Witterings about lots of things.
January. The long morning-after. A time of mad diets, tentative declarations of sobriety, and a communal wish to be anywhere but here and now. January does something evil to those of us in a cold climate: it's so bad, so unrelentingly bleak, that it begins to feel like a judgement from on high. We regret... Continue Reading →
So this is Christmas. We are divided, between those who are easily swayed by the mob mentality (Chrrriiiistmas they scream, eggnog drunk), and those who deem this season a massive waste of time and money. I would fall in to the latter (because I hate spending money and group projects are the worst) except this... Continue Reading →
Wandering around the shops today I saw a man walking very fast, carrying a bunch of red roses. Ah, Schmalentine’s Day. I’m a little envious of people who don’t have a fuck to give about this. I wish I could be so cold and unfeeling. I tend to go overboard with the paper heart bunting.... Continue Reading →
‘I don’t ever remember feeling this awake’ – Thelma It starts the way all films should – two gals, a convertible and a loaded gun, off on a road trip together. They’ve got high-waisted jeans and enormous swaying hair. They’re getting away from hard work, boredom and Thelma’s cretin of a husband. What could possibly... Continue Reading →
“Secrets, silent, stony, sit in the dark palaces of both our hearts: secrets weary of their tyranny: tyrants willing to be dethroned.” James Joyce, Ulysses Maybe it's a symptom of living in almost certain safety, to find the idea of banned books romantic. Imagine: the soft crackling of a paper bag containing a hard-back first... Continue Reading →
Important Daily Activities: An Incomplete List Make coffee. Dress. Neglect to check mirror for errors made while dressing. Check Facebook, Instagram, What’s App, news websites and Twitter. Stare out of window at high rises. Feel tired. Download a Taylor Swift song. Arrive at work Attend meetings that go on for 56 hours Answer several million... Continue Reading →
If ever a Friday needed a Happy List, it's Friday the 30th of January. One day I plan to gather all my feelings about this time of the year (acht, wretched January) into the introduction to the astonishingly brilliant, culturally significant, grammatically experimental book that I will write. This will not be a post-modern classic about... Continue Reading →
In the winter of 2009, I spent four days in the dark windswept wilds of Shetland. Without any phone signal or internet, I was reduced to digging my book out of my bag. Luckily, that book was Lanark by Alistair Gray. It was just what was needed. It reminded me of the days when I... Continue Reading →
My resolutions for 2014 involved drawing on a moustache and starting a band called Our Collective Jungian Dream. I have achieved both. I also started riding a sweet 1970s bicycle, went to a piss-up in a brewery which was really well organised, wore some big jumpers, and got to know the best coffee roasting establishments... Continue Reading →
Ah, the comfort zone. It is such a snuggly place to be. Things that are in my comfort zone: People I love Places I know Nice, familiar feelings, like Friday Happiness, and Cheese-on-Toast Rapture. Things that are not in my comfort zone: Plane travel Public speaking Rollercoasters* Sadly, the comfort zone is easily squished. Bad... Continue Reading →
Amy Jardine 