Word and notebooks

2 June

Yesterday afternoon we had a power cut while I was looking at Facebook. The power wasn’t off for long, about 15 minutes I think, but it was enough to have deleted yesterdays’ blog off my Word document. At least Microsoft have done some good in that between Word 2013 and Windows 8, they have devised a system that captures and regenerates any open word file on occasions when power is lost. So, it’s kept yesterdays’ effort for me with having to cut n paste it back over from my bog.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve read the advice to writers to keep a notebook to hand, and I do. I sued to read the Ryansville novels of Tom Clancy until have started co-writing them but in a few of the earlier novels he had Jack’s wife saying, ‘If it’s not written down Jack, it didn’t happen.’ So I have taken it to heart and now I have notebooks next the bed, one next to my arm chair, one in the car, another in each of my camera bags, and quite a few others lying around the place. Yes, it helps in ensuring I don’t forget anything that comes to mind; but d’yer know what, I have a feeling it can get out of hand. Like yesterday for example, I had four ideas come to mind, and a fifth while reading in bed.

It’s not just ideas that make note of, of course. Night before last I had settled when I was sure I could hear bagpipes playing outside. Jan laughed when I told her and once I had mentioned it, the sound stopped. Then yesterday afternoon after the power Jan could hear a high pitched beeping sound, but I couldn’t. So we hunted around for it and finally found that it was timer/clock on the cooker that was causing it. Hang on, not finished yet. There I was lying reading Doctor Sleep, and I’m sure I could hear snoring from the upstairs flat. Again Jan laughed when told her. At least it’s not a conversation I keep hearing! I would be worried by that.

One of the four ideas I had yesterday was after I read on Facebook about that Barbara Windsor and Phillip Scofield are to support the Blind Veterans UK charity. Good for them I say, well done. But it did remind me of a conversation I once overheard about whether someone would sooner be blind or deaf. I sat and listened, I could hardly do otherwise seeing as they were sat at the next table to me, and one of the asked me for my thoughts. I wasn’t keen in getting involved but I did so anyway. I explained that at an OU summer school my study group had both a blind man and a deaf man in it.

The blind man David, was able to take a full part in everything that went on. The deaf guy, sorry, I can’t even remember his name was totally left out of everything, not intentionally of course, but simply because of deafness and high noise levels within and around the UMIST campus. And that is where I left it really, let them decide for themselves.

Today’s photo …

A young oak tree, by young I mean not hundreds of years old.

And today’s funny is from a Labour Muppet Person …

You're standing on top of a cliff with a Liberal Democrat and a Tory. Which one do you push off first? Answer: the Tory. It's always business before pleasure.