Call for volunteers

I was going to finish off the last bit of Saturday-in-London post (still got Sunday and Monday to do, but they'll probably be shorter as I remember less and less by the day!) but it's not travelled with me to work today, so instead lets look to the future...

Thursday brings Bookclub, and hopefully meeting people for birthday drinks (not mine!)

This weekend the ever-lovely vixmonsta is in Leeds, and we're heading out for even more birthday-related drinking (again not mine!)

Next weekend is Easter which means Steampunk'd Friday Flock!



(I have costume plans for this brewing and curdling in my mind, but that will depend on many things including if I have the time and patience to build what I have in mind, the guts to take it out in public, and if I can find a cheap cookery shop...)

This will be followed by an extended Black Sheep on the Sunday, which tend to be a lot more crazy-silly than your average Sheep, and always good fun. (We have crash space available if any non-Leeds people fancy coming along to one or both of these - just give me a shout if you're interested.)

I'll be in London (by way of Leicester) from 22nd-26th April. Which unfortunately is when a lot of people are out of town, but it's all their fault for being steenking goffiks! Need to arrange some fun and games with the folk that are left, including hopefully getting out to see a show on the Thursday evening. Really want to see Waiting for Godot but if not would happily go for either Wicked or Avenue Q. Anyone be up for that? I'm going to check if there's any 2-for-1 deals or the like, what with it being Thursday. Also need to start putting together a new hit list of exhibitions that won't be around later in the year... not sure how much I'll be able to fit in though, as the weekend also brings weddings and cheering on people running marathons.

Am also thinking of trying to book in another London trip in late May/early June, to catch up with folks who I'll miss when they're off Whitbying. Are there any gigs/events/etc it's worth planning this around? The actual date is likely to depend on when I can snatch time off work and when the cheapest train fares are... but it's always annoying when you turn up somewhere and people say 'If only you were here next week, it's (insert name of something I'd desperately like to go to)', so any suggestions welcomed.

Mid June is Race for Life in Leeds, on either 19th or 20th June. I'm definitely entering again this year - anybody else be interested in joining me? Only thing I'm not sure about is the pace - last year I walked it, this year I'd like to build up to jogging it, or at least part of it, but I'm not sure if my knees will agree.

End of June I'm off to America for a couple of weeks, to catch up with my brother. I'll be heading out there with my parents, as my Dad will be celebrating his 60th birthday out there - will mostly be in and around Mountain view and San Francisco, but there's plans to drive down to Big Sur, which will mean lots of photography. This means I really do need to organise my photography stacks before then (I have literally thousands of photos, physical and digital, that I need to go through and start putting the best online and making art with the rest) and get out and have a properly play with the slightly insane new lens my brother bought me for my birthday.

It's Sonisphere at the start of August. I desperately want to go as there's so many bands I want to see, but Kris doesn't think he can handle a large festival right now (which I totally sympathise with as I was exactly the same a few years ago.) So I'm trying to work out if I can be extra brave and go on my own. (Has anyone else actually booked yet, or thinking of booking? It's a lot easier to go 'on your own' if you're with other people!)

I've also got a couple of weeks provisionally booked off at the end of August/beginning of September. I may have to give some of that up - depends how much holiday I have left, which depends on how much flexi-leave I build up and use throughout the year. Vaguely considering heading down to Cornwall, but also like the idea of heading back to either Brighton or Scotland, or even Ireland.

I want to try to plan in some weekends away to other places too - want to get up to Glasgow at some point, and down to Birmingham as there's people I've not seen in ages. Or maybe to somewhere completely random, or in Europe, or by the sea, or in the middle of nowhere... I feel the need for adventures.

I'm also determined to get out to more cool stuff on the doorstep. Made a good start on that when pyropaws organised a trip to the Royal Armouries last weekend (I've lived here 13 years and it's the first time I've ever properly been inside!) but there's all kinds of places I need to get to... Forbidden Corner, West Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and Thackery Medical Museum for a start. I'd also like to go out and hunt down some limestone pavements at some point in the summer, just because they're pretty and I want photos.

Oh, and we should be having a garden party/BBQ type thing when it gets warmer - don't know if this will be before America or afterwards, but need to decide far enough ahead that people don't end up all booked up...

Anyway, being that these days I am all pro-active and ra-ra-rah and getting-things-done (honest), I shall be making proper plans for all these things and actually doing them. But if anyone thinks 'that sounds fun' and wants to join in with the plottings and schemings, then let me know!

Also, if there's any good stuff happening that I've forgotten about and really should make plans for, please tell me what/when/who/how/where...

Superglue?

Writing brain is broken. Nothing is coming out.