I’m not sure which cat had brought in the bird. From the state of the feathers, it was only a young one, so I’m assuming it had fallen out of a nest somewhere and been brought home.

Far, far more worrying is that I can’t find any sign of the remains. I’ve checked through the living room (including behind the sofa, under book cases etc.) and the rest of the house, but there’s nothing.  Not even the “beak and feet” option, which I’ve seen with other cats in the past.

So it’s either a) escaped, b) been wholly eaten or c) the remains are very well hidden.  B currently seems far more likely, and I’ll only find out about c if/when it starts to smell…

Anyway, now I own the Saab, I can’t take a damn journey without seeing at least a couple. Not necessarily the same 9₅ model as mine (although even that’s not uncommon) but definitely the 9₃ in its various guises.

I know the whole theory of familiarity, that you notice things more because you’re also doing them – hence seeing the same type of car as your own, or how everyone’s having kids if you are, etc. etc. – and I’m sure that’s what’s happening, but all the same, it feels very odd indeed.

It’s been one hell of a year, and eventful in many ways.  Looking back, in some ways it’s raced past and feels like only a few weeks. Indeed it’s only when I look back and list the amount of stuff I’ve actually done in that time, check out all the changes and occurences in that time, that I realise how much has been done, and then it seems amazing how I’ve fitted it all into such a short span.

There’s still a lot to do, many changes to be made, many things to be tried and worked on. Some I’ll do, some I won’t. But this last year has been a good building block, and it’s laid the foundations for a lot of the upcoming stuff that should be really quite interesting.

I don’t know yet what the plans are once I’m done with it – rebuilding things slowly but surely, I guess – but from here on in I think I can at least start to figure out what comes next.

Conveniently (for me, at least) it was held at the Elixir Bar, just round the corner from Euston – ideal, and meant I didn’t even need to consider overnighting in London.

As it was, I met up with Merialc and Erzsebel beforehand, and went for a curry at the Erzsebel-recommended “Diwana Bhel Poori House“. (round the other corner from Euston)  The food was excellent – although I can honestly say I have no idea what the hell I was eating – and made for a good start to the evening.

The evening itself was a fun time too – and while not being ‘official photographer‘, I still had the camera with me, and got some good shots. I’ve missed the Rebels’ previous shows for a number of reasons, so I’m glad I got to be there for the final one.

The journey home was OK too – albeit incredibly long, due to the train service stopping at every single station on the way. Being sober on the late train’s an experience in tolerance, not rising to any number of inane pisshead conversations and the like, but thankfully there was only one puker, so it could’ve been a lot worse all round.

A great evening all round, and it’s a pity that at the moment there aren’t more planned.

I don’t have much in the way of plans, the main thing is just Not Working, and taking the much-needed time out.

Of course, there are things I want to do, or at least get onto “paper” and out of my head, but that’s all going to be done on my terms, rather than within the demands of an office.

I’m sure there’ll be a couple of days out and the like along the way, but really the main thing is just time out. It’s been a pretty hectic first third of the year, and the next one isn’t looking like it’ll be any quieter, so downtime is definitely a good plan.

1. People are really fucking stupid
2. I’m a complete bastard, and still get amused by watching stupid people screw things up

The road section is this one – Junction 13 of the M1.  The particularly bad section is at the top – I come off the Motorway at the bottom right of the photo, have to go all the way round the first roundabout, over the motorway bridge, and straight over the second one to head towards home.

Junction 13 of the M1

However, rule #1 above says that people are really fucking stupid. This means that

• At least once a week, I see people on the first roundabout wanting to turn right (i.e. the same way I go), get confused, and drive back on to the M1, instead of taking the next turn off.
• Pretty much every day I see people in the wrong lanes on the first roundabout, being in the left-hand lane to turn right, right-hand lane to turn left or go straight-on, cutting lanes across the roundabout, etc. etc.
• Probably three times out of five, I’ll see people come off the other roundabout, and be totally confused about where to go next. That turn-off has two lanes – the left one to go straight on, the right one to – yes! – turn right. The number of people I follow who are in the wrong lane, and completely bemused by the junction is just unreal.

Of course, with option two there is also the – very minor – justification that it’s a confusing or badly designed junction (and in my opinion it is a bit shit) but it actually isn’t that bad. Slightly obscure, but not bad – so long as drivers read the signs and the roads.  Which is, of course, the underlying problem.

And rule #2 is that I’m still a bastard. I can’t help but laugh at the fuck-knuckles who drive back onto the M1, and also (to a lesser degree) to the ones who fuck up the second roundabout.

I’m not perfect when it comes to driving – and I’d never claim to be – but at least I can read the road and don’t screw up the simple things.