Biscuit tin...

This entry is going to be a bit like a biscuit tin - lots of different biscuits that you rummage round until you find the one just ready to dunk into a mug of tea.

Last night, just as I was thinking about bed I heard Buffy Sainte-Marie singing on the telly - it was on as background white noise rather than anything I was actually watching. Lo and behold - 'Soldier Blue' is on! I'm sure it was on about 6 months ago but hey, gotta watch it. The massacre at the end is so sad but the film ends with a nice scene of our hero (Richard Strauss) and heroine (Candice Bergen) alive and kicking and smiling - down but not out. I then had to listen to Buffy's 'Native North American Child' album - that's the 1974 compilation of some of her native American songs from 1963 onwards. I also had a Buffy morning listening to her music on my iPod on the way to work. A few Buffy's set me up for the day!

On the way to catch the bus I stopped off at the Post Office sorting office to pick up my latest purchases from Amazon and was delighted to find I had two parcels - one containing the CD of 'Rock Follies of 77' and the other had the autobiography of Bambi Lake.

Watched the DVDs of Rock Follies (all 12 hour-long episodes covering both series) over the past couple of weekends and decided I wanted the CDs (I got both albums on vinyl when they came out in 1976 and 1977, obviously). What a great show that was and it was my first exposure to the wonderful voice of Julie Covington. I even got her album when it came out but it was an odd selection of songs that didn't really work for me. She went on to star in the National Theatre production on 'Guys and Dolls' in the early '80s (a show I've been told about endlessly over the past few years) but I've never seen her in anything - that would be quite fun, to see her in a musical or something.

Bambi Lake is a bit different. I don't really know anything about her but Justin Bond (in his cabaret show I saw over the summer, Justin Bond and the Freudian Slippers) sang a couple of songs he attributed to her and I was fascinated by the words and the images they evoked. It's a world I'll never know or inhabit (and I don't think I'd want to) but she sounded like a fascinating character and I want to know more. She doesn't seem to have recorded any of her songs - or at least I can't find any on any of the sites I look at - so her autobiography is the next best thing. It's taken about 5 weeks to arrive from Amazon - it looks like it's an American book (you can always tell) so that's probably why! It's now on the pile of outstanding books to read (Noddy Holder first, then Frida Kahlo once I've finished my current rather excellent fantasy epic by Julian May).

Then went to work (as you do) and did emails and stuff, followed by two meetings about Africa (we're going to save Africa with computers...). Interesting meetings and some nice opportunities are presenting themselves but it's a bit of a distraction at the moment (even the slight possibility of a trip to Ghana) what with everything else happening. Then had our Press Office on the phone about an article in the 'Telegraph' newspaper (and the 'Mail' might run an article) and needing briefing on a new research report published today. Having no-one working on research at the moment I had to do it mysef (that's so annoying, actually having to do work!). It was a bit disappointing to see that the report was from Bristol University and the author was someone we've worked with in the past - it would have been nice to know in advance that the report was coming out. Looking at the summary it seems as if the journalist hadn't read the report - that's mischief making, not journalism.

This afternoon was more productive with a useful meeting at the British Council offices off Trafalgar Square about the Global Gateway - a website colleagues elsewhere pay for but which I have an interest in. I'm not keen on it at the moment but it has so much potential if it's handled right. I just need to influence it in the right direction (from my point of view, of course).

Then went window shopping for laptops on Tottenham Court Road with Chris. Why have laptops suddenly gone widescreen? Or have I missed something?