I didn’t think it was funny until after she’d gone away. But then I realised I’d handed her forty thieves in a box. I should have put them in a big jar, like Ali Baba. I have a jar. . . .
The thieves were for the London launch of The Thief, which is at seven pm on Monday 25th October in the second floor suite of the Old Crown in new Oxford Street. The Old Crown doesn’t have a sign outside showing its name, but it is the pub on the corner of New Oxford Street and Museum Street, about halfway between Tottenham Court Road and Holborn tubes. If you think you can go along (please do), email me on nell@happenstancepress.com and I’ll let her know. That’s if I manage to get this blog post to appear. . .
But now I am sounding silly, and there is a reason for this. I’m typing on the new machine, the little bijou Inspiron which allows me to use Windows 7 and do things that I don’t seem to be able quite to do from my Mac.
New machines are always lovely in one way and HORRIBLE in another. They do things you aren’t expecting. They do things too fast. Their mice aren’t the same as the mice you’re used to — in this case it’s a touchpad which seems to move things before I know I’ve touched it properly.
To such an extent that I just finished this entry and then lost it when I somehow got to the previous webpage by accident. Oh hell. I had just successfully uploaded a picture of berries in the garden (to prove it really is autumn now) and was about to save everything with a sense of triumph, when I lost everything with a sense of exasperation.
Then I got to the end, repeated the process, got the nice picture, tried to resize it — and blow me down, did I not somehow close everything? I somehow had logged myself out and was responsible for Windows closing down, then starting up again, installing its updates — all beceause I did something (I know not what) with this ‘floating touchpad’. Floating touchpad, my foot.
I had mentioned, before that, the point HappenStance is more or less up to. Kate Scott, and the three Samplers nearly off to the printers (about to finalise pdfs and send them to authors), the first two publications in the Po-Lite series in draft form and posted them to their authors, Martin Parker and Graham Austin, yesterday. I hope to start type-setting Alan Hill today.
I know some of the reviews have got lost in the Sphinx area. It was to do with the changeover. I’ll put them back as soon as I can, if I can get this new machine to be my friend. I probably can. I’m getting used to the keyboard. Just not to making the window I’m reading in look like the right size and resolution for me.
Okay. Let’s try putting that picture in again now. . . this has only taken an hour and a half so far.