An update on the thriller ... I'm afraid to report that nothing has happened. What with signing up for full-time employment to boost the coffers apres Christmas, and getting the Xbox online ... it ain't happening. I plan to sit down in the week and plan a schedule to give me a target completion date however.

On another note, I have been to see 2 films recently, both very good. Last weekend, I saw The Last King of Scotland, and on Friday I watched Blood Diamonds. I would suggest going to see the latter if you're a man who is under any pressure to get engaged. Diamonds are BAD, people die ... make do with a Coke ring pull or it's nothing.

A rant to finish with, whilst Africans are forced to work as slaves, some of whom die, for Westerns to look pretty with rocks on their fingers, whilst kiddy fiddlers are let loose on our streets because we don't have enough room in prisons, it's good to know that back in the reality of planet celebrity earth where nobody gives a crap, Tommy Walsh has now plastered his face over and endorsed wallplugs ... ALL wallplugs. You can't just buy a big box of plastic wallplugs which are either suitable for EITHER plasterboard or blockwork, oh no, the only plugs on sale in Homebase were "celebrity" endorsed wallplugs in assorted sizes. They were of course extremely over-priced because (a) they have to pay Tommy Walsh to put his name on them and (b) they're supposedly super-dooper plugs suitable for plasterboard OR blockwork. Wow Tommy, I'll never go back to using NORMAL cheap plugs they use on building sites all over the country ever again.

No matter, I intend to cheer myself up tonight by watching Dawn of the Dead having been recently informed by one of the English teachers at Lytchett that as well as being a horror film, it's also a social commentary on American consumerism and materialism. I think tonight's is the remake though, so whether that has the same undertones, I don't know. In any case, as I eventually intend to write a zombie book (should I ever finish the thriller) it'll be good research in any case.

OVER AND OUT ...

Another satisfied customer ...

Just as the South Coast sun was warming my bones (spent the morning on the decking in a T-shirt) it was time to return to Bonnie Scotland (3 degrees when I landed at Prestwick at 5pm).

A good time was had by all however. The workshops at my old school in Lytchett went very well and I'm planning on publishing some of the results on my website by the end of the week.

Thanks to everyone at Lytchett for the warm welcome, and a special thanks to the four classes for their involvement and enthusiasm.

Ahh yes, school days are the happiest days of your life ... it's just you don't realise it at the time which is why I'm going back to my old school in Lytchett Minster in Poole to remind myself of those heady days of youth.

While I'm there I'll be completing various writing workshops for 4 different classes before treating myself to a good old fashioned school dinner although I'm sure now Mr Oliver has got involved I'll probably only be able to get asparagus in a Ryvita sandwich.

I'm really looking forward to going back and working with the kids ... and hopefully everyone will have forgotten I was suspended in the 6th Form - which incidently did my golf handicap the world of good. It was 15 years ago for heavens sake, let it go, move on!

Wikipedia ... WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE???

I wikipedia'd myself, and found out that some kind of Kangaroo court has deleted my page on the basis that "Lee Crompton is a self-published author who is using Wikipedia to publicise his vanity novel".
How very dare they. My novel is nothing to do with the subject of vanity for starters. What's more, they go onto suggest "The page was created by a user called "crommers", which name makes me think that this was the author himself."
Me? Crommers? self-publisisisiscing? The same person who was hauled over the coals for allegedly sending "spam" to bookcrossing members? Never. You ain't got nuffink on me, right?
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? Where do they come from? Have they got nothing better to do but to pass judgment on whether or not a page should be deleted? I wouldn't mind but these people have actually taken time to carry out research and have concluded that because I was published by Lulu, a print on demand publisher, I should be voted off. Well I've got news for you Wikipedia, your information is over 2 years out of date and both titles are now published by Ascendere. Stuff that up yer whatnot!

On a lighter note, I can now reveal 2006 saw the end of the kitchen renovation. I shall now be devoting far more of my time in 2007 to finishing the thriller, promoting the plight of the sabre toothed donkey and possibly working with the poor.

A Happy New Year to one & all. Some of you will know that this isn't the happiest times of year for poor Connor but he is glad to see the back of gaudy houses, visible from space with the number of bloody lights and illuminated tacky Christmas characters. In this green age surely we should be taxing the blighters for wasting valuable resources.
The year 2050. A small boy sits on his father's knee. He looks at him, tears tracking down his cheek. 'Daddy, why is the sky so sooty and black, and large cracks in the ground.' The Dad wipes the boy's eye (he only has the one, the other rotted away from pollution ... or something). 'It's OK son, it's just the earth decaying, but it's alright, when I was a lad, all the houses were lit up like Las Vegas at Christmas time and we all had a ruddy good time. Shame we kinda buggered it up for you a bit but ho hum, can't be helped.'
One last thing, does anyone know if street lights use energy saving light bulbs. I'm sure someone must have thought of this before so I imagine it's already been done but imagine what a difference that would make if we could save energy on every street light in the country. In my fantasy world, we could get young offenders and people on community service to go around and change them all.
That's the majority of the planet saved, I'm off to take my new giant telly off standby and go for a lickle lie down me thinks.