TFI Friday

The Creative Business Awards dinner went very well last night. It was just like the Baftas really, with short films put up on a giant screen to showcase the nominees in each category. The winner of each category was then announced upon the opening of the ubiquitous golden envelope. We (The Nottingham Writers’ Studio, that is) didn’t win in the Writing category. However, the award went to a very worthwhile victor – Michael Pinchbeck who is a theatre writer whose work includes the acclaimed drama The White Album which I saw at Nottingham Playhouse last year and much enjoyed. So well done to Michael – a deserved winner (and he’s a member of the Studio as well so in a way, we’re all winners). Earlier yesterday I'd delivered my presentation about the Writers' Studio to a seminar being hosted by the Nottingham Creative Network. This also went well, despite me cocking up a couple of my PowerPoint slides and being told by one guy (a graphic designer, I think) that my use of ClipArt was "crap"! Oh well.

I’m off to Birmingham today to do so some real (i.e. paid) work. It’s a lovely sunny morning so I suppose I could drive, but I think I’ll take the train. That way I can read something peaceful and calming - I could really use that because this week has been rather stressful in several different ways. It’s nicer getting the train in the middle of the day because obviously, there are no crowds of commuters. Fewer of those horrible sniffers that always seem to sit near to me (why don’t people blow their noses anymore?), and more old ladies going on trips to see grandchildren wearing their best coats; their suitcases loaded for them by the station staff. I sometimes use my iPod if the sniffing gets too distracting but, because I can’t bear to hear the tschh tschh tschh from other people, I usually don’t have it on loud enough to drown out all the snorting of nasal mucous. Oh well, it helps me to improve my tolerance of other people I suppose, and this is always a good thing.

I read an interesting quote the other day: "We live in a culture more accepting of men holding guns than holding hands" (Ernest Gaines). Kinda neat, don’t you think?