have almost finished the letter A. It is the largest letter.

and a close up of A....

Next up, is the catastrophe...although it wasnt that bad or at least I hope not, but my new kitten Muse managed to hurt her leg today, subsequently she is on painkillers for a few days to see if it improves or if she needs an x-ray. Some amongst you may even suggest that she takes after her owner on the clumsy level - hehe.

Here she is recovering...

And finally...

I have had itchy feet lately and need to get away to save my sanity and so an idea that I had is now coming into fruition. I am taking myself on a little adventure. If you have been reading my current weekly serial about Millie and Elvis and their diamond adventure then you might be able to guess where I am going!

I am going to Marrakech, but I am travelling overland to get there as my main character will be, and I am quite nervous and excited.

This is a rough guide to my intinerary;

• Eurostar from London to Paris
• Train from Paris to Madrid
• Train from Madrid to Algeciras
• Ferry from Algeciras to Tangier
• Train from Tangier to Marrakech
• Flight from Marrakech to Paris
• Eurostar from Paris to London

I will get two full days in Paris, a day in Madrid and 2 days in Marrakech. I will travel by boat, bus, train and plane and travel through 3 countries; France, Spain & Morroco.

I leave this Saturday 2nd February and return on Saturday 9th February...I may need a holiday to recover! 

I shall take my stitching with me :D and try to blog an update next Monday from Madrid!

I hope you all have a great week too x

Girls Best Friend: Part 4.25 BONUS

...All day I have wanted to write and I pushed it to the back of my mind and told myself to wait until Friday, that I can't go spoiling my readers, because soon enough they will grow to expect a bonus post. But I really need to write it down and share it with you guys...and if i'm honest, you are all rather lovely!

One thing to note is that there is no part carried over from the last part and that will become clear in about...ooh!...2.5 seconds?! Are you ready? Hey, no talking at the back!, its story time....

***

It had been a long night and he was really hungry, he could hear his stomach growling and he looked across at the men in the room and wondered how he had got there, then he remembered; he had been kidnapped.

It had been like any other day. He had spent most of it going about his business; making sure that everything had been done, and everything was where it should be. He had even eaten breakfast much earlier than usual, and thinking back, he should have realised that it was a clue that the day wouldn't be anything like he expected. He had to have a lie down afterwards and that's where it all gets a bit blurry.

He wasn't sure if he had just dreamt what had happened or if it had been real, but waking up in a strange place surrounded by strange people was enough of an indication, that all was not as it seemed. He was thirsty and as he waited for some water he tried to recall what had happened....

Whilst Millie had been in the shower getting all clean and smelling of apples he had been dozing in his bed under the table. As he lazed in bed he heard some noise coming from the hallway, he didn't need to be a Bassett hound to sniff out what was going on, that was purely coincidence. He had wandered into the hallway and been met with a large man who smelled of dustbins, and not in a good way, but the man seemed friendly enough at the time. He had kindly given him some food, it wasn't his usual brand, but delicious all the same. After eating he had felt quite drowsy and fallen asleep in his bed, he didn't even hear Millie leave, but was woken again by the same dustbin man. This time there were others with him and they were turning all Millies things over, Elvis couldn't quite believe it and he tried to move and to say something but he couldn't, he was paralysed.  He tried not to panic. Whilst the men were turning over things in Millies living room another man came into the kitchen and stroked his head, the mans face was multi-coloured and he smelled a little off.

'Oi, you..Rob! What the bleedin' 'ell d'you fink you're playing at? this ain't a petting zoo, 'elp us look for the map.' said dustbin man.

'You didn't need to drug the dog..' replied off man.

The dustbin man grabbed the off mans scruff, 'You tellin' me what to do? are ya...well, don't. Just leave the mutt alone and 'elp us look. You'd fink you would be more interested as its your life on the line...'
The off man wriggled out of the dustbin mans grasp, 'Ok, I don't know why you think she has it or why you think she was there last night or saw anything. She's just a temp!' the off man answered back.
'I saw her leaving the office when I went back to finish off the security guard, so I know she was there, Matthews says she had the map on her desk. Quit your moanin' , as soon as we 'ave the diamonds you'll be 'ome free mate or dead.'
'I'm not your mate' off man muttered.
Another man, one of the others doing the turning called out,
'Oi! guv, 'ow bigs this 'ere map? D'you fink it might fit in summink like this?' he said as he held up Millies silver ornament.
Elvis wanted to growl, that was Millies, that turning man needed to leave along with his friends. The off man spoke again, 'Ok, great, you have the map, now lets go. And lets just leave her out of all this...its me you want not her.'
'Why you all protective over her Rob, got a soft spot for the devious bitch, 'ave ya?' asked the dustbin man. Elvis tried again to growl and this time managed a small whimper of sound.
'I'll tell you what Rob, 'ows about we 'ave a little reunion in Marrakesh? give you a moment with her before you die?'
'Fuck Off! You leave her out of it.'
'I fink someone is a little sensitive about the bird, I fink we need to make sure she comes out to find you...then you can die in each uvvers arms...' Dustbin man laughed.

The fur on the back of Elvis' neck stood up and he noticed the big smelly dustbin man leering down at him as he laid motionless in his bed, '...I fink, we need to take a little collateral to insure that she comes after you...'
'You're crazy! She wont come looking for me, she doesn't even know me, she never even looks up when I walk by! Seriously, she has no reason to care what happens to me.'
'Maybe not...but she will care what happens to her little pooch...and 'ows a bout we leave 'er a note...' Elvis watched the dustbin man put something in one of the pots by the steam machine.

The next thing Elvis knew was that he was being lifted out of his bed and carried out of the flat and here he now was, in a strange place, with strange people waiting for Millie to come and get him. Elvis sighed heavily as the thought of Millie being all alone, he hoped she would find him, he missed her already.

Girls Best Friend: Part 4

Millie sat at her kitchen table, with a steaming hot cup of tea and a slice of her favourite lemon and poppy seed cake, Elvis looked up at her in the hopes that she might share it but Millie never shared cake. She looked down at Elvis and said 'Elvis, darling boy, we are going on an adventure on Saturday, a race against time too, it will be just like that film....the amazing race..and if we win Elvis, if we win...we can move somewhere with a garden for you and a bay window for me...and we can...we can...' Millie trailed off. Elvis changed position and laid across Millie's feet as she fell asleep at the table.


Millie had the weirdest of dreams, a dream that ended with her free-falling out of an upside down umbrella into chocolate pudding and marshmallows, even though the landing was soft, she still woke with a start. As she sat up she felt a sharp pain in her neck and began to slowly massage it. Her bum was numb, her mouth was dry, and she seemed to have accumulated a lot of sleep in her eyes. It was one of those things that Millie considered almost daily; What is that substance called sleep that gathers in the inner corner of your eye? If it comes from your eye then why not all the time? Why some days and not others? What job does it do? As she sat there rubbing her neck and pondering the life cycle of eye residue, she glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall, Millie had half expected it to say she was running late but she had woken up quite early. She dragged herself up out of the chair and as the blood returned to her bum and nether regions she wiggled her way to take a shower.

Millie always had music blasting through the flat when she took a shower, she couldn’t really hear it but that never stopped her from trying to, she spent a long time in there going through what had happened the night before and wondering what it would be like at work, maybe it had all been a dream. She was checking her face out in the mirror, it was still there and not too wrinkly, when she heard a crash coming from the kitchen. She shouted out ‘Elvis! Elvis! What are you doing? Ok, I’m coming’. Elvis tended to get impatient of waiting for Millie to make his breakfast and had a habit of going through the rubbish which more often than not led to things crashing down on top of him. When she entered the kitchen she half expected to see him with a banana peel slung over his head but instead he was lying asleep in his bed. Its alright for some, Millie thought, I wish I could have a lie in.

***

Millie was surprised when she arrived at work and found the car park virtually empty, as she pulled into her favourite space, she knew she would have to act as if she didn’t know anything had happened. Realistically, she doubted anyone would even ask and as she entered the foyer, Denise from Marketing came walking straight towards her. Millie had no escape as she had been spotted instantly and stopped and she waited for Denise to reach her. It wasn't until Denise was face to face with Millie that Millie noticed that her eyes were red and she looked as if she had been crying. She was about to ask Denise if she was ok when Denise began to speak, and in a hurried yet fragile tone she said,
‘Its Mr Rob, he was kidnapped last night. Apparently, he was working late when some men turned up and attacked Eddie the security guard – he’s in hospital but they said he would be ok – and everyone is really worried about him. The police haven’t heard anything yet but they think that someone else was here because there was an anonymous phone call made. They said the person most likely saved Eddie’s life. Its been decided that the office will be closed for the day whilst the forensic evidence is collected from upstairs.’
Millie just stared straight at and through Denise, she kept focussed, she did not want to give away any hint that she might have already known about it or that she was the anonymous caller. She was glad that the security guard was going to be ok. Millie spoke, ‘So, shall I just go home then?’. Denise looked at her incredulously, ‘Of course Millie, for gods sake go home! Its not like you knew the man, you're only a temp, and you wouldn't be able to help. You would be in the way, so…yes…just go’
‘OK, if you’re sure?’
‘Of course I’m sure…it would be different if you had been here and seen anything, Mr Roberts is going on the local news later to offer a reward to anyone with information.’
‘Maybe there wasn't anyone here?’
‘The police said that they believed that there was someone and that the person might be in some danger, you should just be glad it wasn't you Millie. How helpless would you be? hahaha’ Denise carried on giggling to herself as she wandered off leaving Millie standing alone in the foyer.
Millie turned abruptly and headed back out to her car. She sat in the drivers seat thinking about whether or not she should carry on with this ‘adventure’ after all, but she remembered how alive she had felt last night, and she wanted to feel that way again. So she set her mind to it and went into town to pick up some last minute things for her holiday.

***

Millie had gotten a little carried away with the last minute shopping, she had bought enough things for a six week holiday not ten days, and she nearly broke her wrist trying to hold all the bags as she struggled to open the front door. As she pushed the door open, she gasped and dropped her bags, someone had been in her flat and it had been completely ransacked.
Millie took a quick look around to see if anything had been taken. All of her electrical goods (including her new iPad) were still there, her emergency cash was also still there, and she checked the jewellery in her bedroom and that was still there. Why would someone break in and not steal anything? Unless…they were looking for something. That's when it dawned on her and she remembered what Denise from marketing had said about the police thinking the witness to the kidnapping could be in danger. Millie had left after the kidnappers, so how would they know who she was or where she lived or that she was even there. She hadn’t paid that much attention to the traffic or to see if she had been followed and maybe she had.
Millie went into the hall and it was then that she noticed the broken vase that had been kicked into the corner and remembered the crash she had heard that morning. Fear gripped her and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, maybe she should go to the police and tell them everything that she knew, but she was leaving the country soon and the kidnappers wouldn’t know that, so she would be safe. She closed the front door and took her coat off, pushed up her sleeves and started to tidy up the flat. It didn't take her as long as she thought it would, she stood rather proudly in the living room, hands on hips, surveying her work. It was at that moment that she glanced at the cabinet and noticed that the silver christening birth certificate holder, where she had stashed the map & instructions, was gone. Bugger! she thought, and started rummaging around undoing her tidying up, in search of it. It meant that the kidnappers had her map and instructions. She tried to remember what they were and jotted them down again…what was the name of that company where the key was hidden? Maybe she would remember later.
‘Damn it Elvis, I have really got myself in a mess this time’ Millie said. ‘Why couldn’t I just mind my own business?’ She went into the kitchen, flicked on the switch to the kettle, sliced herself a large piece of vanilla cheesecake and plonked herself down at the table whilst she waited for the kettle to boil.
‘And another thing Elvis…’ she said…’Another thing is, i was actually looking forward to just getting away for a bit, weren't you?’ she asked the dog. ‘Elvis…’ she looked under the table and Elvis wasn’t there. ‘Elvis..’ she called out…’E-L-VIS!… Elvis!…elvis…elvis..ELVIS!’ she kept calling him but he wasn’t there…where the hell was he…’ELVIS!’ Millie was panicking as tears filled her eyes and cheesecake filled her mouth, ‘what am i gonna do without Elvis’ she sobbed. The kettle clicked and she got up to make the tea, she opened the tea caddy and inside was a note…’Millie, please help me! I have your dog. I will keep him safe but do as they say’. It was signed Mr.Rob.

55 word challenge

This is my contribution to the 55 word challenge, I used the image below as a prompt.

A screech rings out as metal grates metal

a searing pain in her head as the train stops

squinting through clouded eyes to see the hefty conductor approach

turning sharply with narrowed eyes he speaks

she hears a blur

he evicts her and once again she is forced to roam

by foot 

through the wasteland.

IHSW inspiration

Hello!

You'll never guess! Whats that? Oh...well okay then, maybe you will.

After Sundays post about my lack of finding something I wanted to stitch I set about looking for a pattern. I opened exactly one drawer and was reminded of a kit I won back in September in a blog giveaway.

I received the pattern,, the black aida and the threads. When I saw it I decided straight away that I wanted to stitch it especially since I had seen a lot of samplers of late and was just jumping on the band wagon.

I did not read the instructions or look closely, I thought the thread was variegated and it turned out it was two shades, dark and light.  I decided to swap the thread as I had some variegated threads - you see I never realised my error until I had started! - and I had a choice of six colours. I believe that I have an orange soul and opted for a peachy orange/goldy yellow shade. DMC 4128.

As you may know with a variegated thread you need to do complete stitches before moving onto the next stitch, as opposed to half stitches on a row and back again, I also needed to make sure that when I rethreaded that I made sure that the shading matched where I had finished and finally I had to consider the stroke of the letter and follow that as opposed to all one block.

This is a close up of how it should have looked minus my tweaks...

If I had realised it was two colours then I would have a lot more done than I do! I am happy with my progress so far as I started on Sunday evening and have been stitching through my lunch break on Tuesday and a couple of hours on Monday. This is where I am up to so far...

Sorry for the blurry-ness - So that is letter B and then O, P and Q. I am currently trying to decide what colour to do the line text that is on it, what do you think? Dark orange, light yellow or another colour altogether?

Surprise! Bonus GBF post..pt 3 & a quarter.

Afternoon,

For those who wonder aimlessly through my blog wondering what the 'eck is going on...here is a bonus post before Fridays part 4 of Girls Best Friend.

Its not very long, but long enough to have a bite of cake and sip of tea, so take a moment and get warmed up for Friday with part 3 & a quarter.


He was alive. She grabbed the phone with her sleeve over her hand and used a pen to dial the police. She took the pen and left the office as fast as her feet would carry her, ran into the car park and jumped in her car. She sat there knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly, her stomach was doing somersaults and the adrenaline was pulsating around her body, she started her car and sped off into the night. She felt alive.

Millie swung her car into the parking space outside her block of flats, leapt out and ran up the stairs as fast as she could. She struggled to find her key quick enough but when she did she pushed open the door with such a force that it hit the wall, causing Elvis to wake from his slumber and bark at her as if she was an intruder, and ricochet back into her. Breathing heavily, she closed the door, leant back and bent over double to try and catch her breath. Millie locked the door, unlocked it to peer out into the shadows in the hallway, then closed and locked it again. Finally, with Elvis still barking at her, she went over to him and calmed him down.

It was hard to believe that it was only Wednesday and so far she had decided to go and find some hidden diamonds, handed in her resignation, lied & deceived a work colleague,seen one of her bosses get kidnapped and made an anonymous phonecall to the police. Just thinking about it exhausted her and she went straight to the kitchen and put the kettle on.

Millie sat at her kicthen table, with a steaming hot cup of tea and a slice of her favourite lemon and poppy seed cake, Elvis looked up at her in the hopes that she might share it but Millie never shared cake. She looked down at Elvis and said 'Elvis, darling boy, we are going on an adventure on Saturday, a race against time too, it will be just like that film....the amazing race..and if we win Elvis, if we win...we can move somewhere with a garden for you and a bay window for me...and we can...we can...' Millie trailed off. Elvis changed position and laid across Millie's feet as she fell asleep at the table.

Detective Rob Mason

In November, I participated (along with thousands upon thousands) of others in writing a novel. I started on 1st November and finished on 30th November. It is a murder mystery. I know, if you have read my serials they are not of that genre, but I loved writing it. I decided not to work on it until January 1st and hence the Christmas Serial. It is almost the end of January and I havent yet finished reading it through. I did post a couple of glimpses and anyone who read my Nano posts will know that one of my main characters is called Detective Rob Mason.

However, I was overcome with the desire to write something today and all my usual prompt haunts were coming up empty, so I just started to write and this was the result. It looks like my detective has a new case! I best finish tidying up the first one. Feedback always welcome :D


The feeling of fear was overwhelming. Her whole body was instantly cold. Her breathing became rapid and leaden. Her heart was pulsing blood so fast through her body that she felt dizzy, retinal flashes making her disorientated and nauseous, a madhouse of activity occurring just beneath her skin but her body was frozen. It was only a second, although it felt like minutes, and she continued on her journey home.

Reaching the house, walking through the door, closing it, leaning back against it and staring into her hallway, she realised that she no longer felt safe. Her mind raced with a million questions, each one clambering over the other, as she recalled that moment on the high street. Had he recognised her? Had he noticed her fear? Had he followed her home? She turned around and drew the bolt across, then the top bolt, and then the bottom. She turned the key in the lock and heard the click echo.

She stepped back from the door, still watching it, and unconsciously smoothed down her clothes. She could still hear her heartbeat and her mouth was agape as her panicked breaths escaped, as she tried to compose herself, she went to the phone. Picking up the receiver she dialled the number on the card, with each ring she flinched as the shrill invaded her forced calm, ‘Hello, Detective Rob Mason’, she paused and counted to seven, ‘Hello? Is anyone there? Can I help you?’, ‘Its Laura…Laura Eden…I saw him’.

Invisible

Morning!

I wrote a poem at the weekend that turned into a song...the thing is...its quite personal...and I just keep singing it in my head...maybe if I appeal once again, a nice musician will stop by and add some music?! Even if they don't I will work towards getting some music for it, even if it requires me learning an instrument of some sort...I hope you like it. I see it as very much a ballad/love song full of love, angst and hope. Comments welcome but please be gentle.

I used to wake up almost everyday

thinking if there could be some other way

that I could make you notice me

standing by your side

You made me think that it was me and wonder if you would ever see

that I never really wanted to be

invisible.

But it’s just one of those days,

when whatever I say

Is lost in the atmosphere,

Never reaching to your ears

Flying off to outer space

being heard in some other place

I might as well be talking to myself

I might as well be talking to myself

Every day that passed

Was just another strain on my heart

Always feeling lonely even when we were together

Watching everyone be seen by you

as you heard everything they said

I never wanted to be

invisible

But it’s just one of those days,

when whatever I say

Is lost in the atmosphere

Never reaching to your ears,

Flying off to outer space,

being heard in some other place.

I might as well be talking to myself

I might as well be talking to myself

I had nothing left to give and there was no solution I hadn’t tried

But I couldn’t save us on my own and didn’t want to have to

I’ll hold the memories tight

All the times we, all the words we,
and all the happiness there had been

I’ll forget the loneliness, the fights and the tears,

I’ll leave you with a clean slate but know

I never wanted to be

invisible

But it’s just one of those days,

when whatever I say

Is lost in the atmosphere

Never reaching to your ears,

Flying off to outer space,

being heard in some other place.

I might as well be talking to myself

I might as well be talking to myself

If I ever fall in love again,

It won’t ever be the same

I’ll be heard above the noise

I will always have a choice

I never want to be invisible again.

NB: I do think that if I make this into a song then obviously some tweaks might need to be made without losing the essence.

IHSW & Xmas exchange

This weekend was the first IHSW of 2013 and what did I stitch....

I am too embarrassed to show what I stitched, I wanted to stitch and I did start a quick pin cushion with a Celtic design, I managed somehow to miscount which has meant that I have already begun to redesign it. So I stopped.  I might pick it up again next IHSW.

This year I have had my stitching  mojo back, I lost it for a while last year, but even though it is back and I have been ready to stitch I have lost my desire. By this, I mean finding a pattern that I have just wanted to stitch. I have had this problem  for a while, I have begun to stitch and then stopped after about 100 stitches because I just wasn't motivated by the design, I liked it but nothing was compelling me to stitch it. This isn't the same as losing my mojo; whereby I just don't want to stitch. I want to stitch but just haven't found the pattern. I had this same problem at Christmas and it is half the reason my exchange partners had the same patterns. It was because it was the only pattern that I enjoyed doing and liked the finish of. It is also the reason that I want to stitch Christmas pieces earlier this year but I am still struggling with finding designs I like enough to stitch. This might not make sense to any of you, but does it? Do you ever have this problem?

Anyway, during my Christmas exchange I sent of seven packages and have so far received six, one of those seven was to Diane at Tiki stitches. She was the second person that I ever had an exchange with after I started my stitchy blog Momuboocrea Island. It was 2011 and we had our first Christmas exchange and we agreed to do it again this year and it is now set to be an annual fixture for us. The exchange with her had to be different and I wasn't sure I would find a pattern that would appeal, but I found a pattern in one of my design books that I really liked.

It was all one colour in the book but I decided to use four colours that were more christmassy and on an aida with a gold fleck. After I had finished it, I realised that it wasn't very common to see this kind of design and I didn't know if Diane would like it or be wondering what possessed me and where was Santa  After I had finished I chose to put it in a card which could then be taken out each year instead of a hanging ornament, I wasn't sold on it at first but once I added the silver trees (doesn't show as well in the picture) I really loved its finished look.  I took plenty of photo's which I was looking forward to posting once she received her gift...but tragedy struck when my phone fell in boiling coffee and I hadn't downloaded the photos! So I am posting Diane's photo of the card:

Its hard to see the sparkle in the fabric or the sheen of the trees but I hope you can imagine how it looks.  In addition I had seen a lovely collection of patterns of Christmas jumper designs, I chose one and stitched it onto plastic canvas. I never had the wool that they suggested in the pattern but used my own choice from what I had. I particularly like the effect of the marbled blue wool.

I am glad that Diane did like it and I am looking forward to a summer exchange we have planned and of course next Christmas exchange. I am also pleased to say that some of those I exchanged with are happy to exchange again.

I am looking forward to seeing all your IHSW pieces and getting super inspired.

Girls Best Friend: Part 3

Millie didn’t want to get Anne the receptionist in trouble but needs must and so she replied to her saying that Denise had asked her to tell Anne to change the date to the Friday after next. That would give Millie an extra week.

For the rest of the day Millie had struggled to keep her concentration, she had been on tenterhooks waiting for Anne the receptionist or Denise from Marketing to say something, but it seemed that the date change had gone unnoticed. She had little work to do and had been using the time to finish her plans. It wasn’t until she was walking home that she realised that Denise and Mark were a "couple" and was surprised that this could even be true and immediately wiped the image from her mind.

On her evening walk with Elvis, Millie ran through her lists again in her head, she knew that she was being particularly meticulous but the devil was in the detail as they say and she thought about what she still had left to sort out. She wondered how people managed to plan adventures in the day before there was the internet. Millie had been able to book most of her tickets and accommodation without leaving her house or her desk. As she walked, she slowed almost to a stop when she remembered that she had left a copy of the map of Marrakech on her desk, she had marked on it where the offices were and had even gone so far as to annotate it with the instructions on where to find them. She slapped a hand to her forehead at the ridiculous of herself and this so called top secret diamond adventure. In the afternoon, the office had been quiet and she had finished all her work, with that spare time she had gone a bit over the top in marking up the map, and then when she saw the clock change she had rushed out to get home and ended up dashing out the door leaving the map on her desk. She wondered if anyone had seen it, or if they would have even bothered looking very closely at it, she had written the instructions in her own secret childhood language. It was a language she had invented, because at the time everyone at school had one, it went hand in hand with having the most stylish and coolest imaginary friend. Millie hadn’t been too inventive and worried that it might be decipherable.

All evening she couldn’t shake the thought from her mind and decided to go back into work and collect the piece of paper. It was about 8pm and she wondered what security would think but she had to at least try. As she drove into the office car park she was surprised to see cars still there, and although it worried her some, she decided that the only way to make it work was to act like it was the most normal thing to do and that she was just being conscientious.

She strolled into the main foyer and reception area where the security guard usually sat and noticed that he wasn’t there. Millie imagined he was doing a walk around or some such security thing. She went straight to the lift and pressed the number for her floor, looking around the foyer with the blackness of the night sky and the twinkle of the office lights it made it all seem christmassy, yet she felt a shiver run up her spine as she stood alone by the lift. She was on edge, with every sense electrified as she listened for the sound of the security man returning to his desk, it was like when she was at home and could hear the flat breathing, the creaks and groans and noises about the place that freaked her out and made her jump. The office was different in that it was mainly silence with a low humming from the computers and lighting. Millie kept thinking she saw movement, ‘too many reflective surfaces in this place’ she wondered aloud. There was a low groaning sound that freaked Millie out and that coincided with the lifts arrival, she jumped quickly into the lift and pressed 3 repeatedly until the doors closed. The inside of the lift was mirrored too and the sight of herself or rather and infinitesimal number of herself didn’t help to calm her nerves. She chose to compose herself and think of a good excuse to use in case she saw the security man. She had read a story by one of her favourite writers Marjie Myers around Halloween about some murderous security man and it was putting her a little on edge as her imagination began to get the better of her.

Fortunately, her desk wasn’t too far from the lift and she could quickly dash to it and get back in the lift and go home to Elvis. She reached her desk and the paperwork was still on her desk, phew she thought, she picked it up and looked at her funny language and as she examined it, she realised that it was a photocopy, what? she looked about her desk for the original but it was nowhere to be seen. She looked behind the monitor screen, underneath the keyboard, in random files on her desk, she went through her drawers but nothing. She looked under her desk and saw a piece of paper down between the wires and crawled under to get the paper and whilst down there she heard a noise. Millie panicked and then remembered that it was probably the security guard, she was about to stand up and say Hi and explain what she was doing there when something told her to stay put, she heard voices:

'Stop moving Mr Rob, I don’t want to make this more painful than it already is, you know.'

‘Let me go, what do you want?’

‘You know, it’s not what I want, it’s what my boss wants, he wants the diamonds and you’re gonna be our trade.’

‘What, that’s stupid! Mr Roberts wouldn’t trade the diamonds for me.’

‘Well, that’s what my boss says, and if he doesn’t...we'll start sending him little gifts until all that’s left is your pinky finger, haha...hahahahhaha’

‘You’re crazy! You’re fucking crazy, let me go, you won’t get away with this.’

‘We'll see, unless you know where the diamonds are? Do you?’

‘I’m not telling you thugs nothing! I have life insurance you fool.’

Millie stayed put beneath the desk for what seemed like an hour but when she felt safe enough to come out she had only been under there for 15 minutes. She should call someone, the police, Mr Roberts...someone! How would she explain why she was there? She would tell the security man and he could do it, and she grabbed her photocopy and headed to the lift. In the lift on the way down she thought about who could possibly have seen her map and photocopied it? Why wouldn’t they just take it completely?

When she reached the foyer and the lift doors opened, the first thing she noticed was that the security man wasn’t back, then she noticed the security camera was dangling precariously from a wire and was no longer attached to the wall, she walked towards the desk and decided that an anonymous call to the police would be best. As she went around the desk to call she saw the badly beaten body of the security guard, it was awful and an image she wasn’t sure she would ever be able to remove from her mind, she moved closer to see if he was still breathing and she gently poked his torso with her toe, then she heard a low groan exactly like the one she heard before. He was alive. She grabbed the phone with her sleeve over her hand and used a pen to dial the police. She took the pen and left the office as fast as her feet would carry her, ran into the car park and jumped in her car. She sat there knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly, her stomach was doing somersaults and the adrenaline was pulsating around her body, she started her car and sped off into the night. She felt alive.

Black Books: Series 1, Episode 4

Today, I prepared myself fully for Black Books, I bought a bottle of wine and drank a nice glass of it during the show. One single glass and yet I feel a bit giddy. I am a lightweight when it comes to drinking as I maybe have one glass a month on average. Anyway, this wasn't one of my favourite episodes but it still had some silly fun moments. As usual Bill Bailey was the source of greatest amusement.

Episode Title

The Blackout

Scenes

i.Coffee And Cups
ii.The Night Before
iii. What Happened To You?
iv.Nasty And Nice
v.Slightly Indiscreet

Synopsis

Manny has been up all night drinking coffee and watching The Sweeney (a TV cop show), he ends up chasing after a thief who steals an old ladies handbag outside the shop, he catches up with him and then jogs past the mugger. The old lady thinks he is police and he ends up being mistaken for a detective and is taken to the police station and helps interview a criminal.
Bernard goes to his old friends house for a dinner party and when they blank him the next day he racks his brains to try and work out why. He eventually discovers its because he went to the toilet in a wicker chair in their kitchen and as he leaves their house he falls down the steps and breaks his arm and collar bone.
Fran thinks her boyfriend is cheating on her when she sees him with another woman acting tenderly. She ends up following him, getting run over and hurting her neck. Then she discovers that the woman was her boyfriends sister who had lost her job.

Highlights

• Manny starts acting like he is in the Sweeney (TV cop show of the 70s).
• Bernard when drunk has a party trick which is Belly Savalas
• Manny keeps sitting astride the chairs and subsequently on his manhood.

Laugh Out Loud Moment

For me the funniest laugh out loud moment was Manny at the police station, he spins his chair around and sits  down and then falls backwards off the chair.

Best Line

Bernard: I came to your party, I bought a bottle of wine
Friend: You bought a police woman
Bernard: police woman, bottle of wine, the point is I made an effort

What was your favourite moment? Did you like this as much as the first three? Do you remember it?

Five Sentence Fiction: Forgotten

Five Sentence Fiction: Forgotten

Its been a long time since I participtaed in five sentence fiction and I have missed it. I have a post to write tonight and I need some kick in it so I thought this might help me to focus. Without further ado...

The bench was cold, hard and smooth from constant wear; thousands of people over a hundred years had sat on this bench at Moorecroft train station, just as he was now, and most likely filled with anticipation of their journey or the arrival of a loved one.

His feet barely reached the ground and as he waited he swung his legs back and forth, first the left, then the right, then both together.

He had no concept of time but had sat eagerly awaiting each train, grinning inanely at the fast trains as they whizzed through the station without stopping, and sitting bolt upright to see through the windows to the people on the trains when they stopped there.

Everyday he sat here, hoping she would come, fearing that she wouldnt.

All he knew with any certainty was that war was a terrible thing, that it split families who didnt want to be split, it took people away who didnt want to leave, and it sent children away to safer towns, and it made you pray to never be forgotten.

Please click on the icon in the right side-bar to find out more and read more great FSF stories.

Black Books: Series 1, Episode 3

I have had to remember to press the stop button on the DVD player because I have been ready to keep watching after each episode, which considering the number of times I have seen it, is a great thing for a TV show to be able to do repeatedly.

Episode Title

Grapes of Wrath

Scenes 

i.   A Faith Wizard
ii.  Nice Arse
iii. In The Cellar
iv. Old Wine Is Good Wine
v. My Legacy

Synopsis

The episode starts with a friend of Bernards, trying to convince him to house sit, bribing him with a shiatsu neck massager. Manny is tired of the disgusting living conditions and hires a cleaner to clean the apartment/cellar/back room. In order for him to do a thorough clean he needs the place to be empty and so Manny convinces Bernard that they should house sit. The man has a wine cellar and he tells Manny which ones are not to be touched and which he can drink as much of as he likes. Manny gets it the wrong way round and they drink all the expensive bottles (costing a total of £7000). At the same time Fran goes on a date only to discover that her date is gay.

Highlights

• Manny eating scrambled egg with a comb as a spoon and from out of a shoe.
• Before her date Fran goes to see Bernard and shows him her dress and her new laugh and turn.
• The cleaner is played by a great character actor Kevin Eldon.
• Bernard suggest they burn down the house in order to escape being caught out for drinking the wine. Instead they make fake old wine.
• Bernards starts eating a coaster and Manny asks what he is eating and Bernard says some fancy biscuit thing.

Laugh Out Loud Moment

Manny is trying to get Bernards attention but Bernard is reading, and Manny calls him repeatedly and also when Manny and Bernard are drinking the wine, Manny ties his hair in bunches, this was pretty funny!

Best Line

Holding the shiatsu neck massager in front of his chest, Manny says;

'Look, I'm a prostitute robot from the future!'

 Special mention to the wine descriptions especially;

•  like a farmyard of wine
• like looking into the eye of a duck....and drinking all the water from its beak
• also @typendlebury reminded me on twitter; All the colours. ALL the colours. Well, yellow.

The storyline for Fran was a bit dull and it was almost only there to keep her busy whilst we watched Manny and Bernard.

Do you agree with my laugh out loud suggestions? What was your favourite part?

Black Books: Series 1, Episode 2

Series 1, Episode 2 of Black Books Watchalong.

This episode is aptly titled 'Mannys First Day' as at the end of episode 1 we saw him offer to do Bernards accounts for him.

The five scene titles & brief synopsis are:

i.Run Away
ii.Flip The Sign
iii.A Gap In Accounts
iv. Just Browsing
v. Minding The Shop

Manny goes to Frans and she is surprised that Bernard has hired him. We get to see the night before when Bernard hires Manny in the pub which is a really funny scene.  On his first day Manny is proving himself to Bernard but he gets on with the customers and sells lots of books and Bernard says thats not the kind of operation he is running. Manny goes to say goodbye to Fran and she tells Bernard not to sack Manny.

Highlights

• Bernard tells Manny that people dont buy books in the morning and at that moment a man walks in wanting to buy a book and wearing an 'I Love Books' t-shirt.
• Manny tells Bernard that just before his mobile phone rings he gets a sharp pain in his head, so Bernard starts calling him.
• The shop open and closed sign has closed on both sides.
• Bernard leaves Manny to look after the shop when he goes out, the customers see Bernard leave and all go into the bookshop.

Best laugh out loud moment

Manny wants to prove that he can sell books and bets Bernard he can sell a book. A customer walks in and Manny says 'hello', and the man turns to him and starts yelling that he is browsing.

Best line

Manny arrives at the shop and Bernard is sleeping on a sofa, Manny wakes him up and... 

Bernard: 'Whats the time?', 

Manny: 'half ten'.

Bernard: 'Half 10, Half 10, I've never been up at half 10.What happens?'

What was your favourite moment? Did you laugh out loud at the customer who was browsing? 

Introducing….MUSE

Good Morning,
Just a quick post for those who have somehow missed all the news bulletins regarding the new addition to The Suddenly Kate Show. I was tired of running this show alone and needed company…then along came Muse.

She is a she and is 8 weeks old almost 9 weeks, she has lived with me for four days but it seems like longer, she loves to play and is a very sociable kitten. The nieces have been around and played with her and made a lot of noise and she was very good with them and fit in perfectly. It seems she was destined to be with our family as she loves the camera and a cuddle.  Getting to know her has been fun so far and some of her personality is starting to show. For example; she keeps climbing on things she shouldn’t and when they fall down she runs straight back to me and starts purring and being all cute and cuddly.

Well, she is officially this blogs cat and you needn’t even worry if you have cat allergy’s!

I hope you all had a great weekend…I’m off to write Part 4 of Girls Best Friend, listen to some My Little Brother (next band to be reviewed), watch episode 2 of Black Books series 1 and catch up on blogs.

Bye for now!
Kate x

Black Books: Series 1, Episode 1

Its been a year since I last watched the complete series of Black Books.  Black Books is a British TV sitcom. It ran from 2000 until 2004. I never saw the show originally when it began, as that was when I was living overseas, but rather watched the repeat showings.  It is one of those comedy shows that you can watch repeatedly and however many times you have seen it or heard the joke it doesn't lose any of its comical effect.

To make my life easier in the inside of the boxset case there is a brief description of each of the characters;

'Meet Bernard Black a foul tempered, drink fuelled and eccentric bookshop owner who loves his books and hates his customers.'

Bernard Black is played by comedian Dylan Moran, and I may be biased somewhat but... I think he plays it to perfection, how he keeps a straight face I will never know. He has the perfect face for it too and a very young looking one in Series 1.

'Manny, Bernard's long haired and long suffering assistant, a breath of fresh air in the musty confines of the bookshop and an antidote to Bernard.'

Manny is played by comedian Bill Bailey, and I may be biased somewhat but...he is perfect in this role alongside Dylan Moran. I love Bill Bailey and he is hilariously funny, on comedy shows where he is just being himself he is funny, he is very intelligent and a talented musician to boot. No-one can make me laugh as easily as this man. There should be more men like him just to keep me entertained. I may have a small crush on him and yes, as he says himself, he does look like a Klingon.

'Fran struggles to find her inner karma in between trying to find her cigarettes and making excuses to have another drink.'

Fran is played by Tamsin Grieg, and I may be biased somewhat but...she is great in this role, and I have been a fan of hers since seeing her in Black Books. The most recent show being Friday Night Dinner that is written and stars one of the inbetweeners.

Not only did/does Black Books have a great permanent cast but guest stars some very familiar faces, who were lesser known 12 years ago, and as we work through the series we shall discover who.

So...starting with Series 1, episode 1, entitled 'Cooking the Books'

Each episode was divided into five parts;

i. Real Leather

ii. The Accountant

iii. Shape Up

iv. Chances Of Survival

v. Break My Legs

As you would expect with the first episode of anything it introduces the main characters and shows us (the viewer) how they are all connected.

Bernard Black is the owner of a second hand book shop and this is the main setting, in this first episode his accountant runs off (assumably dodgy dealings as the police are after him) and Bernard is left to do his own taxes which is the last thing that he wants to do. He procrastinates by pairing socks and entertaining Jehovah Witnesses (although this is never stated that they are) and discovers a clause in the tax return form that says he can delay submitting it should he suffer from a severe disability so he decides to try and get his legs broken.

Manny has a job in an  accountancy firm and is stressed by it all, he buys and then accidentally swallows the little book of calm which he bought from Bernards shop, and then ends up in a trance outside the shop where some thugs threaten to beat him up, seeing this Bernard thins its as a perfect opportunity to get his legs broken. Manny thinks Bernard has saved him from an attack and offers to do his taxes for him.

Fran is in her shop (next door to Bernards) which sells knick knacks and gimmick items sort of, and she gets distracted trying to work out what one of the items is, and misses the birth of her friends baby whom she was the birthing partner for.

I think the best line in the episode comes at the very beginning when Bernard is talking to a customer who wants to know if some books he is selling are leather bound, because everything in his house is real leather, the customer then offers Bernard £200 and Bernards response is;

"Are those leather bound pounds? because I need leather bound pounds to go with my wallet'

The guest actor in this episode is none other than Martin Freeman (aka the young Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit) who plays a doctor who tells Manny about the little book of calm that is trapped in his digestive system.

I think it is a good introduction to the characters as it gives the viewer just enough of a story, and also lets you learn a bit about each of their characters.

In the following mini-reviews there will be an episode recap, funniest moment/line, and overall opinion.  Please feel free to add your tuppence worth/review on the episodes in the comments section.

Girls Best Friend: Part 2.5

Good afternoon :)

I felt slightly guilty that last weeks instalment was a bit brief. Here is another half to add to it. I hope you like it and thank you to all those who voted. 

Looking at all the lists laid out on the table she was happy that she had started on her adventure, after all, the planning was half the adventure. Yawning she looked across and saw Elvis doing the same and laughed ‘Come on you, lets go!’.

'Beep...Beeep...Beeeeeeep'

Millie opened her eyes to the sound of her alarm beeping at her and reached across through screwed up eyes to switch it off, as she did so she managed to knock the cup of tea over that was sat on her bedside table, as soon as she felt it begin to topple over and heard the splash she was up and out of bed like she had been laying on hot coals. Millie dashed to the kitchen, grabbed some kitchen roll, and dashed straight back to start mopping up the tea. This really was not the best way to wake up she thought, although if she was honest, it happened like this more often than not. Millie rubbed her eyes and started to dry off the alarm clock. It was 9.25am. It was 9.25am!!! Damn! she thought, she must have slept through most of the beeping and now she would be late.

The rest of the morning whizzed by and she managed to make it to work by 10.30am, she told them she had a dental appointment and they didn't even bat an eyelid, so Millie just went to her desk and got on with writing her resignation letter...

To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing to notify you that I have wasted the last 6 months of my life to-ing and fro-ing about your office doing the work of trained monkeys. 
Everyday has seemed duller than the day before and in order to spice things up I have imagined you all naked, unfortunately this lead to sickness and you may recall I had to take a week off. 
It wouldn't be such a bad job if you weren't all so far up your own behinds, so happy to assume superiority over others, so happy to pass blame, and so keen to do as little as humanly possible.
I must confess that every time I have made you all tea or coffee I have added my own secret ingredient purely out of spite. 
I shall be working my last day here on 18th January 2013 and as ecstatically euphoric as I will be to go I shall miss....I shan't miss anything.
Please consider this my one week notice.
Kind regards
Millie Westmacott

In reality, Millie just kept it simple but she didn't care, she would be happy to leave. As Millie counted down the hours until it was time to go she checked her emails and worked out what work she had to do before Friday. There were a couple of reports that needed laminated covers and she knew that meant loitering in the copier room for a while. Oh well, best get the jobs she liked the least out of the way first, and she gathered up the document covers that needed laminating and went to the copier room. As was always the case in Rob, Roberts and Robertson the person who used up the last of anything never saw fit to replace it.

Millie was on all fours with her bum in the air and her head pushed into the depths of the cupboard as she tried to see if there were any laminate pouches left in the cupboard in the copier room. They sometimes got pushed to the back. When Millie heard a cough, she tried to get out of the cupboard quickly and ended up  banging her head on the top of the cupboard, as she reverse crawled out of the cupboard and turned around, she saw that it was Mark from accounting. It was obvious to Millie that he was trying to stifle a laugh but ever since yesterday she had been annoyed with him and wasn't about to let him off that easily. 'I'm surprised you saw me here' she said, pursing her lips and brushing the dust off of her skirt. Mark from accounting laughed and said 'huh?!' as Millie walked past him.

She went to get the key to the stationery cupboard but when she did Anne the receptionist told her that someone had taken it already so it should be open. It wasn't unusual for some other poor soul to have to go up there to get stationery even though more often than not it was her. As she approached the door to the stationery cupboard she could hear hushed voices and thought to herself, what is it with people and whispering in cupboards, as she stepped a bit closer she recognised one of the voices. It was Denise from Marketing. 

Millie really didn't want to have to face her and make small talk, she really only wanted to see her on Friday as she strolled out, so she stood outside the door waiting for them to leave. As she stood there she started to make out what Denise from Marketing was saying...'So Mark, we have to get to Marrakech before Rob does, we know that the diamonds are hidden somewhere in head office. I've booked us flights for next Friday.' Millie froze on the spot...she wasn't leaving till this Saturday and would probably reach Marrakech at the same time as they would. She started to panic, Denise and Mark were going to try and get the diamonds before Rob but she would need to get there before them all of them, she swallowed and told herself to get a grip and calm down, she heard movement and went back into the corridor to make it look like she was just on her way there. Denise from Marketing and Mark from Accounting passed her in the corridor and Mark gave her a wink and she gave him a pout.

Millie struggled to concentrate for the rest of the afternoon as she thought of how to reach Marrakech before them, her options were limited; she could leave Elvis behind and fly, she could leave earlier or she could try to delay them. None were options that she relished. She emailed her friend Anne the receptionist and asked her if she had booked flights for Denise from Marketing and Mark from Accounting for Marrakech. She chewed her nails as she waited for a reply. Yes, Anne the receptionist had been asked by Denise from Marketing to book flights, Millie knew she must have as there was no way she would do something so menial herself. Millie didnt want to get Anne the receptionist in trouble but needs must and so she replied to her saying that Denise had asked her to tell Anne to change the date to the Friday after next. That would give Millie an extra week.

Girls Best Friend: Part 2

Part 1 can be found here.

Millie turned back around, pushed the stationery door open and leaned down and scooped up her crumpled notes up out of the bin, glancing down at her scrawl, she stuck out her chin, threw back her shoulders and told herself; this might just be the adventure she is looking for.

Millie opened the door to her flat, went straight to the sofa and slumped down in her favourite spot. She looked around; it was dark, cold and stark and nothing screamed out homely to her. She sighed for the millionth time that day and pulled out the screwed up piece of paper on which she had written instructions for finding the hidden diamonds. She was about to screw it back up and forget that the whole thing had happened when she felt something wet on her arm. Elvis had left his bed and was now pushing his head under her arm as if to snuggle. Millie looked down at his big brown eyes and that droopy face, ‘you know what Elvis, we can do better than this mangy flat but it means going on an adventure…do you want to go on an adventure Elvis? Wag your tail for yes and bark for no, ok?’ Elvis wagged his tail. ‘Should we go and find the diamonds?’ she asked the dog. Elvis continued wagging his tail. ‘Right, that's settled then. We shall go. I’m so glad you said that Elvis, I don't think I could do it without you!’ and Millie winked at the dog. She sat forward in the chair as if waiting to be called to speak, then slapped her thighs in unison and stood up, took off her coat and pushed up her sleeves, ‘There's work to be done.’

Firstly, she needed to put the instructions somewhere safe. She stood in the centre of the lounge slowly turning as she looked at her options for hiding places. Aha! The silver keepsake that she had been given at her christening would be ideal, she took out her birth certificate that had been rolled up inside and replaced it with the instructions. Secondly, she would need to make a list, or some lists that would make up the list, but at the least a main list of lists. Millie thought of everything she would need to do before she left, there was her ‘Work List’;

Work List

1. Hand in her notice at work.
2. Find out the details of the Marrakech office and also where Smits, Smiths & Smithson is.
3. Look smugly at Denise from Marketing as she sashays out on the last day.

It didn't seem like she had that much that she needed to do work wise and as a temp she would only need to give about a weeks notice. Finding out the addresses would be straight forward enough. Looking smugly at Denise from marketing would be even easier, and Millie had already mentally started acting out the scene in her head. She grinned and gripped the pen tighter as the excitement was starting to take hold. In just over a week she could be setting off an a bona fide only-ever-happens-in-the-movies adventure and as she started to plan, it all started to seem real and instead of feeling her usual nervous apprehensive self, she felt much more excited, confident and as though she was in control. Next up was the ‘Money List’;

Money List

1. Check savings and move enough money to main account.
2. Make sure bills are all set up to be paid when she is away.
3. Buy some Euro’s.
4. Make a budget that is easy to stick it.

Millie knew that she would have enough money for the trip but would still need a budget as she had a tendency to get carried away. Although, she thought, if all goes to plan she could be a lot richer on the way back, but she needed to think ahead in case that didn't happen. Having decided that Elvis was going to go with her, she knew that flying would be out of the question, and that meant an overland journey. This wouldn't be as easy as flying but if she planned appropriately then it would be ok. It would take her about 3 days to get there not including stopovers and then 3 days back. The thought of going completely alone still scared her and so overland it would be. The ‘Travel List’ was going to be the longest of all;

Travel List

1. Find out how to get to Marrakech from London, travelling overland with a dog.
2. Book trains in advance where possible.
3. Find passport and make sure its in date.
4. Check if need any visa’s.
5. Research possible stopovers.
6. Research accommodation that accepts dogs.

The ‘Travel List’ would still need to be broken down further into more lists of transport and accommodation but she would do that later. It was already getting late and she wanted to be up early in the morning to hand in her resignation, and she still had to take Elvis out for a walk. She quickly wrote the last two lists, ‘Dog List’ and ‘Holiday Packing List’;

Dog List

1. Does dog need a passport?
2. Does dog need vaccinations that he hasn’t already had?
3. Pack his blanket, leash, bowl, toy & some food to start us off.

&

Holiday Packing List

1. Clothes
2. Sun cream
3. Snacks

Looking at all the lists laid out on the table she was happy that she had started on her adventure, after all, the planning was half the adventure. Yawning she looked across and saw Elvis doing the same and laughed ‘Come on you, lets go!’.

Music Review: Woodmanstone

Hello! How long has it been since my last music review? What’s that you say? Too long. Okay that’s a fair cop, guv! Oh dear, the influence of the next artist has already affected me. He has been extremely patient with me, as I lost my notes that I had prepared before I sent him the questions and I was determined to find them…alas I could not and my Gonzo pad is forever lost, or until tomorrow when I have posted this and no longer need them!

Anyway, this person, is someone who I came across on Twitter, it was via a mutual follower who also asked if I would review him. This is only the second time that someone has requested that I write a review about an artist and so of course I agreed. I had been following them for a few weeks and tweeted a couple of times which I sometimes think might not be best as then it could be a biased review – but it turns out (as most will know by now and although I am repeating myself here), when I review music I do so because I love it and I don’t consider it my job to denigrate the artist and so it’s not such a big deal after all, and I present to you here my favourite tracks, lyrics, and sounds along with a mini-interview with:

‘Woodmanstone’

Who better to introduce the band than the man himself?!

Can you give us a brief history of the band?

Brief? You are joking aren’t you? I’ll try …

I’ve been writing songs for years, in various bands until I gave up music about ten years ago. In 2011 I lost my dad and I felt I needed to make something of my music to leave something behind when I go – not that I’m intending to pop off any time soon! So …I recruited James Buckley on drums (from One Cure for Man) and Doug Burgess who used to play in Saint Simon with James a few years back. I wanted to record an album of my old songs which we started to do but I then began writing new songs which then got added into the mix! We were recording about a night a month at Deadline Studios with the great Adam Ellis engineering and he suggested Tony Robinson, from The Beautiful South, to play some trumpet and keyboards. So, that’s the recording band but the live band’s a different story – I’ll save that for another time!

So lets have a listen to the first track uploaded to SoundCloud – its called ‘Does Madonna Dream (of ordinary people)…? I like this track because of the cultural references and the bizarreness of the question. It is very upbeat and catchy.

I like to have an artist comparison mainly so that if you are new to the band you have a general idea of who they are most like, and so I asked;

Are there any artists that you are often compared to?

I’ve been linked to every seventh band on Earth, I think, from The Beatles and The Smiths to The Beach Boys, Ben Folds, The Ventures, Muse, Arcade Fire, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, The Wonder Stuff, Dodgy, REM. Like lots of songwriters I don’t know quite who I sound like, nor do I care particularly. That’s not really my job is it? My big problem is that until the last couple of months I’ve not really been listening to that much music! I guess I’m not as interested in other people’s music as I should be!

I think these are interesting comparisons and am trying to think of the seventh band that I would compare them too, but the initial band that I thought of was Deacon Blue…I’m not sure if its sound so much as style that makes me think of them. It’s just a very laidback naturalness and it’s almost as though they have just begun singing their thoughts, there is no pretentiousness.

Having listened to woodmanstone sing about certain celebrities dreams and a few more tracks with a different feel to them, I listened to the next song, I really like this;

It not only tells a story, but it transmits a feeling of compassion and tenderness, in this case I guess as a parent but I could relate to it without being one. So, I said, I said..Oi, woodmanstone…

Who are your musical inspirations/heroes?

There are the obvious ones …Lennon and McCartney, Dylan, Morrisey

The slightly less obvious … Arthur Lee and Love, Bacharach and David, Roddy Frame, Syd Barrett

The unlikely …Noel Coward, Early 20th Century music hall

The modern …Favourites this year are Johnno Casson aka Snippet and Sea Kay – his song ‘ Stride’ is my favourite of the year.

Due to the transient nature of the band members and the fact that music is coninuously being made, I asked…

What instruments’ do you play (if any)?

I’m a rhythm guitarist, usually acoustic. I sometimes have a little twiddle but only in a thoroughly English way – I don’t really have rock n roll licks*, man! I learned to play guitar to write songs and accompany myself primarily. 

(*I should mention that 90’s ‘Indie’ band The Ogdens compared my wild guitar technique of the time favourably with Ride but I’ve since lost me pedals!)

As in order to listen I had to go to SoundCloud, I wanted to know:

Are the tracks that are uploaded on SoundCloud done so in the order

that they were written and recorded?

They certainly aren’t in the order they were written. The newest available track is six months old and the oldest was written when computers had green screens! I’ve started posting rough demos recently for a select few to listen to but I’m going to stop that because no-one can hear what’s in my head and a demo is really just a sketch. I’ve realised I need to never care what other people think!

There are three tracks that are newer than this and one of those is:

I like this, how it jumps straight in with an accusation! But the latest track is a new favourite;

I think we were all waiting for the world to end in December and here we are on a Tuesday! Could it be more apt?

Another favourite, due to the lyrics as I have a weakness for a song with a positive message, and this has that it in abundance, also maybe its the storyteller in me but I can imagine this being in a musical. Can you imagine it? That moment when the main character decides that he is going to achieve his dream.

So I asked...

One of my favourite tracks is ‘Anybody’, what inspired you to write this and do you like to have a message in your songs?

That track was originally inspired by my ongoing failure to find any measure of success with my music!! But, like all my songs, I wanted to find a generality. In this case: dreams - our need to have them in the first place, our valiant pursuit of them, and how some people just like you or I really do have their dreams come true.

I like playing with words but I rarely use complex imagery in what I write; I search for the simplest way to say something complicated. So yes, there’s often a message in there and not too hidden. Also, I always start from something I’ve experienced and work my way out from there.

I’ve got some songs for next year that have much more explicit messages – “I’ve Got the 21st Century Blues” is pretty direct and if I can find a flute player I’ll be recording “The Further We Go” which is also ‘political’ in a Marvin Gaye sort of way but I am NOT comparing myself to him in any way!

Woodmanstone songs have strong themes of love and dreams, he does not have the deepest of voices and the melancholic sound of Empty Skies is as deep as it gets…

However it didn’t stop me thinking about who could have harmonised on that, and as I wondered aloud,

I can imagine you singing a duet, which singer would you like to do a duet with (they can be dead or alive)?

Absolutely no-one springs to mind. I’m way too insecure to want to sing with someone great and too arrogant to want to sing with someone that isn’t great! Actually Alex Turner and Miles Kane tend not to harmonise – I reckon I could put in a top line for The Last Shadow Puppets and ruin every song! I do have a habit of harmonising badly on other people’s songs!

Having said all that there is a collaboration in the offing but that’s all top secret at the minute!

Fear not! It’s not a collaboration with me although..we did sorta collaborate when I begged for help on Twitter and he came to my rescue and provided the vocals for a character in my Christmas series – which you can hear him sing here: 12 Days of Christmas

This all happened after he answered the questions for this review and crazily enough, I cant imagine why, he never once mentioned his desire to cover a Christmas tune! I did ask;

If you were invited to ‘Live Lounge’ what track would you cover?

Here there and Everywhere by the Beatles springs immediately to mind. It’s so lovely to sing, like lots of McCartney’s melodies, and I can get to the high bits which is always nice. The Beatles got me into music in the first place so it seems only right that I should sing a Beatles track.

What’s next for you?

Well, 2013 has been described as Year of The International Rock God, so I should be alright! The album will be released (finally) at the end of February. There’ll be a launch party in Leicester with a full band   and some solo acoustic stuff. I’ll be playing live a whole lot more in 2 013, mainly by myself because it’s easier and suits my new songs. In terms of that, there’s at least an album of new songs, written since October. I’m loving writing so I’ll keep on pushing myself to write, record and release more material as the year goes on. What will happen? Who knows? Where will it end? Calamity and confusion probably!

Can I go now? It may not seem like it but I don’t much like talking about myself – way too real!

And so I released him back into the wild plains of Leicester...

Check out the links below to listen to the tracks that aren’t here and to follow him on all social media outlets. I recommend Twitter as he is great fun…even if he does end up impersonating a New Yorker and locked in cupboards, plus it’s a great way to keep up to date and find out when his next track will be available to listen to, so get over there and say Hi! But whatever you do don’t mention me! ;)

Social Media

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Other Links

http://www.woodmanstone.com/

http://www.independentmusicpromotions.com/woodmanstones-songwriting-solid-rock/

http://woodmanstone.wordpress.com/

http://freshonthenet.co.uk/faves20/