Back Burning

Still absolutely nuts here with The Working, I'm afraid, so there's just time for a quick check in and I'm off again.

The big news is that I only have one piece of paperwork to sort out and we're all systems go for a trip to the UK at the end of the month. I've already spoken to a few of you up there in the north about meeting up, and I'll be in touch again once I've got the required sticker in my passport and the dates are 100 per cent fixed.

In the meantime, here's a quick list of projects being shuffled from front-burner to back, back to front and back again. So little time!

• A 1000 word magazine story hanging over from last week.
  
• 32 DVDs to watch and review in the next 24 days. Actually, assuming Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are written off, make that 22 days. Oh, and I've only actually received eleven of the discs so far ...
  
• That never-ending audio script, which has taken on more of an urgency in the last week or two - got to have at least half of it finished in the next couple of weeks, but I'm aiming for more.
  
• A short story about maps. Had it rattling around in my head for a while now, pending submission to an upcoming anthology, but just can't find time to get it on paper.
  
• Another short story sparked by something I read in the paper and concerning a personal problem that's far more widespread than I realised. And no, I don't do it myself ... Again, intended for submission, but with less time pressure.

And that's about it. The good news is that there'd be another project on that list but for my kids vanishing to a pirate-themed party this afternoon and giving me the space to finish it.

And for those that missed them, here they arrrrrr:

Keira Knightley had better watch her back ...