I am still reeling from the shock of yesterday’s story writing. It is not particularly original, and rather falls between genres so is probably not publishable, but I did write the whole thing in one go. It makes me think I should avoid plotting: all the stories I’ve completed tend to be episodic, leading towards […]
Eid
Eid was its usual understated to the point of non-existence self. I spoke to my father who was in a cheerful mood, but couldn’t face speaking to my grandmother which I shall no doubt regret. I did send her a message. My schoolfriends’ whatsapp group, which is normally an annoyance full of stupid forwarded memes […]
Onwards
I got some feedback on the astrolabe story. Some of it i’ve implemented, and the rest I’m still mulling over. I find it really hard to go back to a story I’ve finished and add on new materials. It becomes something of a whole in my mind. Anyhow, for now I’ve moved on to another […]
All night long
After returning to the flat from our superb meal, I did a spot of work and then pushed up the old sleeves and began cleaning. I scrubbed the bathroom and kitchen on my hands and knees, cleaning off stains that looked like they had been there for years. The kitchen sink is really terrible, with […]
The lazaretto
The morning started late. We decided to go down to Karantina which lies just across the big road from us. If one Googles it the main thing that comes up is a massacre of Palestinians that was one of the sparks of the civil war. Once, appropriately, it was a lazaretto, where travellers were kept […]
Bollard antibollard
On the way out to dinner, without noticing, I walked into one of the bollards that are strewn liberally down the narrowest Beirut pavements. I must have strode out particularly vigorously as it is really quite painful. Fortunately it was low enough to get me on the thigh rather than in the groin. Our dinner […]
Tusk
I was to meet the Gentleman Friend at the Kalei Cafe, where he was taking advantage of their superior internet connectoin to make some work calls. I went first to the Tusk Bakery just around the corner and bought a loaf of focaccia (thinking that given Lebanese proclivities a bread that rises and falls on […]
Up to the hills
A busy and very pleasant weekend. On Saturday we stayed in Beirut, first going to find some knafeh, a sweet cheese breakfast sort-of-pastry, then strolled through the rather odd Villa Audi museum. This is a merchant’s mansion that has a display of mosaics, but there were a couple of temporary exhibitions up that were just […]
What happened long ago
I spent the whole day in the flat yesterday, as editing had come in (a dissertation on migration). I can’t say it felt a particularly productive day, as I was scattered and found it hard to concentrate, and I could hardly bear to think about my memory room story. That is an odd side of […]
Time traveller
Wednesday was a lull between projects (late at night the next bit of work came in) so I did some accounting and refamiliarising myself with the memory room story. This is a longer novella, and I have been chewing over it for a very long time indeed. I think it’s promising, but let us see […]