My attitude towards it doesn't make much sense. I thoroughly enjoyed writing it but it's taking me ages to edit.
I can understand putting off something unpleasant for as long as possible, but why would you keep putting off something pleasant?
That's something I keep asking myself. So I really need to grasp the nettle, grab the bullet and many other non procrastination phrases and simply get on with it.
The problem with leaving it so long between edits is I have forgotten where I'm up to and where I finished last time and so might have to start again at the beginning.
Eventually I'm going to have to read it all through again or rather have it read to me again. Once the edits have been completed, and I'm going to give myself a deadline of the end of May, it will be time to find out how to publish it on Amazon.
I'm hoping to have a day next week retracing my childhood steps for the final chapter. Yesterday I stared at an image on the internet. It was of Dixon's store in Reepham Road in Hellesdon which is a suburb of Norwich. To be precise I stared at numbers 157 and 159 and I was as close to tears as it's possible for a pretty non emotional person to get.
Dixon's is now the catch all name for a number of franchise businesses - 20 in all I believe. It will be a strange feeling wandering through those shops. Dixon's has the two addresses because my parents' greengrocers was at 157 and the Dixon family bought us out which allowed them to expand from their original shop at 159.
I think I've only been in the shop as it now is once before, so it will be super interesting. And the nostalgia and emotional bit will be to once again walk in the part of what is now their shop that was once my home for the first 11 or 12 years of my life. It's making me feel strange just thinking about it. What have they done with the bedroom I was born in and the bedroom where I slept every night and are they now accessible to the public or used as storerooms?
What kind of memories will resurface? I'm just a little bit scared which might sound ridiculous but I guess it's unusual to have such easy access to a place you used to live and have long since left.
It's also a strange thought that literally thousands of people will have wandered round a place that by and large holds happy memories for me.
How will I react? I have no idea. Will I view things from an historic rather than emotional point of view? Will I find ghosts around every corner or will I just be able to detach my thoughts? What will be my feelings if I have a coffee in the cafe which could be very close to where I drank stuff and I deliberately use the word stuff as I can't remember exactly what I drank. It would probably be fruit squash or an occasional cup of tea. I have no recollection of where or when I had my first cup of coffee or what I thought of it. This is the minutiae that I try to dredge back from my memory, often unsuccessfully. I can remember dinners ( here in Norfolk we had breakfast at breakfast time, dinner at midday and tea at 6 pm and not breakfast, lunch and dinner.) We also had supper before going to bed which probably wasn't great for the digestion.
I will have a drink and something to eat in the cafe for old times' sake, for research purposes (which sounds a bit clinical) and of course for nostalgia. And more importantly I will come home and finish my book (honest) as this will be either the final chapter or the afterword.
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Sorry but I have to mention football. Woke up yesterday morning with a feeling of excitement and anticipation.
"Wish it was 3pm," I thought to myself as I ate breakfast.
"Wish it was 3 pm," I thought to myself as I watched the rain.
And just like that 3 pm arrived and it was what is known as squeaky bum time. Now football fans will know what I'm talking about. As for non football fans well some explanation is needed and I will try to make the next part of this blog as interesting as possible irrespective of whether you are a football fan or loathe the game.
Norwich have had what might be defined as a disappointing season that has suddenly threatened to change to one of excitement. Not so long ago we were languishing in 17th place in the Championship and there were calls for manager David Wagner to be sacked. I admit I was one of those voices and in some ways still am.
But suddenly there was a resurgence as we won matches and climbed the league to be in a position that better reflected the players we have at the club.
So fast forward to yesterday where we knew that a win over Swansea would virtually ensure us of a play off place. It ended in a 2-2 draw and something of an anti climax at the end as the players did a lap of thanks with rather sheepish looks on their faces. They took so long to come out for this lap that the stadium was two thirds empty by the time they did.
With Ipswich and Hull also drawing it means we are virtually certain of making the play offs unless we lose heavily to Birmingham which isn't likely. That means we will be competing against three other clubs for the final promotion place. Won't explain that any more as I'm sure you are fed up with me going on about football.
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Before going to the match we had some time to shop although getting into Norwich was difficult as there were traffic jams and police cars flying around as if something was happening as it probably was. I used my knowledge of Norwich back roads to head off most of the traffic and eventually got parked.
We ate at Bread Sauce in Upper St Giles. It was good if a touch expensive, but the seating to eat in was a bit random and higgledy piggledy. The tables were high and we only had one stool. So I sat on that because the other four fifths said she was happy on a chair.
Then another stool became available and a member of staff brought it over to us.
"Here you are. Now you can gaze lovingly into each other's eyes," she said as she replaced the chair with the stool.
I couldn't help thinking that boat had long sailed!
We then had a walk to the St Benedict's area of Norwich and I found a charity bookshop run for amnesty that I had never seen before. In I went for some time.
Now I need to write 250 times:
I must not buy any more books
I must not buy any more books
I must not buy any more books
I must not buy any more books
So I bought a biography of Thomas Hardy for the princely sum of £1 and will add that to my pile of books to read. I also bought a book on memories of the 1950s which will bring back lots of memories and probably lots of material for future blogs.
I must not buy any more books
I must not buy any more books.
Only 244 to go.
On the way to the football ground we popped through Norwich market. There was a stall selling incense and the like and for a few seconds I thought I was back in the early seventies (peace man). Aah the smell of those heady days.
I also had a wander around the Potter gate area of the city. My main reason for this was to take a photograph of Holkham House which was built for Robert Brettingham and designed by Matthew Brettingham. The photos are to go with Laurie Brettingham's life story which I have mentioned a number of times.
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On Saturday morning TV there was an item about retro gaming. Gaming has become so sophisticated but there are still people out there who enjoy playing with Gameboys. I remember our boys having one of them. Before that I had a ZX Spectrum with it's rubber keys and there was even a model before that and I had one of those as well. Was it called a ZX 81?
I remember buying games magazines with pages of coding to input in order to get the most basic of games. One wrong key pressed and it wouldn't work and you had to go back and check through it all or just give up. You had to feed games into these early computers using a tape player and cassettes and that made a huge noise and often didn't work. It was all very problematic and now all so retro.
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Can't believe that for prime time Saturday night television the BBC was showing a Blankety Blank game show repeat that was first shown only a few weeks ago.
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There could be life on another planet that could be covered in water we are told. Has anyone seen the disaster of a film entitled Water World which shipped money quicker than the Titanic sank?
When we discuss life on another planet we always assume the rules that allow life on earth. Isn't it possible that other life forms can live via materials and elements different to those found here?
Scene: A planet millions of light years from earth. Two alien life forms sit on a hill or whatever they have to sit on, presuming they do sit and not stand all the time. They stare at the sky or whatever they call it.
Alien One - There's some kind of machine up there. I think we're being invaded and attacked. The aliens are here.
Alien Two - I thought we were the aliens.
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I must not buy any more books.
Only 243 to go