planet impiazzi

I finished reading The Paperchase, which was ok but really rather slight and lightweight. Now I'm halfway through The Unbearable Lightness of Being, a book I've been meaning to read for years - its been recommended to me so many times I've lost count! I'm enjoying it - plenty of food for thought.

My builder has almost finished pointing the back of the house. It has taken him a bit longer than he expected because he has to have eyes in the back of his head to keep an eye on the mightmare youth who loiter on my street. Little bastards scratched his car yesterday. Although there are street wardens patrolling the area, and some of the older boys have interim Anti-Social Behaviour Orders imposed on them, there are still problems. I got my new windows fitted on Monday though so the house is just about sorted. Today I'll fit the window blind in the bathroom, but I don't think I can be bothered starting with the floor painting. I'd rather read my book.

Ever been caught speeding?

Today they took the Classified Ads page off the Intranet altogether, due to "misuse by a number of individuals". Apparently we will get it back, but I think we minions of Leeds City Council are being punished for our wayward behaviour. Silly ads have been a regular feature of the Ads page during the 8 months I have worked there, but the facility has never been confiscated before. However, a particular member of staff (not me!) has placed a few potentially libellous messages on there over the past week concerning alleged negligence by a local vet that resulted in the death of her cat. The notice that was posted on the Intranet homepage regarding the Classifieds said that the "misuse" had potentially serious consequences, so methinks they are not especially concerned about a bit of general silliness, but might be wary of law suits.

Having investigated my entitlement and rights re the dentist I find that my dentist has been less than honest with me. When I saw him on Monday I managed to be polite, kept my temper, although I did get upset - I find the whole experience of dentistry very stressful - and I know I did nothing to deserve his dismissive and unhelpful attitude, or the letter suggesting I might like to find another dentist - although I will now try and find one. But I shall also be complaining to, and about, him.
Contrary to what he told me I now know that there is no limit on the amount of treatment available on the NHS (I wasn't after frivolous cosmetic treatment - I'm phobic and hardly likely to ask for anything doing that wasn't absolutely essential).

And on that cheerful note, may I suggest you have a look at the series the Guardian is running about the chemical soup we live in. Check out Chemical World.

I'm having one of 'those weeks'. I had a bit of a disagreement with my dentist on Monday. Considering he advertises himself as welcoming nervous patients, he can be rather useless at sympathy and support. He's good at handing out sedatives but thats about as far as it goes. Today I got a letter from him suggesting I might like to seek treatment elsewhere. While not exactly telling me to sling my hook, he makes it clear he would prefer me to take my custom elsewhere. But I'm concerned about how much free treatment I'm entitled to so am currently waiting for advice from the Dental Helpline. I don't want to find that I've used up my allocation (as my current dentist has been hinting at).

Then yesterday someone complained to personnel about a silly ad I put on the Classified Ads page on the Intranet at work. This person has been advertising the same items for sale every week for about 4 months (farmyard design curtains, a rocking horse that looks like a dog, an electric ommelette maker, a Tiffany-style lamp). I reckon that if an item hasn't sold after about 3 weeks it isn't going to. So I put an ad on asking if anyone could recommend a good car boot sale where she could take her stuff. Fairly innocuous, I thought. Just a bit of gentle teasing. But on the same day someone else put on an ad asking for rocking horse droppings, and another person put one on asking for a rocking horse that looks like a dog as a companion for a dog that looks like a rocking horse. I think this was all too much for the poor, humourless advertiser.

This morning I got up to find that my shower is on the blink. Its something electrical I think, as the switch isn't working. I didn't have the time or the patience to do anything about it this morning, so thats my next job, before I get dinner ready. Don't know much about electrical things though!

Oh well, I've complained enough for now. And my neighbour has just called asking if I have any wallpaper paste so I'd better go and have a poke about in the drawer/cupboard/wherever.

Want a bit of nostalgia? (Brits only, I'm afraid). Have a look at TV-Ark, the television museum. There are opening titles from loads of old tv proframmes. I think Trumpton has got to be my favourite, but Magpie comes a close second.

I abseiled down the Royal Armouries this morning to raise money for Martin House Children's Hospice. Thats me on the right:


I've abseiled out of trees before, back in '96 when I was involved with a road protest camp, but this was 100ft - it felt like a very long way down! The worst bit was stepping off the roof because there was a gap between the roof and the top of the wall of about a foot, which seemed like a very big gap for my little legs. But once I'd managed to step across that gap I was ok. My legs felt like jelly when I touched down a few minutes later. Anyway, I raised £168 and went for a couple of well earned pints afterwards.

Not sure if I like this new format Blogger - though I'm sure I'll get used to it soon enough!

I'm just about recovered from the throat infection now. Still got a cough but I'm over the tiredness, at least as long as I stay away from alcohol. I went to see Bill Bailey on Friday night, and enjoyed a funny evening. I liked his comment that there is more evil in the charts than in Al Qaeda's suggestion box. But having a couple of drinks before the show and a couple more afterwards meant that I was a bumbling wreck on Saturday. I just can't stand the pace anymore. I think I left my liver behind in the last century!

I chucked Boiling a Frog back on the shelf today, after only 140 pages. I found Christopher Brookmyre's style tedious to say the least. Infuriating too. He seems to revel in making his language as convoluted as possible, showing off with 'big words', putting the same argument over and over again. The book seems to be about sex, religion and the media, but I really couldn't be bothered to persevere with it. Ho hum. So next on the chopping block is Marcel Theroux's The Paperchase. Both Theroux and Brookmyre came in my last package from the Book People. I've mentioned before that I wasn't enjoying the contents of this parcel as much as previous ones, so I'm not really expecting wonders from Theroux. But I live in hope. Anyway, I can treat myself to a lunchtime visit to Waterstone's soon and select something new.

I had a very satisfying Sunday catching up with the cleaning and tidying that had been neglected while I was a) decorating the bathroom and b) feeling ill. Its so nice having a neat, fresh house! The bathroom isn't quite finished though - I'm still waiting for a new window. The first company that arranged to do it lied to me - out and out blatant untruths about when they could do the job, so I sacked them. Then I gave the job to the bloke who replaced my bedroom window a year ago, someone I went to school with and who once rescued my tortoise from being used as a football (30 years ago!). But he's been waiting for a delivery of some window bits for the last couple of weeks which means I'm waiting too. And I don't want to paint the floor until everything else is done.

I have to mention how sick all the revelations about the treatment of Iraqi prisoners both by UK and US soldiers, have made me feel,. It is just so very very wrong to abuse people in this way. I never supported the war on Iraq, I saw hypocrisy in the words of Blair and Bush from the start, and now those pictures show the whole world that Americans and British people are just as capable nasty, sadistic, sickening violence as Saddam ever was.

I'm not really reading The Bookseller of Kabul, although I've had a link to it for the past few weeks. I got a bit bored, but that is, I think, down to me, and not the book, which is full of potential but only if you're in the mood for real-life women having a hard time. Which I'm not. So instead I got distracted by Once in a House on Fire by Andrea Ashworth. Actually, that is real-life women having a hard time too, but being a memoir, ie in the past, and being stuff that happened not a million miles from here, I think it was easier to take. For one thing, Ashworth has obviously survived and succeeded despite her awful childhood, and for another I know that there are ways out of such abuse here in England. Whereas the women (and men) of Kabul don't seem to have quite the same opportunities. So Seierstad's book is sitting on the shelf again. Fungus Kitten is reading Ashworth's, having just finished 1984. He always reads whatever I recommend to him, and usually enjoys it. But that might be because he hates going shopping, even for books!
I borrowed Once in a House on Fire from a friend at work, not realising that she had read it on the beach on holiday. I started reading it in bed - and ended up with a very sandy bed!

I've been a bit poorly this past week, having a throat infection that has given me a cough like an old wino and left me feeling extremely tired. I spent the first half of the week going to work then coming home and continuing with the decorating, but from Wednesday onwards I was barely able to drag myself off the sofa.
But Saturday ushered in May with a beautiful sunny day so I went to a 'Green, Craft and Peace Fayre at Lees Hall Farm near Dewsbury. We watched some rather unconventional Morris dancers , then sat on the grass drinking organic beer from the Anglo-Dutch Brewery while listening to a string quartet . Can't think of a more pleasant way to spend an afternoon!

Unusually for a Bank Holiday the sun is still shining so I plan to find somewhere to go/something to do this afternoon, though nothing strenuous because I'm still not 100% well. Fungus Kitten is still in his pit anyway so there's no rush.