Where does time go?

Hello from the other side.  The other side of 25,000 words that is.

It's been a strange week for me - 

1. I've had The Kid with a blood filled mouth and bleeding nose after falling on the floor and impaling his lower lip with three top teeth, his upper gum with two lower teeth and bashing his nose all at the same time (and yes, I panicked. A lot.); 
   
2. I've said "Ta-ra 'til the New Year" to my Mummy dearest, who's off to play the campest Evil Queen Snow White will ever have come across in Pantoland;   
   
3. I've cleared up little pools of sick, after The Cat ate one of The Kid's errant grapes (I think) ; 
   
4. I've cleared up so many leaves from the Tenacious Towers' grounds I am beginning to think they breed on the floor of the vast orchard; 
   
5. I've been shocked at how much Anton du Beke is gradually morphing into Brucie;  
   
6. I've been avidly watching our graciously returned Sky 1 (that didn't take too long did it Virgin..?) in the vain hope that something else other than 'Ross Kemp on Everything' will be on.

But just for a laugh, I've also partaken in that old game "half fall/half slide down the stairs" whilst rushing to grab The Kid's teddy for cuddles.

On the up side, I didn't fall completely as I had grabbed onto the bannister; on the down side, I grabbed with the arm that had previously been privy to a dislocated shoulder so writing has been interesting.  I also crushed two toes on one of the spindley thingies. Ouch. Obviously, my utter silence as I limped down the stairs spoke louder than any words, as The Kid said "Uh-oh" and pulled out the chenille throw which is reserved for cold winter nights, illness and /or injury cuddles.  In amongst all this madness and mayhem, I have of course be slotting in keyboard hammering flashes, where I sit talking to myself like a demented mad woman, and create NaNoWriMo stylee.

Having now passed 36,000 words, I am onto the fourth (and final) part of "Taking the Fast Lane", which seems incredible - not the novel, but just the feat!  It's been a fascinating journey to sit down with nothing and create something.  Obviously still being at least 14,000 words off, I am hoping it won't be too rough a ride.  The whole NaNoWriMo experience so far has been brilliant  and has been made even better by the Pep Talk emails we receive. So far we've had wise words from Philip Pullman, Jonathan Stroud, Katherine Paterson, Meg Cabot and many from NaNoWriMo founder, Chris Baty at HQ.  If you are interested in reading any of the pep talks they are available online here.

I was also able to breathe a sigh of relief on Friday when a fairly hefty envelope from Screen East plopped in the letter box advising me (one envelope, four separate letters inside) that each of my screenplays had been received and logged.  I had started to panic a bit as four Royal Mail bags full of post had been found abandoned in a field in my area - and of course I had convinced myself my screenplays were in there...the acknowledgement letters weren't due until Friday, but I had nonetheless convinced myself my creations were being sifted by CID for prints.  Or something.

Anyway, if I get short listed for an interview then I should know early December.  If I am successful after the interview, it'll be a great Christmas, I tell you.  

Right, before cracking on with a few more pages of the novel, I'm off to see who out of the "Celebrity" jungle inmates, has had the most surgery.  Hmmm. Let me think....

I am loving the Red London Bus - it must have been dumped there after the closing ceremony in Beijing.

Onwards.

A Googled Virgin?

Much like the lovely, Lucy, I was fascinated to find out I get quite a few interesting daily Google search referrals - in my case, from peeps wondering what is happening at our favourite Compagnie du Jour - Virgin Media.

A bit like one of those little miniature disclaimers at the bottom of emails, I have to state now that I do not work for Virgin Media, have absolutely nothing to do with the Company and am merely voicing my own personal opinions as a paying customer of theirs, oh, and if the contents of this post are not intended for you please return it to the owner immediately. Huh? Anyway...

Back in VergingMeeeeejaLand, sorry - Virgin Media Land - I would like to report a vast improvement in their customer service and efficiency levels, which, after years of torture in ntl:Hell, comes as a breath of fresh air. Ok, we still don't have our beloved Sky channels back [yet] but there is promise of a return and in the not too distant future.

There is another merger/takeover bid simmering at the moment (as reported here) which is down to the fact that many peeps think Virgin Media are prime swoop-worthy material having lost so many subscribers due to The Sky Fiasco - i.e. they'll go without a fight and for half the price.

In my humble opinion, if this does happen no-one will really be able to take any of them seriously anyway: I mean, how many Multi-Nationals does it take to keep a TV Channel?

But that is when the customer gains the upperhand.

Be still and patient my Skyless friends - the sweet slurp of success will be ours to taste again soon.

Failing that, call up Customer Services and have a whinge - see what you get chucked into your package for free... ;)

Virgin Media Vs Sky

Here's an interesting one. Sky (or rather, BSkyB) seem genuinely surprised they have lost 24.5% of their audience viewing figures since 'excusing' their channels from Virgin Media. Shows such as "Lost", "24" and "The Simpsons" have seen their audiences drop dramatically, which I think is one helluva shame for all those involved in the creative and production process.

Meanwhile, Virgin Media are gearing up for their legal jugular swoop when Sky eventually respond to the grievance letter sent by the aforementioned.

I have a grievance here too. I am still paying the same sodding amount every month to not have access to a few channels I really wanted.

Yes, I could move to Sky, but I would need to have the dinner plate on the front of my house and have been told on more than a few occasions actually getting their Broadband installed is something just short of a miracle. I currently have all my techie stuff with Virgin Media including 10Mb broadband (which I believe is going up to 20Mb soon) and was looking to get their new V+ box - but with all this going on, what's a girl to do? I suppose I will just have to watch the 'Them Vs Them' case very closely.

Whatever the outcome, it will provide a benchmark for future channel disputes, but in the meantime, the only winners are once again the illegal download sites.

And there goes another truckload of royalties out of the window.