The Meerkat Muse: 27th of August, 2025

We’re back, baby! What has been occupying this meerkat’s time over the past two weeks?

A Moment of Shame

Regrettably, I have allowed my irritation – and a certain element of stimulation – to lead me back into an argument with a certain miscreant. I have done my best to ignore the provocations and childish behaviour of this fool, but sometimes that proves impossible in the wake of repeated goading. I should know better by now that certain trolls will do nothing to change their ways, not least of all if they are firmly wedded to ignorant, fundamentalist thinking. It doesn’t help that they seem to have a God Complex.

I have returned to ignoring them, since I know they are not capable of changing their errant ways, nor curbing their dishonest and cowardly behaviour. Narcissists tend to unable to acknowledge when they are wrong, and they will not be the ones to even try and change.

The Premier League Returns!

It feels like a small eternity has passed since the 24/25 football season ended, but the Premier League returned on the 15th, with my beloved Liverpool hosting Bournemouth. Would the reigning champions get off to a good start?

The answer was ‘sort of’. A good attacking display was countered by some fraught defending, but Liverpool’s firepower, on an emotional night (the crowd sung songs of Diogo Jota all night) carried the Reds through to a 4-2 victory. There is clearly defensive work to be done. Still, in Slot we trust.

For the Love of Fantasy

Saturday the 16th was a very busy day, a day typical of attending conventions. Thanks to engineering works the journey was more awkward than normal, and this was made more challenging by the need for a very early start. Still, we got to the venue at the ExCel Centre on plenty of time, and by having early access passes, our little group was able to have a bit of time to explore without the usual crowds. The haul was pretty substantial, and the cosplays on display were as impressive as ever.

As a collective family unit we managed to spend a small fortune, with my main acquisitions being new books to read. I was able to observe the general experience of being a vendor, in preparation for the possibility of doing something similar. I have no idea when I’ll be presenting my books at a stall at such a venue, but it would be a good exercise, if I can find the money and means to carry it out.

I should also state that I bought the most wonderful mead, and the most incredible donuts!

One aspect of the trip is that I didn’t overheat as I usually do. This is because I took the *gasp*, epic decision to wear shorts! I didn’t cosplay, as wandering around the ExCel Centre in costume would have been exhausting. What I should do is cosplay as Seluban if I get myself a vendor’s stall. That would certainly attraction attention for my books!

Meerkat Musings, under Attack?

On the 17th of August, I received a string of emails from WordPress, alerting me to an increased series of attacks on my site’s firewall, all coming from IP addresses in Singapore. This wasn’t especially alarming (I’d have been a lot more concerned if my site had actually been breached), but still, it’s a strange and somewhat troubling curiosity. I don’t believe my content is particularly inflammatory (though your mileage will certainly vary on that score), but is someone actively seeking to silence this meerkat? I can think of a few people who would like me to cease sharing my thoughts and opinions, but here’s the rub: if, by some malicious or unfortunate circumstance, Meerkat Musings winked out of existence tomorrow, I would simply resurrect it. What people should understand about me, especially by now, is that I won’t be bullied into silence.

The Forest takes Shape

In a welcome surprise, my publisher Jumpmaster Press sent me the first round of edits for my most recent completed project, The Forest! This brings my third book one step closer to being published, and this is quite an important milestone for me, as The Forest is the start of something very big.

Swimming with the Fishes

OK, that’s a touch extreme! Rather than anything quite so dramatic, last Wednesday my wife, daughter and I ventured to Southend, where we visited the Sealife Centre. We have been here quite a few times before, but this was a quieter trip, as despite being in the middle of the summer holidays, it was reasonably empty. This suited me just fine, as I was in no particular mood for large, noisy crowds. The circumstances enabled me to take some pictures at a leisurely pace, and below, I am happily sharing a few with you!

We capped off the day with fish and chips, because what else would you get when at the beach?!

London’s Calling

The day after our Southend escape, we were zipping in the other direction, toward the Big Smoke. The occasion was to see the musical Six, which is based on the lives of King Henry VIII’s wives (more on this in a bit). The trip began with a visit to Chinatown, for a much-heralded feast (something we had all been looking forward to).

We found a little place called Beijing Dumpling, which I for one enjoyed. The food was good, which is what you want out of any restaurant, without being extortionately priced.

Oh, whilst wandering around Chinatown, a photo opportunity came up that I just could not ignore:

Following a trip to Forbidden Planet (think of a shopping Mecca for nerds, where the Gargoyles theme randomly played), and a brief stop in an anime shop, we attended to the chief reason for our London trip. The musical Six is told through some exhuburent songs, though there is also some hidden poignancy. The famous rhyme, ‘divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived’, does not offer much depth to the lives of Henry VIII’s wives. These women are often defined by their relationship to the king, yet perhaps that dynamic needs to be shifted the other way; Henry VIII does not define them, they define him, at least in part. Six is a pumping, energetic show that does not let up, but it also does not drag on; it was over in around an hour and a half, so it managed to be concise as well.

After yet another day spent doing a lot of walking, it was fair to say I felt knackered, but the busy days were not quite over…

Colchester Zoo

Despite living in Essex for 18 years, I had never been to Colchester, save for passing through on a train, until last Friday. The occasion was a trip for our family unit to the local zoo, and I have to confess to being surprised. I hadn’t expected Colchester Zoo to be particularly big, but it turns out it’s something of a labyrinth! The scale of the place is impressive, and they have a lot exhibits to soak in. Added by a beautiful, warm day, we had around six hours to indulge in our wild side, so to speak.

The zoo hosts some of what I consider to be among the world’s most beautiful, and precious creatures, starting with this:

It was another tiring day, but another productive one for making lasting memories.

A Weekend of Rest

After so much activity, I seized an opportunity at the weekend to do absolutely nothing. I felt I’d earned a breather, especially seeing that I would be back at work on Monday. In a strange twist, I would be back at work on Monday, and then off again on Tuesday, but that’s the way the rota crumbles, so to speak. Mind you, on Saturday there was a trip to the cinema, to watch K-Pop Demon Hunters, which we had originally watched at home, but there was a sing-a-long version at the cinema, so naturally we had to go and see it. I will confess to finding a lot of the songs quite catchy. No, I did not sing.

A Juggling Act

Whilst working on The Forest, I am still working on part three of the Chon’ith Saga. I am also slowly getting through edits to a co-authored work with my brother-in-law. I continue to fear I am biting off more than I can chew, and should probably pick one project to focus on, but my scatty meerkat mind does not tend to allow for that. I have to crept to more than 46,000 words of the Chon’ith Saga project, and I feel like I’m at the halfway mark. It certainly seems to be shaping up as my longest story so far.

Under the Weather

It seems a constant exposure to people and crowds has taken its toll. On Saturday evening, I began to feel a bit run down, and on Sunday, this feeling translated into something of a cold. It seems strange to have a cold during the height of summer, but my head felt foggy and my sinuses were not happy. At least this happened right at the end of my time off, as opposed to the start. Then again, my illness turned out to be covid, so…

On the upside, I ended up with more time off work. My colleagues weren’t exactly keen for me to spread the virus among them. I suspect my wife would have preferred me to be at work, so as to minimise her risk, but when we have bur one kitchen and bathroom, the odds of her catching it were pretty high. I took to the garden to keep my distance, which worked quite well as it was hot. I also figured I could burn the virus out of me a little bit, if I could raise my body temperature.

I didn’t succeed in burning out the virus, but did give myself sunburn. What a time to be alive!