Archive for August, 2004

The Light of Day by Graham Swift

Posted on August 30, 2004 ~ Filed Under Culture

I’ve just finished The Light of Day, a novel by Graham Swift. It won the Booker Prize, which is what prompted me to buy it and read it. It’s an interesting book – a day in the life of a man looking back on an event two years earlier and on his life. It’s slightly [...]

What an awful book

Posted on August 25, 2004 ~ Filed Under Culture

Well, I’m reading one of Dan Brown’s books at the moment and I’m not enjoying it. His books have been topping the book sales charts for ages, and Sarah bought the Da Vinci Code for the train journey to Crodye. On the strength of that, she bought three more of his books and I’m now [...]

Paddle, paddle, whoosh, paddle, paddle, pop-up, stay low, weight forward, look to the horizon, go for a turn, splash!, GRIN

Posted on August 18, 2004 ~ Filed Under Diary

Yes, we went surfing again at the weekend and it truly rocked. We went back to Croyde Bay, which made it feel like we’d had one holiday there in two parts. It was made especially surreal by staying in the same room in the same B&B. The advantage of this boring option was that we [...]

Is ‘dyke’ offensive?

Posted on August 11, 2004 ~ Filed Under Culture

Richard Madeley has been criticised by Ofcom and apologised for using the word ‘dyke’ on the Richard and Judy show recently. Apparantly, Richard thought the word was now in common usage and no longer considered offensive or homophobic. I have to say I agree, but then I am reminded, again and again, of what a [...]

Marketing advice needed

Posted on August 10, 2004 ~ Filed Under Culture

Company names, taglines, ad campaigns… we’ve had clever, we’ve had ironic, we’ve had boring, but these few I have seen recently deserve a special mention of their own.
First up, a dark blue van I saw on my driving lesson around Bloomsbury a few weeks ago. In glorious white lettering, it read:
KNIFE SHARPENING COMPANY
Then, just [...]

Surfing in Croyde Bay

Posted on August 2, 2004 ~ Filed Under Diary

So, this weekend Sarah and I went surfing in Croyde Bay, Devon. We took Friday off and took the outrageously expensive train to Barnstaple, followed by a bus to Croyde Bay. It only took about 6 hours door to door. Only. Ahem.
We stayed at Atlantis B&B (website, surreally, all about ‘Christine’s 40th’), which has [...]