i’m still here – yay!
Well it’s been a lively few weeks to say the least. By way of a caveat I should say that this is now the sixth draft that I’ve sat down to write and not had time to finish – sorry!
The (mostly) lovely weather from a fortnight or so ago now seems to be back with a vengeance, its previous visit lasting long enough to bring out all the usual instincts to jump on the bus for B&Q and get cracking with the home improvement shopping but not long enough to actually get many of the enthusiastically planned improvements done, or at least the outdoor ones. I do have a new letterbox, some upgraded flooring and the very early stages of a hanging basket – you have to take what you can get. Plus the town centre is still bearable as unlike Scotland, the school holidays haven’t started yet and I could even photograph the window display in our new(ish) sweet shop undisturbed upon spotting it on my way to Marks & Spencer.
Preparations for London next week are getting underway; I will be back in Victoria for the last time in a while once the work on the Underground station starts on July 6th – further ahead and my next visit in August will be firmly back down by the river! The usual agonising British Summer Packing Conundrum of how to have something to wear for every eventuality where clothing is required when the weather is threatening temperatures of 80+ with thunderstorms and pouring rain, is in full force. Thank God for my oxblood Doc Martens, which go with everything.
The entry below from *cough* weeks ago saw me having just returned from Victoria, and also speculated that the FrightFest queue may be cancelled which indeed it has – a visit to Leicester Square is certainly on the cards next week (I’m hardly going to pass up The Long Good Friday at the Prince Charles Cinema) but the queue itself is taking to the internet for this year at least, meaning that the Saturday morning will still probably not be available although as nobody seems to know for definite whether the tickets go on sale at ten am or twelve noon (which pretty much summarises what happens every time anybody tries to buy or sell tickets for any FrightFest event online), at the moment it’s anybody’s guess. Fingers crossed for my perfect seat in the FilmFour screen, as carefully pinpointed from the row directly behind it where I happily pitched up last year. I’m not saying which one it is, just in case…
I’m back in Scarborough provisionally for the remainder of July, but taking into account the very busy June a mini-break is in the early stages of planning, even if it’s just a tentative return to Champneys. I will be phoning for an update first after the train wreck of my last visit (which regular readers will remember led to me leaving a day early and missing both a dinner and a breakfast – serious indeed) but if they’ve got the wifi working properly and banned the most boring bastards in the universe from talking loudly in the nice quiet lounging area I’ll chance it, although it’s a coin toss which was going to be the harder to get right. Human nature being what it is, my money’s on the wifi.
As it’s the weekend and this is really just a brief update to prove I’m still alive, it’s back to it for now – new and unexpected ventures beckon! These include the news this week that I’m doing my own tax return for the first time this year due to my dashing accountant being unexpectedly and unavoidably indisposed, my inherent laziness precluding me from looking for another one and (thanks to my all-encompassing OCD) I already have the spreadsheets. How hard can it be? I built a website, ffs.
More soon – promise. Roll on summertime.
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