The Sigla Blog

For a while now, I’ve been gradually shifting perspective on a few things and find myself with less time than ever to devote to this blog. As Shane pointed out when he called it a day last month, not only do readers expect and deserve posts of a certain quality (and frequency), you expect it […]

Thanks to Jazz Biscuit who today took time out from making us laugh to post a video about Platelet Donation. Having received a lot of blood and platelet transfusions during chemotherapy, I used to do a lot of press stuff for the IBTS to raise awareness about platelets. Everyone knows about giving blood, but very […]

On this day five years ago, around about this time, I was propped up on a trolley in the casualty department of St. James hospital. My legs - still in fetching pyjamas, you don’t get to throw on clothes for the ambulance, you understand - were covered in black bruises. An oxegen mask was helping […]

Right, wrist agony is not going away so the blog has to go on the backburner for a few days. It’s not getting better and one-handed typing is driving me mad. Better listen to the doc and rest for a few days…
While there’s nothing doing around here, there are lots of new blogs I’ve discovered […]

Usually when I’m up at this ridiculous hour, it’s because there’s still plenty of life left in the party (old life) or because of the tiny little person asleep upstairs (new life). Six days post-wrist op, and I’m still in lots of pain and bandaged up. The painkillers don’t work, oh, except to make […]

What I thought was pregnancy-related Carpel Tunnel Syndrome in my wrist has turned out to be something far fancier: De Quervain’s Disease (June Caldwell, a fellow facebooker, thinks it sounds like a Medieval French village) and an operation is required to fix it. Luckily, I have nabbed a cancellation for tomorrow, but will be out […]

Well, it’s been a while, but I’m much obliged (I think?) to everyone who has sent messages or harassed me through Facebook asking me about returning to blogging. Thanks so much for all the good wishes about my son, who is thriving and a simultaneous source of much joy and some sleep deprivation. Time-permitting, I’ll […]

Lads and lassies, I don’t know what to say about all the lovely comments yesterday: from my bros - for the ‘Sapphire’ suggestion and Young Ones clip respectively- from friends, bloggers I’ve met, bloggers I know purely online, people I didn’t even know wandered around here and a lovely email from a stranger called Gareth. […]

*Deep Breath*…
Anyone who stops by this blog regularly will notice that the posts tend to stick to arts and culture, with not much reference to personal stuff. Sure, there are personal opinons galore, but I don’t tend to talk much about the non-public side of my life. Today, though, I thought I’d share something, particularly […]

My younger bro sent me this earlier, reminding me that before he actually got a REAL domino set, we used to pilfer my Dad’s substantial tape collection and build massive domino trails all around the house. After hours of setting up, we’d make the folks watch the few minutes of pay off. Great fun […]

Happy 07 to everyone and hopefully Christmas was restful and fun or insane and forgettable, depending on what you were after.
I’m lazily trying to get back into a routine (I’ve watched far too many old films and have not yet been to the sales) so it’s digest posting of a few bits and pieces for […]

If you do one thing…
Tonight: Go and see Juana Molina in Crawdaddy tonight. Her album Son is one of my favourites of the year (it made my mid-year ‘Best of’ list. The best way to sum it up is “like imagining Astrid ‘Girl From Ipanema’ Gilberto tinkering about with keyboards and samplers” and you can […]