I went off to the radio station today to do the interview for the Arts Hour. We did it in one take - all the way home I kept thinking, why on earth did I say THAT? A bit like a job interview I read two poems as well as fielding questions from Roisin Cooper which were all out of the blue! Anyway, the producer and Roisin were happy with it, and it will be broadcast over the internet as well as throughout a good chunk of Ireland (Border counties and Midlands). If anyone is interested the show is on between 5pm and 6pm GMT this coming Saturday. Here's the link to the radio station's website where you can listen online: www.shannonside.ie Needless to say I will be somewhere else :redface:
I'm thrilled because the regional radio station in my area has invited me to appear on their arts show sometime next month. It can be heard over the internet so once I have the date confirmed, I will post the details in case anyone wants to hear me make an ass of myself. :redface: I don't know yet what the format will be - a straight interview or a reading or both - so I'd better dig out the Best Bits from the two novels - plus bookmark my favourites from the poetry collection. With life being difficult recently, it's a real boost and I'm smiling for the first time in weeks.
I've had a worrying few days in a house where the lights near the front wall have been going out one by one without explanation. The worry upgraded to paranoia when the veterinary nurse up the road reported that she was now homeless, on account of her house burning to the ground a couple of weeks ago. Mice are suspected. Now when the house is quiet, i.e. when I turn the TV off and carry on tinkering at the computer until the wee small hours, I hear odd noises from above. Nothing specific like a squeak, but something with legs scratching their way between floors, horror-movie style. Junior dog snapped up something in the hall the other day and when he eventually dropped it, I saw it was a mouse, albeit with some inpromptu piercings but a mouse nonetheless. Further investigation revealed some droppings and suddenly, the lights going out brought me to a horrifying conclusion - the house was riddled with a mouse invasion and my wiring was chewed to bits and about to ignite. At one thirty today after a tense morning on the first day of a course, I rang my electrician. At two thirty, he rolled up. Ah, the recession has its advantages ocassionally. By this time I had crow bar'd half the inside wall down in the hall but found everything to be intact, ditto the attic. After taking the switch apart - power still on, but I presume that he knows which bits to touch or not - and looking thoughtfully at the no-longer-working lights the electrician decided that the fault lay in the switch. Five minutes later, everything was working again. I was so relieved I over-tipped but at least he is more likely to drop everything and turn out again in the future. Now all I need to do is repair the wall I knocked out... As for the mice - they haven't got off the hook yet. The pest control man is coming round tomorrow evening. *evil laugh*
One small step for bloggers, one giant leap for an aging technophobe who had to admit recently in a survey that she had no idea what features her mobile has. I pre-date computers and even calculators of the modern kind, as for mobiles (cellphones) it seemed like only yesterday that I watched, transfixed, as young sharp-suited men strode through the town centre with something the size of a house brick clamped to one ear. I decided at that point that I could NEVER envisage a time when I would need one of these devices. Ahhhh, how times change. I am now making my first ever blog entry and I hope it won't be my last. Living in the middle of an Irish bog with no near neighbours and only the dogs, hares, foxes and cattle for company, I relish all opportunities to communicate with the real world. Real? Okay, I'll settle for virtual. Is anybody out there? In an attempt to conduct "real" conversations I am starting some voluntary work next week in my town, helping women with... whatever I can help out with, as far as I can gather. It should be fun. Folk are very friendly out here and I love it. So - will I blog, or won't I? That requires a good strong mug of tea, while I have a think about it.