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Moving Back

At the end of this month, we will be moving back to Brno. Its just a couple of hundred kilometers down the D1 (main highway in the Czech Republic). We’ll be moving back into our place which means we might finally finish it. I will miss Prague mainly because of its open spaces. Behind us is a huge valley that goes on for miles and in front of us a huge park. Of course, there is the old city and the castle and …. well I could go on for a long time about Prague and how beautiful it is. But its also quite a big city and getting places takes time and is often inconvenient. Brno on the other hand is considerably smaller and to be honest, uglier. Its

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Book Stuff

Periodically, but with decreasing frequency, I have another shot at promoting my novel The Last Observer. I ran out of ideas a while ago on how to promote it to be honest. I was hoping it would do quite well and maybe drag a few of my other books along with it but I am forced to conclude that I need to start writing eroticism to make a break through. My best sellers remain my business books and my very best selling book has now sold more then 1,700 copies. It doesn’t sound a lot does it but to be honest I am amazed. There were 300 give away copies of that book too so there are actually 2,000 of them floating around. I wouldn’t ever have believed there were

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Wonderful Memories

There are some nights when finding myself alone I end up walking the pages of Youtube. Its a veritable memory lane really and it brings back such powerful and emotional memories. There is the video of Sandie Shaw that reminds me of our black and white TV with curtains in the small living room of the two up two down that was home in Westlands Road, Hull. I would sneek down to watch Top of the Pops and I do remember how I hated the Rolling Stones but adored Ms. Shaw. Cuddled in beside my Mum on the sofa watching the black and white box in the corner. How innocent I was… we all seemed to be back in the 1960s. Later we moved to Willerby…. it was a ‘posh’

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The One Star

The one star What does that mean? Is it a teacher’s kiss Or are you being mean? A one star Signals more than dislike It’s a slap in the face For even trying to write Single solitary star Twinkling not so bright Certainly no hexagram You must think its pure shite

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That Time of The Year

Usually, as the cold leaden skies of February march onwards and inexorably towards spring, I find myself at the doctors. It could be a chest infection, some non-specific but painful ache or indeed any number of ailments. I know this because last year, my doctor noticed it. Every year, around March time, there is a spike in doctor visits from me. His diagnosis was that I suffer from SAD. Yep – Seasonal Affective Disorder….. otherwise known as seasonal depression. At first, I was a bit taken aback by this diagnosis but there it was right in front of me as the Doctor showed me how I am rarely if ever at the Doctor at all until the February-April period and then I am there frequently moaning about something. By the

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I Used To Dream

I used to dream Imagine how things might be Created thousands of lives for me As singer, sailor, spy Conceivably, I have done everything That one could ever do But none of it was true. I used to dream Imagine strange places off afar And the long leisurely drives there by car In BMW, Mercedes, Porsche I have driven everything Far and wide and at some speed too But none of it was true I used to dream Imagine how things had once been History lived, experienced and seen As King, Prince, Earl I have charmed and dined Fought and loved, but right on cue I knew none of it was true I once had a dream Lived it every day and every night It didn’t work out quite right

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The Importance of Asking Questions

Some days I wonder. About everything. I mean, there is a lot to wonder about isn’t there? Why do men have nipples? Why don’t Czech men know about deodorant? Why is GOD DOG spelt backwards? Why does Wayne Rooney get paid so much money? What happened to Trilobites? That sort of question. Questions to which there are really no definitive answers. My favorite question is ‘What am I?’ I see and interact with a world that I sense but I at times of perhaps total lunacy entertain the idea that it is My world. There is only me. Everything is me. It maybe sounds arrogant but I don’t mean it that way. There is just a gulf between the real (me) and what seems to be real (the world) that

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Finding an Audience

How do you find an audience? Some people manage it. Others don’t. Is it luck? I don’t think it is necessarily talent – although my perceptions of talent my not be your view. I have blogged and written pretty much twice or more a week on this and other blogs since about 2004 or around 10-years. I don’t have much of an audience. My books don’t sell well. I have failed to find an audience. The hint though on how to build an audience was always right there. My single blog post about sex in the Czech Republic still gets more traffic than all my other writings put together. Is that a sad indictment of me or just a sad indictment full stop? Maybe I should give up? When I

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Playing with iMovie

I got an iMAC for my birthday!!!! Its a beautiful machine it really is.Though ham fisted amateur with video and stuff, I thought I’d play around with iMovie…. This is my first attempt and its a book trailer for The Last Observer. Once I figure out how it really works, maybe I will get better but I had fun ….

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Disillusionment

I am bitterly disappointed with people I really am. Over the last 20+ years, I have watched on as people became increasingly bitter about their lots. People seem to expect something for nothing and life handed to them on a plate. If they can’t have it then they’ll take it and if they can’t take it then they will do their very best to make sure no one else can have it either. Jealousy. Pure and simple. People are jealous. Everyone wants what everyone else has. People blame everyone and everything but themselves for their demise too. They blame the government, the rich, the unions, climate change, immigrants, muslims, christians, gays, gypsies…. anyone and everything when they simply need to accept responsibility for their own lot in life. As a

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