MAD LIBS

This is wonderful, Clary!

*Jots it down to scare future nieces with*

Bravo! (Applause!) Again! Again!!

"Please, suh, I'd like some mo'"...

Hey, Dev, we finished that at 1 a m Sunday morning... after poor Drom was describing her ordeal being abused and kicked by kids on a bus, about whom the other bus users could and would do NOTHING - not allowed to lay hands on a kid any more.
But this was comic relief!!

What a big aorta you've got!

Poor drom!

Clary, Did drom's bus incident happen recently? How awful!

Yes, it happened last night, as she was coming home from Birmingham I think. Honestly, kids are out of control in Britain/s inner cities, and it's because of the new human rights laws in the European Community, which protects under 16s so they are invulnerable. They abused her verbally, kicked her, and then stole her phone - in front of a busload of adults who refused to get involved. The driver said he could do nothing. She was gooing to report it this morning to the police, but we have got cynical about reporting such things, they almost laugh and say 'bad luck'.

That is truly horrible! Why can't we all just get along?! and what is wrong with those people not doing anything?! I would hope that I wouldn't act that way in the same situation!

Oh that's really terrible. It reminds me of NY in the 70s. <shudder>

Thank you all for your concern; it was quite awful, but I would not let such brats frighten me. Whenever I go to a city like Birmingham, I usually find myself being chastised by random children for little reason; it's a sad thing to have to be used to, and the general degeneration is one of the main reasons why I am taking leave to move away of England.

I have reported the battery and the theft to the police, following Clary's advice; and, through layers of jargon, their reply was, basically, if you don't know who they are, we can do nothing. I offered to describe them, but they said that it's not like they can track them down or anything !!

How awful, drom - I'm glad you're ok.

Rats, drom, Armenia will be much less dangerous! I hope...

Thank you both. Yeah, Clary, it should be much less dangerous: every site that mentions Armenia says that 'Armenia has escaped the post Soviet crime wave syndromes experienced in many other places, and has become for the traveller or expat a virtually crime free zone. Assault is unheard of, pick pockets do not exist, and the police give foreigners special treatment as guests in their country. Like many countries in a similar economic state, there is corruption in government, but this usually does not apply to foreigners with their limited government dealings.'

As for where I'll be staying, it's glorious; I'll be staying in one of the huts similar to the ones in this picture:



This will be much better than waking up to a carpark!

Glorious! So have you actually got a job to go to, or is this a holiday retreat - what about Newcastle?

Ah, Warwick convinced me to take a year off and then come back to them. As for a job; I'll be using the time off to work on the various projects I and other people want me to do... and, if I don't get advances, I will certainly have enough money for the year; rents in Dilijan are about £20 for a good house...

When are you leaving, drom? Sounds like time for another travel digression?! (She said, hopefully.)

It is certainly going to be another travel digression; in July, I am going around Europe for a while before I go to Armenia. One of these many projects seem to be hitting me at the moment is compiling the Faber Book of Poetry in Translation; I'll be looking for poetic gems around the place and then translating them to English for a book that should be out by the end of 2005... so I'll be starting off in the North fo Spain, and then shall go to Paris, then I'm heading to Budapest, and who knows from there?

I should arrive in my Armenian house by the end of August.... and have made sure that where I am has a decent Internet connection

What a splendid digression that will be, I shall be fascinated to read it! And finding unknown gems of poetry in Foreign Languages, wonderful. I did some translations of Urdu poetry with a cousin once... published on very smart paper with a few drawings by something called Whittington Press. Back in the 70s..

Well, I will make sure that I post it! As for the book, it will include some poetry that is well known in the said country and relatively unheard of here (like Cernuda's 'No es nada, es un suspiro,' which deserves to be published) and some ones by people who are generally obscure; who knows: we might find the new Larkin or Plath!

And that sounds intriguing, Clary; do you still have a copy of know somewhere that does?

not sure... will ask at funeral when I see the cousin whose Indian poet husband collected them. Tomorrow.

God bless you as you are dealing with all things funeral tomorrow, Clary. I'll be thinking of you.