The week started with a very pleasant surprise when, on Monday morning, my copy of “Protectors of the Written Word” dropped through the letterbox (with a resounding “thud”). It is a beautiful book with fantastic photos and illustrations. Written/collated by Vincent Phan (website | LinkedIn) of 1000 Libraries, it is a collection of “.. the extraordinary stories of people - from all around the world - who have dedicated their lives to spreading the joys of reading.” [book website]
I’m very pleased to have been able to support its publication.
However, there are a few other books in my reading queue to get through before I can dedicate any serious time to this. I'll report back.
On Thursday, I got very frustrated with ChatGTP. It was convinced that it had populated some sections on a canvas, but they were clearly not there. When I got it to provide the canvas as a PDF and downloaded that, the missing content was included. It is really helpful to have this AI assistant, but when it ‘goes wrong’, it’s very frustrating - and so difficult to get it to correct itself.
I also started to plan (contemplate, more accurately) a reissue of my debut book of poetry. At this stage just checking contracts and legalities, and considering how to add some value over and above the original works.
The days in between were mostly spent not doing ‘work’. Although, saying that, the time spent gardening definitely wasn’t a walk in the park.
I started working on an article, notionally entitled “Let me tell you about my father”, considering what influences - biological and environmental - my father has passed on to me. I'm enjoying writing it and reminiscing.
And the week was rounded off with a long weekend in Brighton for a friend’s birthday barbecue, which was great fun, but the driving there and back was a bit of a chore.
On Saturday morning I managed to draft a new poem - “Beyond the Sea”. It just needs a few read-throughs and inevitable tweaks, but very pleased with it.
Not much of note on the music front, except to say that I bought “Planet C”, by Balearic Sabbath - their swan song, in light of Ozzy’s passing. All profits go to Cure Parkinson’s - one of Ozzy’s charities. [Bandcamp link]
Thanks for reading!
In Pictures
