Yesterday afternoon was one of those hazy lazy days. I snoozed on a park bench and even though I wasn't there for very long, I spotted the effects of sunshine on my face in the mirror when I got home. Woah that's red. What else can I do now my leisure time has increased?.. Uhhh... Oh I know, lets try to get a fantastic sunset photo. Now's the time, with volcanic ash causing all sorts of colour effects in the atmosphere. There was a saffron edge to the grey-blue cloud as the sun got lower, and faint sunbeams spread from the edges in a very understated way. Hey, I might be able to take a decent pic! So I rushed out to the grassy slopes of the fields of south Swindon and breathlessly hauled my camera forth... Awww man this is going to be mega!... (*BLEEP*).. What the?... Battery Empty. NOOOOOOOO!

I Woke Up This Morning

So it's back to my normal routine. Freed from the shackles of workfare I now queue up with all the others waiting for the library doors to open. Dragon Lady is on duty at the enquiries desk this monday morning so the mood is very quiet indeed. Check my emails... No rep;ies from any employers, just a whole stack of newsletters that don't interest me in any way... Delete, delete, delete...

The security guard clambered up the stairs and announced it was too dark inside the building for human beings to see properly. No, that's okay, I can see just fine, so... AAGH! The lights turned on nonetheless and now I can't see properly.

Whinge of the Week

Last week we nearly had a Doctor Who Day at work. It was KS who satrted that one off by claiming that someone looked like the good Doctor. As it turned out I thought he meant someone else, so the whole thing collapsed under the weight of its own embarrasement. A part of me wants the television series to go the same way. I've written a few times on my loathing for the new Doctor Who and you know what? I'm going to do that again.

KS thought the series was brilliant. I imagine he would, since it contains bright colours, lots of movement, constant mood music, and doesn't challenge the intellect in any way. I'll know when his 'Brain-Training' games are having an effect when he realises I was right about the frankenstein monster that is Doctor Who.

Ironically last saturdays episode was based on a very interesting idea - that daleks were being used as 'Ironsides' secret war weapons in Britain at the height of the Luftwaffes assault in 1940, suitably painted in olive drab and little union jacks, plus some canvas bandoliers that the daleks could use to store bits and piecs if only their extendable plungers could actually reach into them. Perhaps it fosters teamwork?

Sadly from that point on the episode descended into its usual moronic drivel. It turns out the most unconvincing Winston Churchill ever is a close buddy of the Doctor, which serves no useful plot device and the scene was only included to make the Doctor look like a celebrity.

The boffin who built the 'ironsides' turns out to be a cyborg built by the daleks to introduce them to Winston. "Why did you do that?" The Doctor enquires of the Daleks when they start to admit their nefarious skulduggery.

"Because it was necessary" Replies our olive drab psychopathic pepperpot. Necessary? What does that mean? It doesn't explain anything. In fact, I couldn't see any sensible reason why the Daleks needed to interfere in World War Two at all.

By that time I was cringing in my seat. "Broadsword calling Danny Boy! Broadsword calliung Danny Boy!" Cried some guy into a radio microphone, a sentence ripped bloody from the motion picture Where Eagles Dare. Oh please... Not this... Spitfires in space... Help, I'm drowning in idiocy.

I remember when Doctor Who was science fiction. The new Doctor pretends to be, but in all honestly, it was always intended to be Harry Potter and the Sonic Screwdriver.