Arise around 9:30, I think, and feel the pain of last night. Errrrrgh. As one heads to Caffé Nero for e-mail, etc., the face of the most notorious punk band in the world appears on a billboard advertising butter. Yes, Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols shilling for Country Life Dairy Products; and he’s wearing an excretiable red plaid jacket. Surely this is one of the signs of the apocalypse?

Breakfast out of the way, I seek an alarm clock so as to ensure catching my flight in a couple of days… Hang on, Jennifer’s note mentions picking me up at the airport Friday afternoon, which is excellent… but, erm… FRIDAY?!? Wasn’t it Saturday…? Shit!

I rapidly e-mail a few people pointing out that they now have a 36-hour window to meet me before I leave the country at an abominable hour Friday morning.

Back to hotel we head, after buying a newspaper for the sole benefit of confirmation of today’s date (and ensuring that there is a world outside for which to return), then check my printed flight information and itinerary. Friday, yes. Good to know that now. It might have been a bit of a problem had I got it wrong by a day.

Right. So off to Soak-Up Culture of Great Worth: the British Library to wander and stare at Really Old Books and Papers. These include (but were not limited to only): Read the rest of this entry »

Being in the UK and appreciating civilisation’s finest achievements, basically. After some business in the western Midlands from my arrival in the Sceptred Isle until the 13^th of this month, I shall be located in the capital of Right Thinking People (London) until the 24^th. At that point I’ll be boarding an æroplane and returning to my beloved wife here in damp, dark, dank Burnaby. Bleah…

Whilst in the New Jerusalem, however, things such as this, these, and this shall be visited, in between regular consulting of this information, occasional glances at this, and — inevitably — some important consultation of this so as to experience the area in all its forms and incarnations.

I hope to have several business meetings with people in London during the period, as this is an invaluable opportunity to [ahem] press the flesh, as well as meet people whose writing I love and/or intend to publish.

Also likely is some merry jape / caper-like activities. One hopes, at least.

If there is no other goal in mind, there is at least the locating of things such as those outlined in Christopher Fowler’s blog entry here.

I am taking a brand-new, tiny, little laptop with me [see photo, left] and — in conjunction with consulting the ‘free London Wi-Fi’ map above — shall be attempting to summarise events and/or experiences on a fairly steady basis. If nothing else, it will give me a reason to not follow some skin-head into the depths of Soho to locate “the fellah who can gets you any-fing you’se can imagine, and sum fings you can’t… if you receive my meanings, Guv?”

Release the hounds…!