4 things blog tag from Michael Nobbs

Four Jobs I’ve Had


1. waitress
2. publishing assistant
3. Artist model
4. Teacher

Four films I can watch over and over again

1. The Garden by Derek Jarman
2. I know where I'm going - Powell & Pressburger
3. Whisky Galore - Alexander MacKendrick
4. On the Mountain - Margaret Tait
Four places I've lived

1. Pietermaritzburg, SA
2. Irene, Gauteng, SA
3. St Andrews Fife Scotland
4. Independent Republic of Leith , Scotland

Four TV programmes I love

1. Ivor the Engine
2. Nip/Tuck
3. Grand Designs aka house porn
4. Food progs aka food porn

Four places I've been on holiday

1. Isle of Mull, Scotland
2. Annecy France
3. Aran Islands/Galway Ireland
4. NY

Four of my Favourite Dishes

1. Summer Pudding
2. Roast Chicken
3. Roast lamb
4. coffee


Four Websites I Visit Daily

1. Hotmail
2. Gawker & Defamer (just checking up on husband to be)
3. Keri Smith
4. 52 Projects

Four Places I’d Rather Be Right Now

1. On the beach
2. In Bed
3. Walking in NY (or any other unknown to me city)
4. In a cinema

Four Bloggers I’m Tagging

1. Hendrix Cat
2. Catherine
3. Mrs Pom
4. Here Be

Four Books I Recommend

1. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
2. Pablo Neruda - POirot
3. Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
4. Women of the Left Bank by Shari Beinstock

And I’m also adding…

Four Artists that have inspired me

1. Derek Jarman
2. Margaret Tait
3. Ruby Grierson4. Kaytee Horsman

Its no use with all this weird weather I might knit a sweater for my poor tree as well.

This is ridiculous... April and this afternoon the skies darkened hail rained down, the cats ran in and stood on the kitchen table in bewilderment.

playing 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon again

My tiger and spotted striped cat Diego talks to my neighbour Murdo (as Mrs Murdo is now pregnant he is banished outside to smoke) and he used to be in a band Cateran, who tourned the uk with this band.

things that make me happy

My best friend's film being called the 'best black british film' by Black filmmaker magazine.

Spring!

Finally stopping working for the 'fat controller' at the 10th largest employer in the world.

My friend K's daughter R telling me how she and her friends deliberately visit the physics tea room at her uni to see all the nerdy physicists try and discretely whip off their glasses when they go in.

Meeting an acquainance of a friend who is quite elderly and has dedicated her life to putting up plaques and memorials to things she feels ought to be remembered. 'I've got a brass plaque to Fletcher of Saltoun under the dining room table and I can't move it becuase its too heavy.' Somehow the picture of this little old lady trotting to the foundary to commission another plaque cheers me. The passions of people in play is cheering.

A reminder of the importance of being lovely.

How to be a miserable artist/person

Little makes much sense at the moment. That's the way it's supposed to be. None of us came to planet earth in order to reach a complete, satisfactory understanding of any subject or situation. We may all aspire to such an experience - and we may occasionally kid ourselves that we have attained it. Deep down inside, though, we are all confused about something! The eclipse won't help you reach a state of total clarity today, but it will at least shed some light on one important matter.

Jonathan Cainer on life for Virgos

RIP Ian Hamilton Finlay

He died yesterday. I've written before about visiting Little Sparta the living artwork he created at Stonypath outside Edinburgh.

In the 1990's I worked at Chapman - argueably Scotland's leading literary magazine. While I was there we produced a double issue on IHF. This one of the first times that he got recognition from within Scotland. I can remember being deluged by contributions from around the world and of course how we got caught in the cross fire between one of his famous ongoing battles with an adversary from France faxing us libel suit on the day of our Christmas lunch! However alongside the Women's Issue - the double Ian Hamilton Finlay issue is the one I'm most proud to have worked on.

red lines around London?

odd appearances

Great interview with Jeffrey Yamaguchi

about 54 Projects book

We all should have taken it as a warning

when Humphry got booted out of No 10 that the Blairs were a bad lot... the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet has died.

create your own holidays

scolidays

People being creative with their cats

.... stuff on your cat

Muse to Muse

has a great quote about friendship. I hope the link works.

I just spoke to a friend who I've not been able to speak to for a few weeks. A hurried conversation before her battery ran out as she went home late at night on London's underground. It was hurried but I had to speak to her and hear her voice and joke and connect and allude to 'the momobrow' an email or even a bit of mail is not the same as a proper conversation.

Did you know

that there was a British Big Cats Society... only in this country. And no these aren't cats destined to go on Celeb feline fit club... most disappointed to read that sightings in Scotland have declined. What are they doing? Joining book groups? Any self respecting Big Cat should be causing alarm on a wide scale.

The Saint of Bleeker Street

Its a huge achievement - my friend's amateur opera group Edinburgh Grand Opera is celebrating 50 years of existence this year. To mark the occasion they are putting on Carol Menotti's 'The Saint of Bleeker Street' at the Festival Theatre - it opens this week. Its great to see that their impressive achievement is being noted.

Almond Blossom

I searched on this after an email exchange with a friend about the south of France and found this blog.... Meanwhile, Here in France.

extraordinary photos

Al Magus via moleskine

fund your own revolution

An unsigned band has got its fans to invest their savings in their first album. A film company did something similar a few months ago preselling 10,000 DVD's to fans in order to fund their next feature film - but can't remember who they are. I really like examples of people thinking their way out of generally accepted ways of doing things.

Good Grief

unknown 6th Rolling Stone was from Fife and used as model for Ian Rankin's 'Rebus'. Anyone want to write a play about him?