The Wanderer Returns

Well, patient listener - if you're still there, and have not given up all hope of hearing from me again, I am back. It seems rather feeble to say that I have been too busy to write to you for all these weeks, but really - that's exactly how it was.

Since the beginning of July there were four main preoccupations to distract me from recording anything about my life on here: There was work, the Studio, my dad's condition, and finally Edinburgh. By far, it was work that consumed the bulk of my time throughout the month of July. Twelve hour days and a 140-mile round trip do tend to drain most of the day's energy and time.......... However, balancing work with the other three preoccupations became an almost impossible task - and one that only someone of a constitution as strong as my own could manage.

Nottingham Writers' Studio is a passion of mine and as the Chairman, is a responsibility that I take very seriously. During the period of turmoil, we undertook to recruit a new Development Director which involved all the usual labours of shortlisting the candidates for interview, arranging and conducting the interviews, making the final choice of appointee, and then defining the induction and handover programme. On top of that, I had other more routine issues to deal with, as well as preparing the year-end accounts for submission to Companies House (another of my duties). And I don't get paid for any of this, by the way!

Trying to fit all of this in whilst spending as much time as possible with my poor failing father was quite tricky. The treatment he was receiving in hospital was frankly deplorable (and I've been a big fan of the NHS in my time, believe me), so in the end my sister arranged to have him moved to her home supported by Macmillan, Marie Curie, District and Community nursing staff. This was far more comfortable and dignified for him - but he still continued to suffer far longer than the medics had predicted, eventually dying on Saturday 31st July. Goodnight Daddy - I shall miss you, but I'm so grateful for the years we had with you; years that were always a bonus.

And then there was Edinburgh. We had committed ourselves to taking a play to the Fringe, so there was no backing out of that. Luckily, the boys I had worked with on the Triliteral Festival were free to do most of the leg work, and I could thankfully take a back seat on executing the final arrangements. There was still some involvement for me however, and so whenever I had any available time I would dip in and make a contribution. When everything was in place, the Company hit the road (or more accurately, the rails), Edinburgh bound. It was quite an achievement to transport three actors, two production assistants, the Director, the Producer, a mountain of luggage and the complete set (including props) for the play - all on public transport. Quite an achievement indeed, and the boys need to be congratulated on that.

I flew up to Edinburgh after my father's funeral to join them. The Edinburgh Festival and its Fringe counterpart is an amazing experience. Apparently, as many people as already live there cram into the city for the event, and there are hundreds of shows to see each day. It was quite hard to choose what to watch during the hours when our own show wasn't being performed, or when we weren't out on the streets handing out flyers and attempting to drum up an audience for our cast. But I saw some terrific performances (none of the big names, of course - you can see those on TV at anytime), and had a very enjoyable time. The whole episode was chaotic, exhausting, expensive, but huge fun. The production company's finances are ruined forever - we lost a fortune. But, as they say ars gratia artis!

However, now I have entered a new phase. My contract in the salt mines of Northampton has finished so I no longer have to work every day; the Studio has calmed down immeasurably - with the accounts all done and the new Development Director making great strides into his new role; my father is no longer with us (although now comes the onerous task of sorting out his estate and disposing of his house and contents); and Edinburgh is already a fading memory.

Back to the real world! Unfortunately, I feel so battered by the last few weeks that I appear to have lost any spark of creativity - hence the tedious detail of this blog posting. Thank you again, gentle reader, for your patience - I promise to keep you up to date with all matters on a more regular basis from now on. And hopefully, in a matter much more entertaining than this.

Toodle pip old loves!