THE NON-WRITING LIFE


Or what I did when I wasn't writing, over the last few weeks. Last weekend, we stayed with the lovely Chris & Penny Hill, something we normally do regularly, but not this year. On previous occasions, they've used karaoke games to demonstrate that a) they can sing, and b) I can't. This time Chris deployed Rock Band, but the mike wasn't working, so we could only demonstrate my inability to play a device that would like to be a guitar when it grows up. We watched Watchmen, too. Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodies, innit?

Last week, saw a play called Dolce Via, written by my cousin Siobhan Nicholas (her third), starring her and her husband Chris Barnes. Blimey. A blistering performance, to quote one of the critics.

Week before last, I taught analysis and design to a group of code ninjas, pirates and the Duke of Wellington -- actually a team of software engineers, each with a brain bigger than Jupiter. Thanks, guys!

Weekend before that, the wonderful Justina Robson paid a visit with her family, and we had a terrific time. Life's grand, really.