PLEASE DO THIS,DON’T JUST THINK ABOUT IT!

There are those times in our lives when we have to address harsh realities. Some of us, neat, tidy thinkers, possessed of neat, tidy minds, address these realities before they develop their sharp edges.

But most of us procrastinate.

I have been writing this post post in my head for a while now and various factors came into play that have pushed it forward. Not least, the ghastly business of trying to pick up the pieces after  a disaster, like the bush fires.

HAVE YOU MADE AND FILED A WILL? Because if you answer “no”, you may be setting up your family and friends for a long, painful and expensive court battle.

This  is traumatic for those dealing with small estates. For people with extensive “intellectual property” it is a nightmare.

If you are an artist (by which I mean writer, painter, poet,musician…you know what I mean), don’t just think that it’s all too left-brain and assume someone else will do that. And if your “domestic arrangements” have changed clarity of intent is even more important.

Neil Gaiman, who is currently very much in the news, following the huge success of the film Coraline, has a pertinent post here. (If the link is not redirecting, go to October 30, 2006.) I urge you to read it, then go back and re-read my post title. Lecture over!

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I’ve been humming an old George Formby number this morning. English readers over the age of, say 50 or 60, will get it if I say you’ll be surprised the things I see, when I’m cleanin’ winders!

Well, truth to tell, I didn’t see a lot. Too much grime. And almost enough dirt in the sill well to start a window box ! Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike cleaning these windows? Probably! I bitch about them all the time. Great for tropical summers, but a sod to keep clean.

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It’s done! Cut, inked-up, pressed, dried (I hope!) and ready to be signed. The exchange is on Sunday so book your seats for Monday’s show. Roll up! Roll up!

New readers to this blog will not have a clue what I’m talking about. It’s called, in the writing game, “a hook.” The writer gives a hint of some portentous event, to be revealed in the next chapter. Roll up! Roll up!

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Somewhere, out in the wide world,  are our travelling sketchbooks. Exactly where, I’m not sure, but they must be almost due to wing their way home to their starting points?

When they are all back with their people the whole jolly venture will begin again. So if any of you want to give this a whirl I say: round up a group of like minds and get cracking. It’s fun, it extends your abilities and you might even pick up a little more html know-how! No guarantees, mind!

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Like rhinestones?

My new garden pond. After torrential rain this puddle was about 3 or 4 inches deep (nearly 100mm). And because it would have taken a couple of days to drain, I sprinkled a few drops of vegetable oil on the surface to kill mosquitoe larvae. (Frogs can still eat the larvae; the oil does them no harm.)

The sky is looking ominously pewter again so this might be a good time to nip out for some essentials (yes, the usual essentials.Of course.) before another cloud-burst. At least we’ve had 24 hours of dry weather and the forecasts are not for further flooding. Just a damn’ shame we can’t send some south…