Gin Bottle Lights

After emptying the contents of the above bottle or raspberry gin :o/, I stuffed it with some old Christmas Tree lights. I have to admit, I rather like the result :o)

Stephen King Lego

Monday, 15 January 2024

I finally found a vampire head and white hands for my lego pyjama boy. Can you guess what Stephen King scene I am working on?

The (lego) Pony Riders by Guy N Smith

Sunday, 14 January, 2024

My latest Guy N Smith lego book cover image. I think I may keep the arm and face detail as it makes it more identifiable as lego 🤣 Just need to add the graphics now...

Cat Balance Training

Friday, 12 December, 2024

One of the neighbour's cats practising their balancing skills on our Sumac tree.

Lego Update

Sunday, January 07, 2024

Here is an update on a few of my ongoing Lego projects - my GNS graveyard, GNS Wolfcurse and Jefferson Airplane dioramas. All have a lot more work to do on them...

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

 Saturday, December 06, 2024

Whilst it already had a place in my personal library with its movie tie-in edition, I hope you agree that I had to add this different edition to my shelves when I saw it appear on Etsy at a steal of a price - Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin.

 

The Golden Man by Philip K Dick

Friday, January 05, 2024

 This little beauty found its  into my personal library this morning:

Full details of the Philip K Dick section of the Pixie-led library can be found here

Lights, Camera, Action

Thursday, December 4, 2024

Picked up these lights for £2 in the B&Q sale so I rammed them inside a glass head. In other news, after a 7-week break, I am writing again 🫡

Spring, I'm assured, is on its way...

Look at her paws!

Wednesday, December 23, 2023

The Soosh is proud of catching a Lego rat for my diorama.

A damp start

Tuesday, December 02, 2024

Looking out at a drizzly new year...

Happy New Year

Looking back on my New Year's resolutions for 2023, I see I concluded the bulk of them satisfactorily. The one I did fail on was publishing my 1998 novel, Cold Comfort, the 1st draft manuscript of which has lain in a drawer for a quarter of a century! I can promise, though, that this book will definitely see the light of day in 2024... That said, I'm going to be less target-focused and more experience-focused in the next 12 months. I want to enjoy my life a little more and be less bogged down with endless looming deadlines. 

Health issues have again marred the previous 12 months, with my Methotrexate treatment starting to fail in its management of my condition. The drug itself has been very rough on me, with ulcers, tiredness, sore eyes and hair loss having taken its toll on me. Thankfully, my consultant is hoping to start me on a new medication later in January - a twice-monthly injection of Dupilumab - a new-wave biologic treatment that is meant to be a game-changer! Much of my progress and success in reaching my goals in 2024 will be dependent on my health, again encouraging me to forego the previous rigours of deadlines. 

With all going well, though, by this time next year, I hope to have accomplished the following goals: The publication of Cold Comfort, my book on the author Guy N Smith, and new issues of Explore Gower and Avalon, my Gower and Glastonbury guidebooks. 3 holidays - Brussels for a concert in March, Glastonbury for their May Day festival and Japan towards the close of the year. For regular readers of my blog, you may be aware of my log-jams in the writing of Pyewacket and Familar. There really hasn't been much progress on these over the last year, but I do plan to return to them when I find the time. Add to them the novel set in my work office and a sequel to Solstice, with a further collection of dark Christmas stories, and you will see that 2025 should keep me as busy as 2024 is sure to do. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and I wish everyone a fantastic year ahead 😊

Waiting on the Flames

Just waiting on some Lego flames and a more suitable book before adding this to my GNS diorama (or Guyorama as it will now forever be known). Can you guess the novel I'm representing here?

The Man who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis

Friday, December 29, 2023

Had a lovely delivery this morning - a first edition The Man Who Fell to Earth. This will fit in snugly with my David Bowie cover version of the same novel - the only novel to ever bring a tear to my eye.

Some more Christmas Gardening

Thursday, December 28, 2033

Sorted out a few more plants this morning.

A Boxing Day Project

My Boxing Day green-fingered project. Re-uniting a mother with her offspring. These were grown from a single leaf cutting I took from a plant I took when my daughter was a newborn.

Christmas Chillin'

Monday, December 25, 2023

Christmas Eve, 2023

Sunday, December 24, 2023 

Just delivered my Christmas cheer to my Mum's.

Crimble Tidying

Finished work for Christmas yet still sooooo much to do... Tidying to KLF and The Shamen. Merry Crimble. 

   

    

Ubik on Yule

December 22, 2023

The shortest day of the year but no Winter Solstice celebrations this year. When the kids were younger, we used to attend Glastonbury, Stonehenge and Avebury celebration at this time of year. But not today. No, this morning I had to work a half day at the office :(

Heading out to work

The view from my desk at work.

Work wasn't too bad actually, there was quite a nice mood at the office with just a handful of us there. And we were all out of there at 12, when the building was closed. Not quite Christmas for me yet though, as I left work early as I felt ill last Tuesday so I have to make back the hours before the end of the week - So in I go for a 6-1.45 shift tomorrow morning.

When I got home, my new read had been posted through my letterbox - Philip K Dick's Ubik:

New Year's Resolution 2023: Achieved

Thursday, December 21, 2023  

Well, my New Year's Resolution for this year was to read 20 Guy N Smith books. And yesterday, I accomplished that mission. And I have to say, I enjoyed every minute of it. Now it's time to give my GNS collection a rest:

Work on my Guy N Smith write-up has already started, but it is now time, for a while at least, for a change of direction in my reading matter. The next book on my reading list is already on its way to me, and I'll share its title and author as soon it drops through my letter box...

The Imaginarium of Guy N Smith

Wednesday, December 20, 2023 

 Had trouble sleeping last night as I knew I needed further work done on this cover. Now, at least prospective buyers have a clue what they will find within the covers of the book/fanzine. I still need to add a bit of reflection on the crystal ball, but I don't know how to do that yet...

Worse for Wear

 Tuesday, December 19, 2023

I had to come home early from work today as I was feeling unwell. But the postie had slipped these through my letterbox, warming  my spirits nicely: 

These bring my Guy N Smith collection to a satisfactory conclusion (unless someone offers me something really special I won't be able to say no too lol). Oh, I almost forgot, a couple of the books were unexpectedly signed too :)