This morning as I walked out of the station in the herd of other commuters, I spotted people huddling under a brightly coloured beach umbrella, handing something out to passers-by. This is not an unusual occurrence; at least once or twice a year there are people handing out freebies at rush hour. I’ve had chocolate bars, drinks, and even a Gillette razor. This time it was a bottle of Powerade Energy, berry flavour. I took one and made my cheery (yes, that’s sarcastic) Monday morning way to work. I had a quick squiz at the ingredients as I was opening it – natural flavours, caffeine, vitamins and serious-sounding minerals, no doubt designed to do you lots of good. Fair enough. It wasn’t until halfway through the morning, and halfway through the bottle, that I noticed all the health warnings: Not suitable for children. Not suitable for pregnant women. Not suitable for those sensitive to caffeine. Not intended to be consumed in high quantities. Ulp! The point of the drink is to provide energy for high-intensity activities – so of course a bunch of desk-bound commuters are the ideal candidates. The drink was quite nice, I have to say, and if it weren’t for the dire warnings, maybe I would have drunk it again. As it is, though, I’ll probably stick to something safer – like lighter fluid.
Getting a wee bit excited…
20 OctMy book, Leda, now has a proper page on the Troubador website – where, theoretically, people can buy it! Except it hasn’t been printed yet, of course. You can see its page here. (It’s not that exciting if you’re not me, admittedly.)
The publication date is given as May next year, but that’s just a necessary fiction to meet the needs of the books trade. I am not wise in the ways of wholesalers, so I will bow to the publisher’s superior wisdom. I’m hoping it will be a real book, and in my hands (and the shops), a lot sooner than that, though!
A Brush with Criminality
18 OctThis weekend I spent a couple of hours howking weeds from between paving slabs in the name of community action, organised by Reform G43. Despite being fairly backbreaking, it was actually fun. I realise that sounds unlikely, but if you do almost anything as part of a friendly group, it becomes fun – and besides, it certainly had novelty value. I received mostly positive comments from passers-by, and lots of requests that we come and clean up nearer their home (what’s the opposite of nimbyism?).
Some participants didn’t get such a good reaction, though. People tutted and gave them dirty looks. This seemed like a pretty strange reaction to people who were sweeping up litter and pulling out weeds – until one of the leaders pointed out that, faced with people in high-vis vests doing menial work, they probably assumed we were all on community service orders! That made me laugh quite a lot, especially as the group was largely made up of mild-mannered churchgoers and angelic kids from the local Boys Brigade. Reform G43 – the latest criminal plot to hit the south side of Glasgow?
Grey Hair
7 OctWhat is this new fashion for young girls dying their hair grey or white? At first I thought I was seeing dye disasters, where it was supposed to have come out blonde or black or purple even, but had unfortunately gone wrong. Then I saw more teenagers with these colours and my mother (my mother!) told me that it is a real fashion.
There was once a fashion for grey or white wigs (17th – 18th century I think), but I was always led to believe that it happened in a time when age was venerated. Now we live in a youth-orientated culture where 30 is considered past it – so why the grey hair? It does actually look ok on some people (grey does – white just makes people look dead) but it also makes them look like some terrible trauma has turned them grey before their time.
Not being a teenager, I’ve started getting white hairs myself, and naturally the mind turns towards whether or not to dye. I don’t think I’ll be dying the rest of it to match, though.
Free Films = Good
21 SepThis week I’ve been to see another free film with www.showfilmfirst.com – must be at least the fourth this year. This time it was Drive, which was not bad, although hardly the pumping action film it appeared to be. Some films I’ve had were good (Troll Hunter), some were a bit pants (Columbiana), but you don’t mind so much when they’re free. Besides, you never know when the offer is going to come into your inbox or what film it will be, which adds a nice surprise to your day.
The reason I get all these free tickets is that I took up the offer to join the VIP club – which costs money, so kind of undermines the “free films” idea, but they guaranteed your money back if you didn’t get at least one pair of tickets. I have had so much more than my money’s worth; sometimes impulse buys are a very good thing.
The VIP club seems to be full at the moment, but should it open up again, I would definitely recommend it, based on my experience.
Back in my Suite
10 SepAfter a long absence I’m back writing for Suite101. In the time I’ve been away they seem to have relaxed the over-strict regulations regarding structure and keywords, which is great. I also got a lovely comment from the section editor within hours of posting a new article. A very nice welcome back.
My latest post is on the pitfalls of shared ownership, which may be a bit dry for most, but you can keep up to date with all my articles here.
National Niceness
8 SepRacism is bad. We know this. Few attitudes are less socially acceptable. However, there is a form of racism which does seem to be acceptable, to society at large and to the ‘victims’: positive national stereotypes. The idea that Scots are good with money, Germans are punctual, the English have a great sense of humour. An Irish person might well object to being labelled stupid or hot-headed because of their nationality, but would they really mind if people think they know how to party?
The reason my mind is on this train of thought is that I had to make a phone call to Canada to check a reference for my new lodger. Calling complete strangers, it might have been awkward, but instead we had a cosy chat, and if it hadn’t been a phonecall we would probably have ended the conversation with a hug. The point is this: Canadians are nice. Has anyone ever met a nasty Canadian? (I may have done, but I can’t remember if she was Canadian or American, so she’s not a very good counter-argument.) Perhaps I should keep an eye out in future to see if I meet any Canadians, or members of other nations, who counfound or confirm their national stereotype.
As for me, a canny Scot, am I good with money? Well, after negotiating my latest contract with Orange (£39 reduced to £10.60), I’m feeling pretty canny at the moment.
Frightfully Good
3 SepWell I did go and see the first showing on the Friday that Fright Night (2011) came out, and it was great! I was grinning widely from the opening credits (good choice of music, nice reference to another good vampire film), and enjoyed pretty much all of the film.
Colin Farrell is excellent as Jerry, the worst-named vampire in history. He brings to the role that effortless menace that you can find in his gangster-type roles, along with lots of manly confidence and wry amusement.
David Tennant is a legend, as ever. It looked like he was going to be a bit of an OTT psycho until he started slurping the absynthe and pulling off his silly costume, dropping used sideburns casually over the side of his chair.
The teenagers in it were good, too. Imogen Poots was fine. Her main role was to look pretty and she did it very well. I had never heard of Anton Yelchin before but he was fairly impressive as the hero, Charley.
There were bad bits, though. One scene where Jerry can’t get into a house and so gives a strange, rambling sort of threatening homily went on for far too long. So did the scene where Charley’s best friend, Ed, comes back as a vampire; Christopher Mintz-Plasse hammed it up unbearably. Background details on the characters and the situation seemed to be sketched in rather quickly, and although the film is not short it could have done with more time for that kind of scene-setting. Perhaps they should have taken the time from the annoying, over-long scenes.
On the whole, though, Fright Night 2011 is a funny, slick, fast, knowing comedy-horror, and not just one for Colin Farrell fans. If you are a Colin Farrell or David Tennant fan though: unmissable.
Frightful Anticipation
31 AugI am so desperately looking forward to “Fright Night“. I haven’t looked forward to a film as much in a long time. Yes, I know it will be full of annoying teenagers, in the audience and on screen. Yes, I know it may well be terrible. You may already have seen it and be able to tell me for sure – but don’t! Let me wallow in the anticipation of Colin Farrell as a vampire – and not one of your angsty, spotty, woebegone teenage vampires, either – a proper, grown up, evil vampire.
What vampire film-makers seem to have forgotten in recent years is that a vampire has to be such that you want them to “kiss” you. It’s not so much about external good versus evil, as the internal pull of the things you shouldn’t want, but do.
David Tennant is in “Fright Night” 2011 too, as a slayer, and he is good in just about everything, even the drippy “Single Father”. I’m trying not to find out too much about the film so as not to spoil it. I haven’t seen the original, so apart from the one-line synopsis, I know nothing.
The film is out on Friday. Usually I’m strictly an Orange Wednesdays kind of girl, but in this case I may have to make an exception.
[See my review of Fright Night.]
Goldfish Shoals Nibbling on my Toes
27 AugOn Thursday had my feet gently hoovered by a shoal of little fish called Garra Rufa. They are a species of Turkish fish that seems to like nothing better than to nibble on human feet, for whatever reason.
Having a fish pedicurech
The lady in the shop said they don’t actually eat the tiny particles of skin they remove, so the shop has to keep them fed on fish food as well. I suppose that means they won’t be tempted to take people’s toes off if they go too long between customers.
I had wanted to try a fish pedicure for a while, and then one came up on a KGB deal, together with an OPI polish (specially strong nail varnish) and not too far from the city centre. I wasn’t sure if I would like it, so the deal gave me the excuse to
go ahead; at least if I didn’t like the fish nibbling, I would still get pretty toenails out of it. As it transpired, I liked it very much. There’s a bit of a shock at first when they all descend on you at once, but after that it’s a really pleasant feeling, if a little bit tickly sometimes.
I had half an hour of fish hoovering, which I thought was very good value for £9. My feet felt a bit smoother afterwards, but there wasn’t really much effect. I think it’s more the novelty and the sensation which is the point. If you didn’t enjoy tiny fish swimming round your feet it wouldn’t be worth it even if it was free. The file and polish was a bit of an afterthough once the fish had done their stuff –
for the salon as well as for me, it felt like. Still, I now have lovely pale blue sparkly toenails. Not that I’ll be showing them off any time soon; I just got half drowned in a torrential rain laced with hailstones the size of jelly tots. Ah! Summer in Glasgow.
K C Murdarasi 