Our dogs and Hallow'en and Guy Fawkes Night

Some kindly soul had the imagination to set of a firework a few days ago. I know, it's a few weeks until 5th November and Hallow'en is on Wednesday. The shops have had fireworks on sale for several weeks now, so presumably someone has bought some and thought it a good idea to set them off regardless of the day, time, or the effect it will have on dogs, cats and other animals, and, no doubt, people. Alfie, our Yorkshire Terrier, has never really bothered with the noise of fireworks around November 5th (Guy Fawkes Night to those living outside Britain.)

Poppy, our other dog, is really terrified of them, but her tactic is to hide somewhere in the house or dive  into your lap, under the bed, behind furniture, etc. Alfie started barking and kept on barking for most of the evening. Now, whenever there's an unusual sound, generally from our neighbours who make all sorts of strange and peculiar sounds at all hours of the day and night, he will start of barking. And he just keeps on barking. He has never bothered about the noise of fireworks before now, so it's odd that he should start this year. Poppy, on the other hand, has always been jumpy with fireworks, however far away they are. We're not exactly sure what happened to her as a very young puppy. She may well have experienced something particularly nasty which frightened her as a pup, which might explain her fear of fireworks.

Alfie has discovered something living in the garden shed. It has nothing of ours in it, just junk which I presume has been left behind by former tenants, or even the landlord; an old bicycle frame, a really ancient mattress and odds and ends. The door doesn't close properly. Well, to be exact, it is off it's hinges and it's extremely difficult to close it properly. The 'something' has turned out to be a cat. Now, cats and our dogs don't mix (well, do dogs and cats get on in normal circumstances? Well, the answer is generally, not very well.)

The other day we couldn't find Alfie. He wasn't in any of his usual places, one of which is sleeping on our bed. We looked all over the house and in the garden. The french windows were open, leading from the kitchen/diner into the garden. Poppy went outside. She appeared to know where he was. One of Alfie's little routines is to go round the fence and check. Well, it appears to be what he does. Poppy was up at the end of the garden near the rickety shed (well, I'm sure a strong gust of wind would knock it over.) She started barking and ran towards the house and I went out to her. She was telling us that Alfie was in the shed. Not difficult to get inside as the door is virtually impossible to close. It is completely off it hinges. I went and managed to get the door open and Alfie was inside, perched on some of the junk in there. At the back of the shed, at a safe distance, was the cat. I managed to get Alfie out and in the house, but it would appear that the cat is what is drawing him to the shed.

Dull, Dank and Dreary

The last couple of days the weather has been typically autumnal; dull, dank and dreary. Foggy and over-cast, with very little sunlight. And the clocks change this weekend, so it's going to be even darker, danker and drearier. And they're now saying it's going to become colder and sunnier in the next couple of days. Well, we are into late October now, so it's to be expected. The trees are changing colour rapidly and there are a lot of leaves on the ground outside. Probably just as well they're outside and not inside, otherwise I'd really worry.

The 300th Post!

Quite a momentous day, this, as this is the 300th post. The first post was written on 27th September 2009. A little over three years. I was writing about 'the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.' Yes, a very similar day as I write this. The trees are slowly changing colour to every variation of brown, russet, red etc. It's a rather over-cast and dull sort of day. The sun is out and it is fairly bright, but there is quite a keen wind.

I can safely say that I feel a good deal better than I did when I began writing this blog, considering the fact that I had a heart attack in May 2006 (see earlier post for greater detail.)  I had intended the blog to be a discussion of my experiences of having a heart attack, and hope that my thoughts, experiences etc might be of use to anyone else who is going through the same things or has a partner or knows someone who has had a heart attack or has problems with, say, the side-effects of the medication. I think that a lot of my health problems are caused by the side-effects of  the medication, particularly statins (for example, muscle cramps, particularly in the stomach. I have now discovered that drinking some fizzy drinks such as Lucozade, can help relieve these side-effects, along with taking mint capsules, which I have on prescription.) I have not had a really bad angina attack, having been prescribed with isoborbide mononitrate. This working in the same way as the glyceryl trinitrate pump spray which I used to use if I had a really bad paid with an angina attack, as it opens up the arteries and allows better blood flow. I take these tables twice a day, at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I am writing a novel. This, since the beginning of writing this blog. I never thought that it would develop the way it has gone, but I am really getting into my stride now. I'm currently reading Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo (the novel which is the basis for the musical and soon-to-be-released film version.) I'm quite amazed by this. It is an almighty work of fiction, some 1,500 pages. I am being influenced in my own attempts at writing, not necessarily by the story or the characters, but by the construction (ie. multiple storylines and characters that intertwine.)  For those who have not read this novel, I can recommened it, and in particular the version I am reading currently. It in a new translation by Julie Rose, and is in paperback, published by Vintage Classics.  The ISBN number is: 9780099529965 for those of you who want to find it in whatever catalogue or computer system you are likely to use. In Waterstone's, the British bookstore, it is currently on display, or was when we went to the Oxford branch two weeks ago.(no doubt in preparation for the imminent release of the film.) In America it was published by The Modern Library. There are good notes at the back, which are always useful for a novel of this sort.

Mixed Weather and Water Meters

It was quite cold and miserable early this morning, but the sun was out. There was a strange sky, in that the sun seemed to light up the clouds in a sort of pinkish glow. There has been rain, but as I write this, it's stopped.

We now have water meters. There were workmen along the road last week digging up the path along the front of all the houses. I think there was already  plumbing for meters, but they weren't connected. They put up barriers around the work, which have since been moved. We did get notification of this several weeks ago from Anglian Water, so it shouldn't be a surprise.

Thinking about the title for this post: it's somewhat enigmatic. It would make you want to find out more if you read it. What has mixed weather got to do with water meters? If you didn't know what a water meter was, you might want to find out by reading the post. A good title for a short story or even a novel. Perhaps, even a chapter in a novel.

Novel Writing . . .continuing

I've written a quite large section of my novel over the last couple of days. The biggest part of writing a novel is plotting. Once you have some sort of structure, writing is relatively easy. It's a bit like scaffolding for a building, it has to be in place before the brickies can go in and build the walls, put in the windows, doors and roof etc etc. If I know where the plot is going, as I say, the writing is staightforward. 'Story arc' as it's often referred to. As there are several plots that don't seem related, but do have connections, that makes it all the more complicated. I must say I'm really pleased with how it's going.

Noisy Neighbours . . .again!

Strange sounds coming from 'next door.'  Drilling, a weird scraping or scratching sound. What's new? I saw a van draw up outside the house, and, looking out of the window, a load of workmen removing the garden fence next door. It would appear that they are having all new fencing. Will this effect us here? I doubt it. Our landlord doesn't seem too keen to spend a lot of money on fencing, even though it is well past it's best, bits are leaning precariously and need serious attention. You may recall in an earlier post I had trouble with our Yorkshire Terrier, Alfie, escaping through a hole in afore-mentioned fence. If the fence was in a poor condition then, it is far worse, and we've the winter to get through yet. As I write, there is absolutely no fence next door. Bits of old fence laying about (I tell all this as I can see directly into their garden.) and a stack of brand new fence leaning against ours. I hope it doesn't push ours over. Or, on second thoughts, perhaps it should, so we get ours replaced.

Novel Writing

I have been attempting to write a novel for the past two years or so. I haven't mentioned it on here in much detail, as I hadn't got enough to discuss, so it might be of interest to someone reading here. I say 'novel' because it is really a collection of inter-related stories. 

I was inspired, if that's the correct term, having watched such shows on television as 'EastEnders.' I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan, basically because the story-lines and characters are so un-interesting. I began to have an idea to try and produce something of my own, with storylines which connect to one another in some way.

One of the reasons I hate EastEnders, and 'soaps' in particular (television companies like to be somewhat snobbish and refer to them as 'continuing dramas.') is that they tend to rely on stock characters and storylines. In most cases they are so predictable. The same plots are used over and over again, and, with a bit of close observation, you can almost always tell what is going to happen next. I have read a really brilliant book called "The Seven Basic Plots" by Christopher Booker, where he describes what are supposed to be the seven plots that keep being re-cycled in either novels, plays, films or any work of fiction. They include, The Quest, The Comedy, Tragedy,  Overcoming The Monster, Voyage and Return, Rags-To-Riches and Rebirth. (Published by Continuum, and  first published in 2004.) In soap, you can be sure that there will be a big storyline at Christmas, some revelation, some plot detail that will be revealed over Christmas, and it is just a way to boost audience numbers. Whenever a character is to be written out (this usually coincides with an actor deciding they no longer want to stay with the show, or their contract is up for renewal.) the scriptwriters have a field day coming up with a storyline whereby that character meets a sticky end, for example, under the wheels of a tram in Blackpool or dies of some incurable disease (ie. as they did with Pat in EastEnders.) Or, there is some terrible accident and the character ends up in hospital, in intensive care, unconcious, on a life-support machine, with the nearest members of the family at the bedside. Then it is dragged on for weeks on end and eventually the character dies, or if they decide to remain in the show and sign their contract for a further couple of years and they manage to have their pay increased considerably, they come out of the coma and survive.

As I say, this is a collection of inter-related stories and characters. I haven't, as yet, managed to find a way to link them more firmly together, but I'm sure I will eventually find a way to 'bind' them together. There are many novelists who use this technique to create their storylines, most notably Charles Dickens. There is usually a central character, whose life unfolds as the narration develops (such as Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.) Characters come and go throughout the story, and it isn't until around the end of the novel that we discover how they have affected the life of the main character/s. I will post more on here as and when I feel inclined, so keep on reading.