Something In The Water?

Right, it’s almost the weekend and I’m looking back at the week’s events. It's been one hell of a week! That's right, it hasn’t been good – all my playwriting efforts have been temporarily stalled while I’ve been putting together a bid for funding to help the publishing venture that I and my colleagues have set up. It’s been trickier than I expected and has left me drained. Also, a can of worms has been opened by an incident at the Studio (incidentally, where can you actually buy a can of worms? I’ve looked in Tesco and Sainsbury’s without success). This strange little fracas has sucked time from me more effectively than my vacuum cleaner can suck up the dust. And then, on top of that, I’ve been hassled by some mad crazy woman - with apparently megalomaniacal tendencies - who has been trying to sell me something, but didn’t actually tell me this. She wrapped up her peculiar sales pitch in the guise of discussing a “creative collaboration project” and then she became offensive when I failed to fall for it. She clearly hasn't read "How To Make Friends And Influence People", hasn't that one.

So, I’m quite exhausted. Added to that, my Irish friend and I have been exercising with vigour – I’ve been swimming most days, as well as pumping up and down on this strange little exercise machine that I’ve bought in order to strengthen my legs in time for skiing. This increase in physical activity has been necessary however, not only to improve my undermined health, but also to provide necessary sleep that the absence of the normal drunken stupors would have kept me from (if you understand what I mean). Alcohol consumption has been kept to a minimum.

Tomorrow I’m going to a conference organized by Writing Industries which is being held at Loughborough University. It’s a day of talks & presentations given by a variety of people from across the various areas within the writing industry, together with an opportunity to 'network' with other people who are in the business too. It seems like fun but I’m also interested in looking at how the structure of the day works because I’m in the process of putting together something similar in collaboration with the Nottingham Creative Network which we plan to hold at the good old Broadway Media Centre. I shall be keen to see whether tomorrow’s event matches the kind of expectations we have for ours.

Oh dear, that was all a bit serious and grown up, wasn’t it? Well let me lighten the mood by telling you that tomorrow evening I’m going to dress up in fishnet stockings and a basque and head off to the Pitti Pat Club’s “Burlesque Evening”. All sorts of camp cabaret acts and murky androgynous characters will parade before the altar of decadence. Should be fun!