The Broad

I've gone and done it again. I've signed up for an ADSL connection from a provider called Zen on the recommendation of a colleague of mine. Well, if it goes wrong, I'll know who to blame. I've also ordered a wireless router and a WLAN card for my laptop (well, Siemens's laptop). Obviously, living in a one bedroom flat, I need my open WLAN. Now, if I can interface to my HDD recorder, I could rebroadcast material to watch in my bedroom.

I got a letter from Arvon telling me that the Breaking Boundaries course I want to go on was already full. Already???!!! It's not as though the 2003 programme has been publicised for very long. I rang up one of the other centres this morning. They had places left on only one of the courses I was interested in. I was told that by the time she had gone through the morning's mail, there probably wouldn't be any places left. I'm hoping to a novel writing course at the Inverness-shire centre. I rang yesterday and there were still places available, but today, who knows? The moral of this story is plainly seen. Book from Arvon course *early*.

The Brave

It looks like I probably have managed to bag a place at Moniack Mhor for the Novel Writing course in August. Well, it's not Shropshire. I'm a bit concerned it will be full of people who want to become part of the Glasgow hard man school of writing, or, just as bad, the Irvine Welsh school. Of course, if I'm lucky, it'll be more like "The Book Group". It only Jomsborg was more like that.

I'm told by someone who has been there, that Moniack Mhor is in the *middle* of nowhere. Better take a bottle of decent malt. And a couple of bottles of Cabernet-Merlot.

Restaurant Review: Assaggi

My first ClubSix event. Excellent Italian restaurant over the Chepstow pub in Notting Hill. I had seafood lasagne, liver (with a side order of mash and tomato and rocket with basil) and rice pudding. All three courses excellent. Portions were just the right size for me. No overfacing. THis is what I want with quality food of this kind. Some of my colleagues though had more to eat. Three bottles of Chianti Classico went down well. Luckily, no straw baskets in sight. I got dropped off outside my door on the way home. It cost me £1.40 to get there. The advantages of living in Zone 3. So much more of a drag from Woking.

It seems I am almost definitely *definitely* on the novel writing course in Scotland. Great! Something to look forward to. I must try and finish "Etsi Ketsi" by then. No small task. I'll feel better when I'm *definitely* definitely on it.