Leaves are coming on the trees. Ribes of various plummy-coloured reds are ripening all over the place.
Here in Crosby, the big feature seems to be to place the reds of the ribes next to the acid yellows of the forsythia. It's a startling contrast. As I was growing up on the Wirral, the big colour contrast there happened a little later with the placing of blossoming lilacs next to the yellow flowers of the laburnum trees. Maybe, I'll try and emulate that in my garden here as it's a May thing that coincides with my birthday.
Anyhow, shock of the week was a letter from the DVLA announcing that someone, somewhere in the country has applied to license my car. They were writing to me to make sure that the transaction was in order. I've written back explaining the situation and I've written to AXA asking for an explanation as to how a car which was written off as being uneconomic to repair has now been repaired and is being sold on. No doubt that this one will run a little further yet.
Work was gruelling this week. The training group was thin on the ground with holidays and illnesses and over commitment. I ended up teaching three classes on the successive days whilst harbouring a sore throat and a mild chest infection. Not good. But at least I've laid down a marker for my being reliable.
I've also won a slight battle in that I should get official confirmation of my new contract fairly soon. The system is lax to say the least - all very much a trust system, verbal promises which are not worth the paper they're written on. Still, we will perhaps get somewhere.
A few media things to tie up. Popstars finished and Hearsay went on to top the pops and all that. No doubt, by this time next year, we'll all be reading the stories of My Popstars Hell after the bubble bursts. Meantime, the tangentially interesting thing about the series was that, before the fame struck home, the group were able to use the programme to rubbish most of the stories being put about in the tabloid press, on air, to millions of viewers. Celebrity Big Brother came to a fitting end with Jack Dee as the nation's hero. Again, the interest was in what was there tangentially. I think we learnt little about the people involved but we did get to know a lot about what celebrity does to people. Basically, they were all very lonely, damaged, insecure, fuck-ups and that's not just Vanessa writing on the table.
New on the block is Teachers with This Life's Andrew Lincoln (he Egg) as Simon. Simon seems to have become a nationally accepted character already. Talk about Simon and people know to what you refer. And Andrew Lincoln still seems keen on getting his arse out every episode.
Also good is the teen show As If. Good gay plot line. Real issues - if soaped to the hilt. All the boys are eminently.
Ross arrived on Thursday night. Should have been on the Virgin train arriving at 6:30pm at Liverpool Lime Street. That broke down outside of Crewe. It was a packed standing room only train. Everyone was turfed off and told to get on the next train which was itself standing room only. Whilst having every sympathy for train operators whilst the upheavals on the trail network have been continuing, you cannot blame poor maintenance on Railtrack. Neither can you blame them for there being no Virgin staff at Crewe to help someone in a wheelchair change trains. Nor can you blame Railtrack for no Virgin staff being around at Liverpool Lime Street. Luckily, you can sometimes depend upon the kindness of strangers.