claytoncast

It won't come as a surprise to any regular readers of my jottings that I love shopping. I've mentioned it before. Indeed I have probably mentioned it on several occasions. I'm proud of the fact. Shopping for me can fill a few hours whether purchases are made or not. It's the fun of handling all the various potential buys, the comparing of the prices, the finding of that essential bargain, and the carrying of the bags home. (As long as they are bags from the right sort of shops of course!) I didn't get to do much retail in Berlin. Too much time spent eating dry bread! So this week, several visits into town to do some training, and do some dialogue dubbing have afforded me a couple of opportunities to pop into shops on that mecca of retail highways - Oxford Street. The excuse behind these visits was that I'm looking for a bag. A small to medium shoulder bag in black that will carry my iPad, a folder, and a few other odds and ends. Not that I don't ha...

This bear charges! It's normal practice in March for both Mr Howle and I to have a birthday.  Being traditionalists, they tend to be on the same day each year. Mine's on the 8th (note that for future toadying purposes all you followers!) and his is three days later on the 11th. This year, that meant they straddled a weekend, mine being on the Friday and his being the following Monday. Rich's treat on his birthday evening was a trip to see a preview of "The Book of Mormon",  and the good thing about his birthday treat being a show is that it means I get to go as well. One of the funniest evenings in the theatre I've had for a long time. It's irreverent, it's cruel, it's blatant, its American, and it has heart. I hope it does really well. We haven't really held a party for either of our birthdays since Richard threw a party to end all parties for my 50th six years ago.  Since then we have got into the habit of going away on holiday....

 I was told that the best advice for using Twitter was "don't Tweet anything that you wouldn't stand at your front door and shout". I think it's a good maxim. This week however, I  have felt like shouting a great deal and Twitter has been at to hand to use. In the television series "One Foot in the Grave", I had the good fortune to play the only character in the whole series, other  than  the immortal Victor Meldrew,  who uttered the phrase "I don't believe it".  This may have presaged my latent Meldrew tendencies, which have certainly been in evidence this week as I approached and celebrated my 56th birthday. The week started with a few days up in Liverpool directing a conference. Liverpool is a place I haven't been to a lot, and I think, as a result, I've missed out. It's a vibrant city, with an  electric energy - something I always find in places that are by water. I know there are areas of Liverpool with great soci...