tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.comments2017-04-04T10:52:49.862+01:00David Marston WritesDavid Marstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18150238175448596398noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-32739041850455546312014-06-29T11:02:00.389+01:002014-06-29T11:02:00.389+01:00When can I come to dinner??
When can I come to dinner??<br />Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-26266972237264858832014-06-25T21:31:34.595+01:002014-06-25T21:31:34.595+01:00That all sounds deelish. What a lucky fiancée you ...That all sounds deelish. What a lucky fiancée you have!Katelouisebryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02167073903163084387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-5378194622110503522014-04-24T22:31:34.679+01:002014-04-24T22:31:34.679+01:00Thanks, Lucy. Back when I was selling exhibitions...Thanks, Lucy. Back when I was selling exhibitions space to companies trying to reach the housebuilding market, I once tried to pitch to OS on the basis that the MasterMap service was a valuable tool for developers, but really I just wanted to go to their offices. They never went for it, so I'm jealous that you've been to the Southampton mecca.David Marstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150238175448596398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-87647321007058207092014-04-24T22:19:21.634+01:002014-04-24T22:19:21.634+01:00As a geographer and map fanatic myself, I really e...As a geographer and map fanatic myself, I really enjoyed reading this post, David. Especially since I'd missed the OS article you mention. Will look it up. Next time I see you I must tell you about my visit to the OS HQ in Southampton last summer. It was a bit of a pilgrimage and was every bit as exciting as any map geek could have hoped for.Lucyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678174940907131299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-31266222778439826162013-05-12T15:18:32.908+01:002013-05-12T15:18:32.908+01:00Well, you know 'mortgage' is from the Old ...Well, you know 'mortgage' is from the Old French, 'death pledge'. They knew a thing or two, those Old French.Patrick Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483247439912550014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-19272147191184063862013-04-19T11:42:23.056+01:002013-04-19T11:42:23.056+01:00Thanks, Patrick. I think estate agents in London ...Thanks, Patrick. I think estate agents in London have become complacent after years of an overheated market and expect people to just be so damn grateful that they're being allowed to even see somewhere that they instantly hand over all their money. That said, there are some crazy buyers around who probably make the agents' lives hell too.<br /><br />Still, turning up certainly helps. <br /><br />Mind you, our relationship with estate agents is going to take a drastic turn for the worse in the post after next...Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-64616225210363582352013-04-19T10:25:02.879+01:002013-04-19T10:25:02.879+01:00I'm enjoying this series David, perhaps becaus...I'm enjoying this series David, perhaps because I was in the same boat about twelve months before you. Possibly even saw some of the same places. <br /><br />On estate agents: having been on the other end of that business, I can tell you that the service can be shockingly poor. I learned it's not a numbers game - more viewings do not mean more likely sale. They have to actually sell the damn place. Turning up is a good start; actually knowing about the place and answering questions is a nice second; but actual sales are what do the job.<br /><br />We wasted months and months on crappy agents. When we found the right one they sold the house within a month.<br /><br />Ahem. Sorry about that. Talk about your middle class moans!Patrick Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483247439912550014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-87754338573195615012013-04-06T18:09:39.949+01:002013-04-06T18:09:39.949+01:00Thanks Steve. There will be one for every place we...Thanks Steve. There will be one for every place we looked at so you need to wait for a while yetDavid Marstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150238175448596398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-63980620451710347352013-04-06T03:24:09.607+01:002013-04-06T03:24:09.607+01:00Loving the blog as ever Dave! This series is my fa...Loving the blog as ever Dave! This series is my favourite for a while I think. But how long do we have to wait to hear the final result of the house-hunting process?!Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04178681797669613026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-33303046833089101002013-03-19T11:56:43.011+00:002013-03-19T11:56:43.011+00:00Well spotted, Patrick. See kids, that's what ...Well spotted, Patrick. See kids, that's what not bothering to check your memory gets you: public humiliation. Ch-ch-changes made to reflect the correction.davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-44474252209052541272013-03-19T11:41:46.893+00:002013-03-19T11:41:46.893+00:00Great post, David. I hate to be 'That Guy'...Great post, David. I hate to be 'That Guy' but 'Changes' is from Hunky Dory. Or from 'ChangesBowie' where I first encountered it and knew within a few bars that this guy was going to change my life.Patrick Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483247439912550014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-79828865062616424002013-01-25T21:04:48.578+00:002013-01-25T21:04:48.578+00:00Pointless Philosophical Asides, by Patrick Hudson,...Pointless Philosophical Asides, by Patrick Hudson, ladies and gentlemen, always worth a look: http://philosophicalasides.blogspot.co.uk/<br /><br />I was thinking about collecting comics as I wrote this Patrick, but decided to play it cool. I think the internet has also killed any pleasure there too. I used to love, on my travels around the country, finding a new, dark and mysterious comic shop, often smelling faintly of weed, and rooting around in the slightly damp boxes at the back for some missing issue of whatever odd thing I was collecting at the time. Ebay or an online store just don't have the same romance. <br /><br />I see you're giving up pamphlets, or singles as Warren Ellis calls them. I did the same thing a couple of years ago and was surprised not to miss them at all.Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-89356569436886215702013-01-25T16:03:53.165+00:002013-01-25T16:03:53.165+00:00Amusingly, I too have blogged about collecting thi...Amusingly, I too have blogged about collecting this week, albeit the even less glamorous world of comics.Patrick Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483247439912550014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-54844565560352518962012-09-15T08:58:37.330+01:002012-09-15T08:58:37.330+01:00Thanks very much, Anon. It's very rewarding t...Thanks very much, Anon. It's very rewarding to have such kind comments especially from someone who's not really my target market - I suspect that a lot of writing appeals to those in the same age bracket as myself; great to hear that people younger are also enjoying it.<br /><br />I'm not stopping writing the blog, but will be taking a break, probably until early 2013. News as to why, and what I'll be up to instead (aside from general life) will appear here soon.<br /><br />By the way - I encourage anyone to comment, but have to moderate every post. As this goes out in my real name I have, in the past, had some fairly vicious things posted here. The problem with moderating means I can be a bit slow to release the comments - hence why this has been pending for almost 48 hours. Hopefully that won't put people off, but I guess it isn't really designed as a discussion-based blog. I say my piece and get out.David Marstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150238175448596398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-48881428188704356112012-09-14T03:55:12.003+01:002012-09-14T03:55:12.003+01:00I do not know if you like comments. I do not know ...I do not know if you like comments. I do not know if you tolerate them, hate them, or want them. But there is a comment box, so comment I shall. Even if it is a bit convoluted. Sorry about that. <br /><br />To begin... I do not who you are. I am one of those anonymous followers that stumbled over this blog and decided to stay. But I want you to know that I respect you. You write eloquently, but simply, and that tells me that you do it for yourself, not to show off. Thank you for that. It seems harder to find in my generation, myself included. We all want to sound smarter than we are, and end up creating something that no one can understand. <br /><br />Do not stop writing, Mr.David. <br /><br />I suppose that is it. So I will leave you with this, so you can form some sort of mental picture of me.<br /><br />I am fifteen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-91443519550578880542012-01-04T21:59:05.639+00:002012-01-04T21:59:05.639+00:00can anyone write a brief profile on this guy, very...can anyone write a brief profile on this guy, very interested?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-46047424153726844832011-12-24T12:41:18.599+00:002011-12-24T12:41:18.599+00:00|I just hope for the end of evil|I just hope for the end of evilwheatgermhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13552532260171329808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-34419902469502538722011-09-27T14:51:30.999+01:002011-09-27T14:51:30.999+01:00I can recall them being part of a thing in the lat...I can recall them being part of a thing in the late 80s that included Violent Femmes, Dinosaur Jr and other bands that have long been erased from internal hard drive in one of those de-fragging incidents ... maybe the Lemon Heads. For a couple of summers - glorious, dope fuelled, post-uni, unemployed summers - they were the soundtrack to long days reading library books and taking magic mushrooms. <br /><br />Then I got a job and everyone started listening to dance music.Patrick Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483247439912550014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-67218258636396659562011-08-27T07:34:17.349+01:002011-08-27T07:34:17.349+01:00This Is A Great Blog With Great Info Thanks Alot A...This Is A Great Blog With Great Info Thanks Alot And Keep Up The Great WorkAdd A Websitehttp://submitmyurl.infonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-55622553321143843592011-04-21T14:31:35.016+01:002011-04-21T14:31:35.016+01:00Oh no, that's cool, I didn't think you wer...Oh no, that's cool, I didn't think you were proposing the Dipsomaniac Path to literary greatness. <br /><br />As for social skills, there's a condition that in SF circles is called "the brain eater", where a formerly interesting and thought-provoking writer becomes (typically) a sex-obsessed right-wing paranoiac. The term was coined to describe Robert Heinlein (who wrote a movie script called "The Brain Eaters") because he went from writing challenging sci fi, esp for younger readers, to time travelling stories about going back in time to boff his grandma and rant about socialists.<br /><br />I wonder if the brain eater is a symptom of spending too much time in your own company? I'd love to sit around in my pants all day smoking weed and crapping out the occasional half a page, but... yeah, not good for one's health! Thank God for the day job, eh?Patrick Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483247439912550014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-82142380117225033682011-04-20T17:34:59.354+01:002011-04-20T17:34:59.354+01:00Oo - almost forgot. I also think boredom does hav...Oo - almost forgot. I also think boredom does have a lot to do with it. As does loneliness. Writing, as you well know, is an odd thing to do and requires long hours of solitude. The really successful people don't even have to go to work. It must play hell with their social skills.David Marstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150238175448596398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-65883902976928628592011-04-20T17:33:42.559+01:002011-04-20T17:33:42.559+01:00Hi Patrick. Thanks for the kind words.
I complet...Hi Patrick. Thanks for the kind words.<br /><br />I completey agree - especially about being a piss head not making you a better writer. That was kind of the point, but perhaps I didn't make it clear.<br /><br />Equally, we probably do only remember the colourful characters in all walks of life. Anyone know any interesting facts about singer-songwriter Don McClean, for example? No, me neither.<br /><br />Whilst the likes of Hemmingway and Greene with a tendancy to dive into trouble zones would no doubt be notorious for their lives as well as their words anyway, someone like Fitzgerald pretty much just wrote and drank. They were, in the main, wonderful words, but we know far more about his personal life than, say, Jim Crace.David Marstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150238175448596398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-62968054570870169492011-04-20T15:08:00.639+01:002011-04-20T15:08:00.639+01:00Great work, David, a really interesting series.
...Great work, David, a really interesting series. <br /><br />On the subject of writers and drink, though, I wonder if we only remember the colourful drunks? There are huge swathes of writers who just like the occasional tipple, and a number who were/are teetotal (off the top of my head, I can think only of H P Lovecraft (yes, yes, I know) who was teetotal his whole life (although a bit bonkers in other ways); there's probably more sci fi types, cos, well, they're notorious wowsers).<br /><br />So, I think you don't have to be a piss head to be a writer, and I think most of the piss head writers weren't helped by it, by and large, even when it provided material.<br /><br />As to why it might attract writers, I'd say the boredom of writing - god knows you need something to keep your hands busy while you wait for the words to come... should take up a healthier pursuit like cigs.Patrick Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483247439912550014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-61686797004321757052010-11-28T03:24:31.449+00:002010-11-28T03:24:31.449+00:00Very, very cool achievement!Very, very cool achievement!Clairenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772169672449298437.post-15558848779779516772010-09-23T22:38:46.701+01:002010-09-23T22:38:46.701+01:00Lovely hearing your memories of sledging in your c...Lovely hearing your memories of sledging in your childhood. I too have similar memories of playing until way beyond darkness with my brother, in fact I can hardly remember a time when we played together with as much enjoyment.<br />It shows that now, as parents, we must make sure we let our own children wrap up warm and get out there to play, so that they too will have the memories to pass on when they are older.<br />Lets hope we get some more snow this winter. <br />Thanks for the memories.Sledges Manhttp://www.etoyszone.co.uk/acatalog/Sledges.htmlnoreply@blogger.com