Archive - 2019

Back in January I went to my doctor complaining of a sore heel. He said it was most likely plantar fasciitis. Following a seven month wait, I finally got my scan done at the hospital yesterday. NHS hospital waiting rooms are depressing places, and this one was no exception. There were all sorts in there – the destitute, the dependent, people on their last legs, and a woman in handcuffs attached to a police officer. A fellow patient sensing my feeling of impending doom turned to me and said, ‘The NHS is dying embers.’ Having nodded in agreement, I said, a little too loudly as it transpired, ‘Being in this waiting room is like staring into your own grave.’

She laughed shrilly at this, but the other patients within earshot did not. A pair complained to reception about my ‘negativity’, and I was banished to the corridor. It was like being back at school.

Out in the corridor, I commenced reading my new book – Papillon. You’ve probably heard of the book cum movie. It is about a prison break, or rather multiple prison breaks. It is riveting so far. I was on page 9 when I was called in for my scan. Sour-faced patients watched me traverse the waiting room. The scan took all of 115-seconds, which seemed rather inadequate after a 7-month wait. But the good news is that I am on the mend and should live to fight another day.

In other news my blog has technical PHP-related issues as I mentioned previously, and comments and the sharing functions aren’t working properly. But as I am migrating from WordPress fairly soon, I have decided to put up with these glitches for the time being. I appreciate your comments and apologise if I have not been able to respond to them because of this.

And that’s it for today. I must be getting back to Golgotha; the final instalment in the darkly humorous Necropolis Trilogy, featuring erudite sociopath Dyson Devereux. I am running a bit behind schedule and Golgotha is probably going to be released in the late autumn now. I will provide updates in due course.

I finally had enough of hauling my heavy lawn mower up and down banks, so I took the plunge and invested in a fly mow. It makes life so much easier; well mowing grass on gradients anyway. My only concern is accidentally cutting my toes off. It happens on occasion I am told.

Here is a picture of my dog Trigga posing on my pre fly-mowed lawn.

Who else is a fan of Five Guys? I paid the Guildford branch a visit earlier in the week, and I was not disappointed. If you haven’t already, I recommend paying Five Guys a visit. That advice does not apply to vegetarians or vegans.

I was so full from my Five Guys that I forgot I was meant to go the supermarket. Fortunately, some carb free leftovers came to the rescue.

I don’t seem to be receiving many comments other than endless spam on my blog nowadays. Perhaps there is a problem with one of the WordPress plugins. At any rate, I have rather fallen out of love with WordPress and am planning to migrate elsewhere. Relationships only last a finite amount of time – and this no exception.

The plan is to have a proper website. This will allow for a greater degree of flexibility, and it is going to be cheaper to run and far more secure too. I am of the opinion that WordPress has become rather dated. Perhaps you WordPress users feel the same. I am hoping the move will revitalise my blogging inspiration, and I will not have to resort to blogging about my fly mow.

Have a good weekend.

The ongoing work in my garden has resulted in me having a lot of spare firewood. If you would like some speak up now, or forever hold your peace. What with the relentless energy price hikes here in the UK, kindling could be gold dust come winter.

Last week I shared with you the books I’ve read this year. My current read is The Good Son – an award winning South Korean psychological thriller. Perhaps you’ve read it already. I have mixed feelings so far.

Next up will be Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity. I hope its humour will appeal.

As for writing, I am looking forward to getting my latest book Golgotha back from the proof reader. The black comedy is the third instalment in my Necropolis Trilogy featuring sociopath Dyson Devereux.

Up until Thursday of last week, I would have mentioned at this juncture how well received the first two parts have been on Goodreads. But alas, both have since fallen victim to bots. Over the course of the last eight days they have got more ratings than they have had in their lives. All of which have come from accounts opened in June that are yet to review a single book. The Goodreads chart below for Necropolis illustrates the extent of the issue.

Of course this wouldn’t be bad news if they were good ratings. However, both books’ ratings have plummeted. Sepultura has gone from 3.88 to 3.18 and it is dropping fast. At the present rate it will have the dubious distinction of being the lowest rated book on Goodreads. And Necropolis isn’t faring much better. Goodreads are ignoring my emails.

I have been receiving therapy in the form of my dog Trigga and chocolate eclairs. They are proving to be a cathartic combination.

Have a good weekend.