A brief history of time. Very brief. I'm talking the last year kind of brief.

Time. It's a funny thing isn't it.

Sigh. Yes, this is about to get heavy.

What is it with the minutes, hours, days, week, months that gives them the right to just carrying on passing without making sure that I'm getting stuff done. I think the general consensus is that time is much less tolerant of writers. Even now as I sit here I am certain that time I am moving in slow-mo as the world around me speeds through seconds and minutes like Alanis Morissette in the video to 'Thank You' except with more clothes on. 

It's sort of the opposite effect that Hammy gets in Over the Hedge after he drinks an energy drink:

The last year in particular has been one massive, wonderful, exhausting, enlightening, terrible and terrific blur and I'm sad that it's over.  I feel like I've travelled so far in such a short space of time and as things begin to slow and I reflect back on a year that has given me so much hope in my career and life in general,  let's hope I'm not stood still for too long, because it's chilly up north. Especially when you cant afford pyjamas like our Alanis. 

I better pass this bloody MA now, or I will be deleting this and all similarly upbeat (yes upbeat!) posts.

Oh and seen as we're reflecting on the past, if you would like to have a look at some of my earlier snippets of writing in the form of film reviews, here are a few links.

The Wrestler
Slumdog Millionaire
Notorious

The END. For NOW... 

Don't Feed the Animals

The Zoo. It's an odd place isn't it, where children try to poke fingers through the lion cages and scuffle to get a glimpse through the glass at empty reptile tanks.

But what if we saw the world through the eyes of the animals staring back at us? 

The pilot episode of Don't Feed the Animals introduces us to three different perspectives of life in Durnovaria Zoo on the day of its relaunch.

Meet Winston, a self-confessed thesp and luvvie chameleon as he battles to keep his colour long enough to show his not-so adoring public what he's made of; Gertrude, counsellor and all round hypochondriac warthog who reluctantly resides in the petting zoo; And Chanelle and Rodney, a couple of pandas going through the motions as we delve deeper into their relationship problems.     

The radio play was produced and conceived by Mog McIntyre and written by myself, Rick Maughan and Graeme Comrie and can be found here.

Happy listening!

Evidence-Interactive: The radio play what I wrote.

Well after much hard work from my partner in crime, Lorenza Samuels, the Evidence-Interactive website is up and running.

So if you would like to while away an hour or two investigating the disappearance of Emily Simons, click on the link below to take a look at the evidence table and solve the crime.

http://evidence-interactive.co.uk/

Or you can listen to the radio play in full by clicking on the bottom centre notice on the home page.

Enjoy!

Writer's Block

The title of this post may have you thinking its subject has something to with procrastination, laziness and all round non-constructiveness in relation to writing.

Fooled again dear reader for I bring you, as well as stolen puns, tales from the script and its metamorphoses from the humble written word to the sweet sound of the radio broadcast.

BIRSt, Bournemouth's Internet Radio Station have been broadcasting live for a fortnight from the 7th until 18th June. Nestled somewhere in the wonderfully varied and unique timetable of the station's output is BIRSt's Writer's Block - a four part drama serial produced by Lorenza Samuels and made up of five minute slots starting with one writer and continued by another and so on. 

I wrote the second part of the serial which originally aired on BIRSt Live on the 11th June. The only rule I had to abide by when writing was the inclusion of certain words and one single action that were suggested to BIRSt via Twitter, Facebook and Email. If you're feeling in a playful mood, try and guess what they were.. 

Answers in the post below - and no cheating!!

Writer's Block - The Answers

Hopefully it wasn't completely obvious which words/actions I had to sneak into the play or I fear I failed completely!

Although I would like to add, in a pathetic attempt to defend myself, none of the words/phrases were exactly what you would class as 'everyday':

Cumberbund (Possibly the oddest word in the world in my opinion)

Espionage (This word rarely comes up in conversation unless someone's isn't that good at said career choice)

Bamboozle (Anybody else use to play this game on teletext? No, just me. Ok then..)
Action: Accidentally stepping into a waste paper basket 

A blast from the past

Do you remember this toy ad from the 80s?

Of course you don't. Because Lots-o-Huggin' bear doesn't exist except in the fabulously well realised imaginations of the creatives at Pixar studios as they put the finishing touches to the long awaited animation Toy Story 3. If it wasn't brilliant enough that they created a concept whereby they practically designed their own merchandise, viral videos such as this show their dedication to making you believe in the magic. I could have owned a Lots-o-Huggin' bear instead of a Care Bear (Sunshine bear, just in case you were wondering) and I remember ads just like this one. This commercial would have fitted quite nicely in between a 'Baby wee wee' and 'My Little Pony' ad. But what I love about this ad, complete with the dodgy tracking making you believe its been recorded on VHS, is that this isn't for the little ones who will one day have their own memories of toy ads. It's for all us grown-ups out there. Now as depressing as it is to refer to myself as one of these, I take great comfort in knowing that someone out there that cares about us oldies too. And so when I sit down in the cinema to watch Toy Story 3, I will be able to believe in the magic just as much as my 4 year old nephew sat next to me.

Toy Story 3 is released in Cinemas in the UK on July 23, 2010

'It's time's like these..'

Well the MA is drawing to a close and my major is fast approaching. Without any idea of what to write, one thing I know is that if it doesn't make people laugh even just a little bit, I'll be disappointed.

At the moment, I'm working on a 30 minute radio drama and even though I know it's supposed to be a really serious radio drama, I can't resist putting (and later deleting) the odd line of comedy to break the tension. I just can't help it and I think that often even in the most dramatic situations there is always a little bit of comedy to be found. It's what makes us human.

The moment in my life that symbolises this most is the point of complete heartbreak in my family, when my grandfather died suddenly. He was and is absolutely beloved by every member of my family. A lovely warm, funny and downright silly Grandad who spoiled his grand-daughters with fruit pastilles, mint imperials, Cadbury's Chocolate Eclairs and the odd trip to Blackpool or Lytham, St Annes. At his funeral we laid roses into his grave. They were yellow, his favourite colour, defining his bright, warm character so well. My mother, tearful herself and in an attempt to comfort her sobbing daughters tried to put her arm's around us all. And it was then that she uttered the words that have haunted her ever since: 'It's time's like these I wish I was an octopus.' And just like that the tears of sorrow turned to a mixture of laughter and love as the sun shone through the trees and we all wished Grandad was there to laugh with us.

It's his birthday today, he would've been 79. And even though I'll never hear him tell another joke or get him to pull his false teeth out before getting shouted at, I'll always remember the importance of comedy because inevitably, where you find laughter you also find love.