My LJ friend and fellow scribbler of poetry Veronica Milvus suggested that I 'share' my attempt to curtail my alcohol intake here on Live Journal. I was, and still am, a little dubious about that suggestion, but here I am.
Well, already had a post-bath cider and one martini (one martini being six gins slightly laced with vermouth to anyone else). I have purposely not stocked up on gin and it looks like there are only a couple of measures left in the bottle.

Though must admit to feeling very tired and in no mood to hammer the sauce tonight - my Belfast buddy and fellow Guinness lover, Greer, was visiting from his home in Tenerife this weekend which resulted in many pints of the black stuff and I think that's just caught up with me today.
On the Sunday I met one of the worst kind of drunks - she was loud and abusive to the staff (merely because she had to wait for all of 5 seconds for her lager while the barmaid was taking a booking over the phone). I hate rude behaviour so I made it known to her that if she was so desperate for alcohol then she should be treating the purveyors of which with respect. I must admit to feeling a little foolish after my rant but it did bring to fruitition two unexpected results - 1, the woman shut up and didn't pour a drink over my head, and 2, I got a kiss on the cheek from the young barmaid upon leaving.

To finish the gin or to not finish the gin...

If humanity were to become extinct I doubt it would be a great loss, and the most important lesson for any replacement/usurping species would be 'don't open a Macdonalds - tastes shit!'

Yes - a strange request indeed, particularly from one who does not post here that often.

This is by no means a cry for attention or anything so ghastly - but a friend and I recently worked out that my average nightly intake of alcohol (work night - so not including days off spent in the pub) was the equivalent of the recommended intake for a fortnight (not that I hold much with the recommended intake - evidently). I have friends who I can, and have, spoken to about this, and though being very concerned and accomodating most of those friends really like a drink too so I could just as easily find myself drinking 6 - 8 pints in a discussion about curtailing alcohol intake (I know - hardly enough to get rid of the taste of toothpaste is it!).

About 15 years ago I got to a stage of drinking brandy for breakfast before going to work and managed to pull myself back from that - recently managed a seven day dry spell (yes, what a hero! But believe me it felt like a long time). I refuse to attend help-groups and such, so wondered if anyone on LJ has experience or advice for curtailing the drink (Please note - Brett does not wish to quit! Though I am aware how that reads). Would appreciate any comments.

'Potential friends'seems odd termoligy - people either become friends of mine or they don't, I
don't hold auditions or interviews. Humour is always good in a friend, loyalty is a major part of friendship but that also includes the loyalty to tell a friend a truth they may not wish to hear.
I've many friends of all age groups, thankfully all individuals, I suppose that a sense of humour, particularly self-deprication, is a common trait in them, but I certainly don't consider there to be a prerequisite (as long as they're not a nazi, KKK, BNP, or any other of that ilk and will stand me a pint I'm sure we'll get on).

Quintet de Hot Club de France, because then I could play guitar like Django Reinhardt!

Far too many to choose from, but probably Bessie Smith or Django Reinhardt. Or Billie Holiday.
Or Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Jimi Hendrix...

I'm baffled. Ok, time of the year and work has gone a little slack (don't sob, we have work on, just not a vast amount - but you can never tell week to week). The other day a neighbour approached my brother and I requesting he wanted some pieces of flat bar bent then welded on to the four ends of his existing car roofrack (for tying and clamping purposes).

"No problem," we replied (well not both of us in synchronicity) "Call it twenty quid as it's a favour?"

The prospective winner scratched his head "I don't think you'll be able to do it for that."

"16 inch of off-cut steel, that's free to you, twenty pounds and we'll do it for the weekend"

"No, I can't see you doing it for just twenty."

"Are you trying to haggle the price up? Ok, thirty, forty, but to you it's twenty."

Not snatching our hand off he never had it done.

The work's there, it's just the customers can't bloody see it.

If I could only listen to one CD for the rest of my life I would cut that life short or stop being a music lover. Why? I possess an attention span. What a stupid f*****g question.

Definitely spend it with my loved one - last meal; whatever she wanted me to cook for her (providing there was a few decent bottles of wine involved).

She would already know, but I would still say it. As for 'sorry' that would be for her too.

I can only speak as an amateur writer, but I think that considering a reader's or an audience's reaction essential if you want your work to be seen by others, otherwise one falls into self-indulgence. I would say that considering the reaction of others enhances the creative process as it makes you more aware of what you are producing and gives reason for harsh criticism of self.

Definitely prefer to go it alone (regarding the company of other human beings) but I always feel better for striding out with the dogs across the fields - and if that doesn't work there is always the company of a decent malt whisky to sweat it out, and a good old classic movie to watch.

Something I received and really hope these are not genuine;


A DC airport ticket agent offers some examples of 'why' our country is
> in trouble!
>
> 1.I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman (Carol Shea-Porter) ask for an
> aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the
> window. (On an airplane!)
>
> 2.I got a call from a Kansas Congressman's (Moore) staffer (Howard
> Bauleke), who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the
> length of the flight and the passport information, and then he
> interrupted me with, ''I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but
> Capetown is in Massachusetts .''
>
> Without trying to make him look stupid, I calmly explained, ''Cape Cod
> is in Massachusetts , Capetown is in Africa''
>
> his response -- click.
>
> 3. A senior Vermont Congressman (Bernie Sanders) called, furious about
> a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in
> Orlando . He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to
> explain that's not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the
> state.
>
> He replied, 'don't lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida is a
> very thin state!'' (OMG)
>
> 4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife (Landra Reid) who asked, ''Is
> it possible to see England from Canada ?''
>
> I said, ''No.''
>
> She said, ''But they look so close on the map.'' (OMG, again!)
>
> 5.An aide for a cabinet member (Janet Napolitano) once called and
> asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. I pulled up the reservation
> and noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas . When I asked him
> why he wanted to rent a car, he said, ''I heard Dallas was a big
> airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time.''
> (Aghhhh)
>
> 6.An Illinois Congresswoman (Jan Schakowsky) called last week. She
> needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left
> at 8:30 a.m., and got to Chicago at 8:33 a.m.
>
> I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois , but she
> couldn't understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the
> plane went fast, and she bought that.
>
> 7. A New York lawmaker, (Jerrold Nadler) called and asked, ''Do
> airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose
> luggage belongs to whom?'' I said, 'No, why do you ask?'
>
> he replied, ''Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag
> on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very
> rude!''
>
> After putting him on hold for a minute, while I looked into it. (I was
> dying laughing). I came back and explained the city code for Fresno ,
> Ca. is (FAT - Fresno Air Terminal), and the airline was just putting a
> destination tag on his luggage..
>
> 8. A Senator John Kerry aide (Lindsay Ross) called to inquire about a
> trip package to Hawaii . After going over all the cost info, she
> asked, ''Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the
> train to Hawaii ?''
>
> 9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman, Bobby Bright
> from Ala who asked, ''How do I know which plane to get on?''
>
> I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, ''I was told
> my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on
> them.''
>
> 10. Senator Dianne Feinstein called and said, ''I need to fly to
> Pepsi-Cola , Florida . Do I have to get on one of those little
> computer planes?''
>
> I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola , FL on a commuter plane.
>
> She said, ''Yeah, whatever, smarty!''
>
> 11. Mary Landrieu La. Senator called and had a question about the
> documents she needed in order to fly toChina . After a lengthy
> discussion about passports, I reminded her that she needed a visa.
> 'Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have
> one of those.''
>
> I double checked and sure enough, her stay required a visa. When I
> told her this she said, ''Look, I've been toChina four times and every
> time they have accepted my American Express!''
>
> 12. A New Jersey Congressman (John Adler) called to make reservations,
> ''I want to go from Chicago to Rhino,New York .''
>
> I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, ''Are you sure that's the
> name of the town?''
>
> 'Yes, what flights do you have?'' replied the man.
>
> After some searching, I came back with, ''I'm sorry, sir, I've looked
> up every airport code in the country and can't find a rhino anywhere."
>
> ''The man retorted, ''Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is.
> Check your map!''
>
> So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, ''You
> don't mean Buffalo , do you?''
>
> The reply? ''Whatever! I knew it was a big animal.''
>
> Now you know why the Government is in the shape that it's in!
>
> Could anyone be this DUMB?
>
> YES, THEY WALK AMONG US, ARE IN POLITICS, AND THEY CONTINUE TO BREED


I did warn you!

Purple Peril threw me these five (very well chosen) words.

Poetry - Yes, a passion of mine, or perhaps I should say that good poetry is a passion of mine and mediocre verse a passtime (as you may well see further down). I read poetry for years without really knowing what made it poetry, the words I relished yet was ignorant of the craft - a little like being in awe of the architecture of a cathedral without ever seeing the stonemason in action. The past couple of years studying poetic form and reading much more widely, particularly contemporary poets, have enabled me to appreciate the craft - or at least instilled the arrogance to read a poem and say "That stinks!". A poem, and I mean a really good poem, I can enjoy again and again, and if the poet skilled enough I may find more to the piece with each read - not that poetry must be full of metaphor and hidden meaning; a funny sonnet by Sophie Hannah or Wendy Cope is just as enjoyable - a laugh is not to be sneezed at!

Metal - Some days I am sick of the site of the stuff, but I am fascinated by its uses in fabrication and engineering - steel is something that people often associate with strength but the truth is it is so easily forged and manipulated. It has also offered me several metaphors and poems - allow me to embarrass you all with this one:

To Fettle the Welds

'A man who works with his hands is a laborer. A man who works with his
hands and his brain is a craftsman. A man who works with his hands, brains,
and heart is an artist.'
Louis Nizer

The base materials, dense, drip oil from his rack.
Some solid as consonants, others hollow as vowels,
enticing manipulation over the anvil's back,
or desiring to be smoothly rolled during an intimate hour.

Our artist, though, must delay such sensuous delights
and study the drawings, purpose, structure of his work.
Once all is measured, marked, its ghost in sight,
the rack then offers sacrifices for the birth.

A metre is mitred with the precision of a Mec Brown's blade.
Hollows, solids fused for a crude blank frame.
Ornamental finials stand proud on the palisade,
and decorative scrolls within - a steel refrain.

Now all that's left for him is to fettle the welds -
steadily, mercilessly polishing all as smooth
as the ringing of belted metal, as caramel,
as the mythical honey trickled into the ear by the muse.



Wales -  Everywhere in the natural world is beautiful, whether it be the South American rain forests or the Antarctic, but, to me Wales will always seem more so. I once heard somebody say that it was hard to feel romantic about your own back yard, that familiarity ceases the sense of wonder - I have to disagree. One of the very familiar walks to me is the woods around and below Bryn Twr (Tower Hill) at the back of Abergele - only the other day one of the dogs flushed out a young deer and it ran past me at an arm's length, how could one get too familiar with something like that?

Books - One of my many weaknesses. The tattooed spines of tomes line the walls of my bedroom like a thousand concubines. I openly admit to having far too many editions of Shakespeare, the Sherlock Holmes canon, and Homer, and having spent far too much money on them. Though books do furnish a room it is a sin not to read them (and as I said with a good poem, the same goes for a real good novel - it can be enjoyed time after time) and I am ashamed that I have a mounting 'to be read' pile. It is due to books that I have slept on the floor for the past few years - I was in dire need of another bookcase, but there just wasn't room for it with the bed in the way, so the bed had to go. No question.

Beer - Beer, wine, spirits, ahh! I feel this could be far too long a tale to tell, and there are far too many anecdotes that would sidetrack me - I really must tell you about the time I woke up in a skip one morning. I'm afraid this is a long love affair that needs to be told in stages on another day.

No. 'Everything' is a pronoun meaning 'all the things of a group' , or a colloquialism meaning 'a great deal/amount' , or of the essence; 'knowledge is everything', or to posses all desired. So, no, I think its explanation lies in linguistics rather than science.

As for anything else in the world I have not a clue...

Hard steel all morning,
paperwork all afternoon.
Tonight - gin and verse.

No conversion needed as I don't hold any religion - this does not mean that I have not read the texts, dogmas, and philosophies of various religions, and though there is much to be admired in some teachings or parables they only preach what a decent human being should already know/feel - I have learnt as much from the Bible or Qur'an than I have from Plato, Nietzsche, or just good friends and people I have known. If you need a dogma telling you how to live/react and the assurance of ever lasting life/guilt then, pardon me...Jesus Christ almighty!

A pub with no beer.

About 10 years long!