Christmas

Christmas is well underway in the Wilson household. It's our tradition to have Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, so I've already thoroughly overindulged. I'd challenge anyone to not do the same when offered a plate of turkey, pork, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, boiled potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots, peas, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce and apple sauce. With a Christmas pudding and gloriously thick custard to finish. Five and a bit hours on I still don't particularly fancy eating anything else. Maybe I'll have a turkey/pork sandwich in an hour or two.

In truth, it's been in full swing since the carol service last Sunday. I've always enjoyed the carol service. I don't do much singing (and I'm not very good at it - Wrisoccers who experienced my rare appearances singing at the karaoke will attest to that, as will members of the St Andrews congregation who were within twenty yards of me), but it's nice to belt out the carols with some feeling. Even though I do think that 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing' is better suited to the end of a carol service and 'O Come All Ye Faithful' is a better call to worship at the start, and not the other way round.

It's not been the same without having my sister around. Yes, I've talked to her a few times on Skype over the last few days, but I've missed the banter and her high-pitched squeaks of 'It's Christmas!' every couple of hours. Next Christmas will be better, with her actually here.

I'll end the post in time-honoured fashion: Merry Christmas one and all. Good will to all men (women, children and four-armed aliens from the planet Oud). Have a good one.

December ramblings

After recently getting practically no time to do any writing whatsoever beyond scribblings in legalese, I may finally get the opportunity to get stuck in to a meaty bit of fiction over the next couple of weeks.

I'll freely admit that I don't expect it to be any good. It'll be a matter of bringing myself back up to scratch through doing a bit of editing and tinkering before starting on anything new, but then it's hardly my fault I'm shockingly out of practice. Uni takes priority, and it will continue to do so during the holidays (the target is to do both pieces of coursework - totalling 7,000 words - and at least 3,000 words of my dissertation over the three weeks off). But with no seminars or SPSs, I stand a chance of being able to get at least one story done, and I have an idea of what that story will be.

In other news, I got a rejection the other day for a piece of flash fiction I sent off. It had been previously rejected in perhaps the most pretentious manner possible (resulting in that website going on my blacklist - no, I'm not bitter at all), so to get this rejection back was a breath of fresh air. It was helpful, pointed out the flaws they believed the story had and seemed almost apologetic that they hadn't taken it on. I'm definitely submitting there again. As for the story, it's gone off again for the final time before time is called on it and it's posted up here.

One thing about uni has been that I've been able to get plenty of reading done in the evenings, when the cricket isn't on. Recent readings have included Isaac Asimov's Complete Stories (volume 1), Stephen Baxter's quasi-history Evolution, and, for my Law and Literature module, The Trial. At some point I may review them on here.

But in the mean time, Christmas is coming. X-Factor number ones, socks from your grandmother, dodgy Christmas specials on the telly and the inevitable Boxing Day murder of an aunt by your sister after she bought the wrong colour bobble hat.

Oh joy.