DIY For Philosophers

Here’s a book I’ve been working on for a while, although I probably won’t ever get round to writing it. My wife was very eager to do the cover, for some reason…

The only thing I find interesting about fixing things is my lack of interest in it. Although I do like watching other people fix things. Our boiler started leaking the other day and a boiler repair fella came round, took it apart — unbelievably complex thing; I was expecting just a tank and a few wires — tested this and that, replaced a washer, all kind of mesmerising. He said that British Gas fired all its engineers last Christmas planning to rehire them on a more exploitative contract. They were all so pissed off — Christmas it was as well — sixty per cent didn’t return, so now the few remaining have to do twenty-hour shifts.

Anyway, what am I working on? I put most of this blog together in May and June and set it up for automatic posting, which is why it’s a bit less chatty than previous incarnations, perhaps a bit drier. I am adding bits here and there, like this post, but all my energies are going into a novel, something of an insane death epic called Fired, which will be finished soon. Next I’m going to try and get that published. If nobody takes it up, which is likely, I’ll self-publish (I’m very happy to have my non-fiction self-published because it’s so niche, at least at the moment, but I would like to get a bit of a wider release on the fiction). I might write a very simple pocketbook guide to everything with pictures also, and I’m going to be trying, again, to get a film made — I’ve got a low-budget horror and a dead-pan comedy in the works — and I might start doing a podcast if I can afford some nice recording equipment and a music licensing thingy (I want to ‘legally’ play music on it). There won’t be video though as I wish to raise up the humiliated word.

So those are the plans. Who knows though? Without a smartphone, and with a nonnegotiable determination never to get vaxxed, tested or use a passport to access my own culture, I might soon find myself on the street. If so, I’ll let you know and I can meet up with those of you also there and we’ll steal some banjos and have a dance. Oh, that reminds me, I come into London every now and then and sometimes meet readers. If anyone fancies a coffee drop me a line, tell me something about yourself, and we might be able to spend an agreeable hour chatting.