Phone Trouble...

My longish-serving mobile phone is on its last legs. It wasn't massively expensive, but it wasn't dirt cheap either. I am annoyed, however, that something I have taken excellent care of is on the way out after 30 months of use.

Consequently, I have been spending a few days looking for a replacement and also experimenting with new ways to get some extra life out of it. This has been driving the Missus slightly crazy and she has practically begged me to 'just buy a new fucking phone'. I say 'begged'. It was more of a threat. 

So we are in the pub on date night. I am about to show her something when my phone crashes. She goes to the loo. When she returns, I am still trying to restart it. She sits down and places her hands over mine. 

But it is not a romantic gesture. 

She then speaks in a calm and reasoned way.

'For the love of Christ. If you don't buy a new mobile, I am going to take that phone, beat you unconscious with it, then ram it up your arse sideways and let you bleed to death.'

Date nights aren't what they once were...

Carry On Teacher: Part I...

I am trying to work out what I want to do for the next 17 years of my working life. 

I don't mind journalism. But the industry has changed beyond all recognition in the past five years. I enjoyed doing it and it formed a significant part of my working life and it paid pretty well. It's also where I met The Missus, and it funded our life together and allowed us to bring The Boy up and for us all to do lots of cool things together. So I am not ungrateful, although I also worked bloody hard for everything I got out of that industry. 

But I'm not sure I want to be part of it any more. So I'm exploring other options... 

I like the idea of script editing and I think that would play to my skill sets. I also still have much love for Corrie and Emmerdale, although landing a job on two of TV's biggest shows is probably an ambitious call. And I'm up against bright young things with trust funds to pay for their work experience.

I'm also continuing to write and punt scripts out. But that is also a long-shot and, even if something is good enough, it still has to land.

So I'm looking at teaching. Ironically, I was going to move into teaching following my first couple of years out of university, but I got into journalism and it paid the bills while I was doing the things I anted to do. And it was the same story when I arrived in London, too. 

But now me and The Missus has a steady routine and we're not those young and ambitious people any more. I also like the idea of doing something that has the potential to do some societal good, rather than some of the tawdry shit I've been working on recently.

I'm quite excited by this. It's the sort of thing that can even energise an old cynic like me...

Back to Work. Nearly...

It's been a strange last three months. Me and the Missus went to Bali for one of my oldest friend's 50th birthdays at the end of July. This was ace. It was my first time in a Hindu culture and we al chilled and drank and chatted and ate.

We also did some sight-seeing and temple-visiting (as pictured above). It was lovely.

Then it was back to the UK and my return to work. I'd accepted a three-month contract at a major publishing house chief subbing two of their magazines. Week one was fine but week two saw me left with a skeleton staff, a four-day week and two magazines to get to press. And this sort of shit storm continued for about three to four weeks. Fortunately, I am used to busy and pressured environments, so I was sort of OK.

Then the whole department was called into a sudden meeting and told the work was being outsourced. Ironically, to the place I first started working in journalism some 30 years ago.

The staff on the subs desk were ace. But, if I'm honest with myself, the job was a bad fit and I should have turned it down. I smelt something was off during the interview, but I ignored it. I was just too keen to get back to work.

Even more stupidly, I turned down interviews for two jobs I would have preferred out of some sense of loyalty to the new place of work and because I had too much to do to attend them. I won't make that mistake again.

So I was back in work and I am now back looking for work. 

On the plus side, I'm now much more serious about a career shift. Journalism is in decline and I have no wish to fight over the increasingly shitty bits left over from a contracting industry.

I am thinking about teaching. Quite seriously. I need to find a job that will engage and enthuse me. I should have gone into this when I left college, but I needed to fund my community arts work. 

But, better late than never, as they say...

A Content Consumer Recommends...

Here are some things I am watching, reading or listening to at the moment that I think are very good. You may agree, disagree or not care. All of those are fine.

Films

Joker: As a comics nerd, it continually frustrates me that DC cannot seem to get a film right. They've had several goes at Batman and still haven't produced anything on celluloid as good as the seminal Dark Knight Returns series of graphic novels by Frank Miller. Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman showed signs of a sense of humour, but they were still clunky. So I approached Joker with few expectations. I was, however, pleasantly surprised as it's dark and grim and really good. They've stolen bits from the scraps of Joker origin stories that exist in the DC Universe and set it in a Gotham on the brink of societal collapse, which nicely mirrors the rise of the right happening in the western world at the moment. The whole enterprise may be a thinly disguised vehicle for Joaquin Phoenix (above) to have a tilt at the Best Actor Oscar, but the movie certainly ticks the box for comics stuff for adults. And Phoenix is still excellent. The 'Like' button is hit on this one.

Music

The Slow Show: The album Lust and Learn is my first experience of the Manchester indie outfit who sound like a low-fi version of Elbow. And that's not intended to damn them with feint praise either. Rob Goodwin's croaky baritone is a thing of beauty, and the beautiful brass, string and piano arrangements that fill this offering are joyous and contemplative in equal measure. I've also had a listen to two of their other Albums, White Water and Brother, and they are similarly wonderful. 

New Model Army: These long-time indie folk rock icons remain something of a permanent fixture on my playlist and their most recent album, From Here, is the usual  mix of poetry, anger and call to arms. The Weather remains the standout track.

Podcasts

You're Dead to Me: This is basically Horrible Histories for adults. A guess academic and a guest comedian join host Greg Jenner to discuss potted and very entertaining histories on a range of topics. My fave two shows so far are the episodes on Joan of Arc and Boudica. But there are many other delights on offer.

TV

The Mash Report: I like comedian and telly person Nish Kumar and I adore the political satire show, The Mash Report. It always delivers. The only slightly worrying thing is this show, and the likes of YouTube sensation Jonathan Pie, are increasingly seeming less satirical and more like fair and balanced news commentary. But that's probably a sign of how shit things are in the real world.