House

Creamy moonlight casts soft seductive shadows only I can see. The house is in darkness, its hatches battened down. It hides from the daylight world for there lies trust, love and dependence. It has a history, I know that from the additions and repairs. I have loved it for years and we have always enjoyed our secret connection.

I saw it once in summer sunshine, what a breathtaking sight. A glittering palace of perfect lines. I know I could live here and see out my days in happiness. But not everyone admires it like I do, there are those who walk past without a glance and others who haven’t even noticed.

I have visited often and spent many happy hours here. Yet there is so much more I want to discover behind the solid brickwork. Paths I would like to tread in the tangled overgrowth behind. In broad daylight I have knocked softly on the doors and peered through the blue windows to see only reflected sky. But at night this sleeping fortress mellows just a little.

I stride confidently through the gate and press my nose against a wide bay window. For a brief second an image of domestic bliss flashes into view. It burns into my retina, switches to negative then fades. I hurry to the next bay and peer into the gloom within. Shadows move inside telling me someone is home. My presence has caused a reaction.

This house has a soul, of that I am sure. I am determined to find it, after all there is nothing else left for me to do now. I will talk to the occupier. I mean really talk, not just chat over the fence. Some windows offer tantalising glimpses into a beautiful interior. Rooms and halls, shrouded in mystery, await my footfall.

I know there is soft warmth inside for I have been welcomed before. Tonight the walls are strong and the doors locked fast. “Daybreak,” I murmer. “I will come back and see you at daybreak…” Yes, daybreak seems somehow appropriate.

The Subways

An unbelievably young band with the world at their feet. Tonight Portsmouth Pyramids is heaving with eight hundred sweaty youngsters and me as we witnessed a truly electric performance from this fearless new trio.

The act is held together by baby-faced Billy Lunn who plays rock guitar with a punk edge and sings in a raw anxt-ridden yell that belies his young age. Charlotte Cooper's bass is nearly as big as her and a bare-chested drummer goes ape on the skins.

They crash through an extended version of "I Wanna Hear What You've Got to Say" and Billy climbs a PA tower to lead the hand-clapping from a precarious height then slithers down and does the same on the far side of the stage. Cameras pop everywhere and he dashes back centre stage to catch the Gibson SG flung deftly by his guitar tech. Next Is "With You" and hairs stand on the back of my neck to hear the line 'My best days are with you, they are so easy!" (I think I'm sixteen again...)

Keeping up an amazing pace these twenty-year-old rising stars of modern pop-punk run through the whole of their debut album "Young for Eternity" from which several charting singles have been lifted. To close they give us a blistering rendition of "Rock and Roll Queen" during which Billy dives headlong into the crowd and surfs like a rock legend! He emerges minus T-shirt and resumes the stage for the final chorus. No encore, so a frenzied Portsmouth crowd is left breathless and wanting more.

"Another day is here and I am still alive."
The Subways - I Want to Hear what You've Got to Say.

Gadgets

Okay so you want gadgets? Here is the new setup-

Desktop and Laptop.

Fujitsu Siemens
Scaleo P desktop
3Ghz Pentium 4
200gb hard drive
1gb RAM
DVD-RW dual layer
DVD-ROM
TV tuner
Samsung 19” TFT
FS Cordless kb/mouse
Freecom 80gb USB hard drive
Creative 4.1 surroundsound
Logitech 4000 pro WebCam
Epson X620 printer/scanner
Canon Ixus 700 camera
Creative Zen Touch 20gb mp3 player

Fujitsu Siemens
Amilo Pro laptop
Pentium M740 1.7Ghz
60g hard drive
512mb RAM
DVD-RW dual layer
15” TFT

Belkin wireless broadband router

I’m already bored and researching a new motorcycle.

PC

These days I'm not good at concentrating on more than one thing at a time. I have a new PC and laptop and am running them beside my old PC while I transfer files, programmes and settings. I can't do that and write as well. The wires are untangled the systems all run smoothly and I am packing away the boxes. So normal sporadic service will be resumed as soon as can muster the enthusiasm.