After a well deserved study break, we hit the books again this week with characterisation the hot topic. Basically we have to interrogate each other over one of our character’s that appears in the novel. This was a pretty fun task, and brings the character to life which should, make them easier to relate to for the reader as they will appear more real. Makes perfect sense in theory. Only time will tell whether this actually works in practice and whether the lead character and all of their mannerisms, attributes and weaknesses come alive on the page. I now know amongst many other things how he walks and talks; what his face and hands looks like; how he would describe himself; what is his proudest moment, and what he fears the most. Hopefully this will also make them easier to write, and I shall be doing the same task for the other main characters in the book.
This break has been a good time to take a breather, unfortunately the weather has been pretty dire though, it’s August FFS, I don’t ever recall August being like this as a kid. Still, for a couple of weeks I’ve been packing and moving house (so I’m kinda thankful I didn’t miss out on the non existent rays) and I also had a weekend in Alderney, which was a fun place to explore. The gannets rock off the north west of the Island were seriously impressive. Just a shame that the food was disappointing. An Island with excellent produce and some of the best fishing ground available to it, is let down by chefs who really haven’t a clue. Reluctantly we went for Thai on the last night. Don’t get me wrong, I love Thai food, but we wanted local dishes with fresh fish and vegetables, but after two nights with substandard fare we opted for something which was more likely to please. Tucking into seriously good Tom Yum Soup, Pad Thai, and Duck in Tamarind Sauce we knew we made the right decision. Also noteworthy though was a local pork roll for breakfast in the little van by the breakwater, and a local beef roll at the Alderney Fayre - both were excellent and I feel that had these guys been in the kitchens at the first two restaurants we visited, we might have had a different culinary experience.
Call me a foodie, but that was something which was definitely missing when I popped along to Jersey Live on Sunday. Basically after enjoying afternoon beers in the sun and 26 degrees temps I forgot to eat, and whilst thoroughly enjoying myself and talking nonsense to anyone in earshot and also having a conversation with someone who works opposite me, not realising it was them (damn those baseball caps) I decided enough was enough and staggered home mid-set of Paul Weller. The moment of clarity (work the next day and the walk might freshen me up) didn’t really work. After trudging through the lanes and realising I was making less headway then sticking to the main roads, I managed to flag down a taxi who took me home; the wrong home, I’d forgotten I moved house and so had to politely request a different and correct destination.
On Monday at work it felt that I was well on my way to a new destination, a final one.
