Twelve pounds of salad

I forgot to mention the weekend. I love a weekend. Quite quite partial to one. I love waking up without a hangover and actually doing something in the day. It's still a toss-up to whether I prefer big nights out, or cultured Saturdays, so I'm straddling that fence. You could call it the fence of maturity, one day I might topple off and onto the lawn of old age, but at the moment, the view is pretty nice and it's comfortable up here. May and I woke up Saturday morning sans hangover and decided to totter over to Angel for life drawing with Tony Picasso. We arrived late and were hurriedly fisting our Pret sandwiches into our mouths so we could attend class... Somedays you're better than others at drawing, it can depend on the model. This week we had an eighteen year old Taiwanese girl model for us, and I can honestly say she was the best model I've ever drawn. I'm not into Asian babes, but this girl was like a china doll and was able to stay stock still for hours. Miles away from Curvy Michelle and millenia away from that French punk with rotary kebabs for legs, May and I enjoyed her curves and congratulated ourselves on an early afternoon well spent.

After that we ventured out west for a tasty alternate shop from Oxford Street. It was the first time I'd wandered around Whole Foods in Kensington. It's very impressive! May and I got excited about the fine array of foods and spent ages putting various pick and mix salads into a box for our lunch. After we'd done, we went over to weigh our boxes, but decided to leave them both on the side (with all the others) as the scales calculated each box to be just over £12!!... Twelve pounds a salad!!... Fuck that!

'Father' not 'Fazzer'

It's fun at work recently. I think it's because I'm actually doing things I enjoy, it really makes a difference. I've really cut down in drinking in the week as I'm so useless with a hangover, and can't afford to sit at my desk pissing about any more, especially as the department shake-up has left me sitting with my screen exposed for all to see... No matter on Friday though as I wasn't at my desk anyway, I was down the recording studio with Ben and Will 'laying down' the voice over and backing track to the Lacoste animations I'm doing. Ha! I say studio.. we weren't allowed to pull the flush as you'd hear the sounds of the cistern over the mic! Anyway, I was there directing this French guy called Nicola how to say 'father' and not 'fazzer'... every time he'd tell us he'd got it and in recordings he'd revert back to his gallic ways. We'd even got him a couple of cans of Stella to lubricate and loosen, but after half a can he was struggling more than ever, apologising and telling us over the mic that he was 'feeling a leedle beet tipsy'.... We got it finished eventually, it's amazing how a slight intonation and accentuation change can really make a sentence mean something else. Like that guy off 'Allo 'Allo... "Ah was just pissing by..."

Postal packets of odd

I love receiving things through the post, today was a good day. Maybe it's why I'm into buying useless pieces of tat on ebay, just so I can get a parcel or two a week to satisfy my thirst. I knew by text that today would be a good parcel as Kate had informed me yesterday but didn't hint as to what it might be. This morning it landed on my desk and I opened it fervently.

What is it?... You decide. I like the packaging, however a glimpse through the laminate window shows dried seahorses, fungus, goji berries, roots and pupae. The woman on the front looks happy, maybe she's had her brain and tastebuds removed.... I'm told by the best before date that I've got a year in which to consume the contents... I better get cracking.

Making a splash

Well at last they're starting work on the swimming pool, so we can all put our minds to rest!... That's right, we're getting a swimming pool built here at work!.. Whilst people get laid off left right and centre, leaving the building like a ghost town, the remaining employees can remain safe in the knowledge that after a hard day's work they can ease their tired minds with a dip in the Pentland pool. Brilliant. I'm pretty sure it will be the epicentre of bacchanalian decadence with ex-Miss World contestants employed solely to feed you seedless grapes as you unwind after an arduous day hunched over a computer.

Grandma sketch

I've been thinking about Grandma and Grampy a lot recently. Whilst I was over at Kyleigh's at the weekend she showed me a picture of Grandma taken from when the two of them went out Christmas shopping recently. She looks happy in the picture, she looks her usual cheeky and slightly mischievous self... Quite a lot different to how she was looking when we visited her in the hospital over the weekend. The picture Kyleigh took inspired me to create this sketch.

I'm thinking of colouring it up properly soon.

Wherever I lay my hat

Moving house soon has made me think about all the other places I've lived in since moving to London... So since 1994 when I first moved up from Bournemouth, I've lived at 21 different places!!

Mathematically 1.4 residences a year!

Rickmansworth Road, Watford with Mum and Mick

Delancy Street, Camden with Gigi

Cromer Road, Watford with Alison Dickie

Stavanger, Norway with Anne-Charlotte and Gigi

Endell Street, Covent Garden with Emma

Acton Town house with Whatley, Le Chris, Big Dan, and Mat

Finchley Road, Swiss Cottage with Emma, Ciaran and Lou

Glenlock Road, Belsize Park with Kev and Dan

Bayham Street, Camden with Kev and Dan

Travelling around South East Asia with Sara

Winchmore Hill with Sara, her mum and Ayden

Sydenham Hill with Mat and Whatley

Stoke Newington with Sarah

Felsburg Road, Brixton with Simon and Melanie

Homewood Road, Brixton with Mel, Maggie, Kate and Rani

Southampton Row, Kentish Town with Sam

Kilburn Lane, Kensal Rise with Jenny

Caledonian Road, Islington with Tom

Cowper Road, Hanwell with Rowan

Ashburnam Road, Kensal Green with Rowan

Bethnal Green Road, Bethnal Green with Laura and Sarah

and finally, Stoke Newington with May

I intend on staying here for a while. I'm fed up of boxing things up again.

Douglas Pine 1917 - 2009

Yes yes, it's been a very lonngg weekend. Crazy, and a what a mix of emotions. May and I had arranged a viewing of a flat in Stoke Newington on Friday night which turned out to be absolutely ideal for us. We would get it at a reduced rate as the woman who owns it is May's mum's best friend's daughter. Sounds very tenuous, but I assure you it's like that in her boho family. It's a large and very tastefully decorated one bedroom flat with a lovely kitchen and garden accessed through a fauna archway (What are those things called?)... We move in just under four weeks!... Can't wait. We celebrated with a slap-up meal for two at the Three Crowns on Church Street. Which incidentally would be our local. Lovely.

I got woken up early on Saturday morning with the news that Grampy had died at 8:30am... Kyleigh and dad were there to say goodbye, dad actually holding his hand as he peacefully slipped away. He was 91 and wasn't in tremendous pain which is comforting. May and I got ready and caught the train down, met up with Cara and Dom and went off to visit Grandma in Ward 4... She's looking frail. She's all skin and bone and actually looked smaller than she did when we visited her on Tuesday, bless her!... I don't think she knows that Grampy had died. She'd been told, but she's very forgetful and possibly failed to recall the news, so we sat there and watched her eat her calcium tablets, and flick through her Take a Break.

The four of us stayed at Kyleigh and Gerald's that night, Gerald cooking a fantastic belly of pork. We ate like royalty which prepared us for the meeting with dad and Jean on the Sunday... Hmm. Awkward is a term I'd use for that particular meeting, so much to say but nothing being said. At least it will make the funeral a bit more bearable.