Readers of this blog will know that a fair proportion of my life’s work is devoted to promoting the creative output of the writer John Osborne. He has just done a new youtube video, for a poem I like called ‘I Think Pat Sharp Is Lonely’. Here it is:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwYtDhvDVJQ]

Today is MAR10 Day, apparently. I was going to have mushroom pasta for tea to celebrate, but I seem to have contracted a stomach bug and, well… I’ll be uncharacteristically coy about the details but suffice to say I don’t feel much like tucking in to a hearty, cheese-slathered meal. This is the first time since the beginning of my Lenten video games fast that I’ve seriously considered giving in and playing something, if only so my DS could accompany me on my frequent trips to the toilet.

Deep in my heart, however, I know that spending 6 hours sitting at my PC playing Civ 3 will leave me feeling sad and defeated, not because I’d failed to quit video games for Lent, but because at the end, I won’t have achieved anything. I do love video games, and, in fact, I’d genuinely credit the Civilisation series for significantly improving my historical knowledge in areas such as military history, scientific discoveries and political history, but that addictive feeling of ‘just one more go’ can eat up hours and hours of your life. But unlike TV, most sophisticated video games make you feel as if you’re actually progressing and achieving something, and afterwards there’s this horrible downer as you remember that your trans-continental fascist empire, your 3598 bottle caps earned, your levelled-up paladin or your ‘Silent Assassin’ achievement unlocked don’t mean shit in the real world.

Okay, right. That’s my bowels calling. Off to the bathroom again. Ta ta.