Wednesday

I had to go to Scunthorpe yesterday to give a presentation as part of a free pitch to an existing client ( we were in competition with another design agency ).

The day started at 6.30am with myself at the local station, arguing with the man in the ticket office about the ticket I bought from the machine last night that had the wrong date on it, he was, at first - clearly committed to making made pay for a new ticket ( nearly 70 quid ) - but eventually, after much persuasion - it became clear that - yes, I was perfectly entitled to a new ticket.

I spent 11 hours on trains yesterday. London / Stratford very busy both ways with people visiting the Parylimpics - incredibly happy, all dressed up in national colours and all having a great time. Transport and management of comuters seemed to be very successful.

The presentation went well - we arrived at a giant distribution depot and their head office, with a logo I designed in 30 feet above us, and loads of lorries with my logo on them - an odd experience ( not as odd as having to pitch to keep the client )

Meeting was OK - but Scunthorpe was horrible. Flat, dead landcape - no features, dreary housing - late period victorian or inter war ticky-tacky boxes. An air of gloom and desperation, horrible shops, horrible station, dead eyed people dragging their knuckles and several dead eyed children about. One man had 'Chelsea' England' and 'Walt Disney' self - tattoo'd on his arm. Glad to escape. The only colour was the occasional plastic bag flapping in the hedges.

The big section of hall ceiling that fell down on sunday is still on the floor - too busy / tired to do anything about it.

Read a Naomi Woolf article this morning and extract from her latest book - then she was on Women's Hour. Strikes me as a dangerous idiot - and very self absorbed. Apparently she's 'not a prescriptive person' - could have fooled me.

Read an article about Tom Cruise on the Guardian - the author clearly hates him - it was a shit article, badly written and researched. I don't care about Tom Cruise, or his wacky religion, they are all the same - but save him from bad journalists.

Found a giant cattapiller this morning - 4 inches long - apparently it's from the Elephant Hawkmoor Moth - it had tusks and everything, HUGE!!!