Puttin' on the Ritz

This cute wee graffito lives just round the corner from my house.  It has survived undamaged for a long time, maybe a year.  Genius.

The Night Watch

I recently finished reading Sarah Waters' "The Night Watch" which I enjoyed very much.  It starts in London in 1947 and then goes back to 1944 and finishes in 1941. So rather than discover the outcome of certain events, the reader retraces the various pathways of the characters to uncover why people or events became the way they are.  A very simple devise and very engaging.

The book is set around London after and during WW2 and is largely concerned with the bombing raids, which form a backdrop for the characters.

I saw Sarah Waters give a reading from this book before it was published and then forgot all about it until the other week when I was looking for something to read on the train.  Glad I came across it.

feed://community.livejournal.com/vintagephoto/data/atom

I found this atomspheric photo today on the above address.  I paticularly like the hidden mother ("Paging Dr Freud...).  The vintage photo site is always worth a look and is added to daily.

Evening Light

Here's a photo I took on the way home yesterday.  I was walking west along Sauchiehall Street and the sun was doing it's swan song, pouring silver light all over the street.

Writing Retreat, Taraloka

Following the Lojong Retreat I continued on my "buddhist holidays" with a week long writing retreat led by Dhammagita and Srivati.  This was quite spacious and easy-going and it was good to just do some new writing and have lots of space.  Nothing very remarkable happened but it was a pleasure to be there.  Here's a haiku:

yellow marigold

like the clown in the garden

laughing at the rose.

Thanks Dhammagita and Srivati for a rich and satisfying time.