I DON'T DO THIS NORMALLY BUT...

Just because Lady M thinks I shan't, I shall. Here is my take on the 7/7 meme:

7 things to do before I die:

1. Finish my book on the British left and the Soviet Union.
2. Go freelance again.
3. Visit Georgia (the country not the American state).
4. Finish decorating my study and get a carpet for it and sort out the lighting so it’s easy to read.
5. Get some new specs.
6. Quit smoking.
7. Learn to drive.

7 things I cannot do:

1. Play any musical instrument.
2. Drive.
3. Quit smoking.
4. Write coherently while drunk.
5. Marriage.
6. Read comfortably in my study with the lighting as it is.
7. Religion.

7 things that attract me to London:

1. Work.
2. Friends.
3. It’s not too far from home and I can get breakfast on the train if I want.
4. The Prince Arthur, Charles Square N1.
5. The British Library.
6. Hampstead Heath, Blackheath, Hyde Park.
7. Fleet Street, Clerkenwell, the East End.

7 things I often say:

1. Er…
2. An Adnams please.
3. Twenty Marlboro Light.
4. OK, everybody – could you all just shut up? Like now? OK, this week I’m going to be looking at…
5. Ah, hello Roy, thanks for getting back, how are you? I’ve just got a small query on your copy.
6. Can I have a period return with a Network Card?
7. That’s complete bollocks.

7 books that I love:

1. Homage to Catalonia (George Orwell)
2. The Making of the English Working Class (Edward Thompson)
3. New Grub Street (George Gissing)
4. The Talented Mr Ripley (Patricia Highsmith)
5. Paterson (William Carlos Williams)
6. Memoirs of a Revolutionist (Dwight Macdonald)
7. Twentieth Century British Political Facts (David and Gareth Butler)


7 movies I watch over and over again:

1. The Front Page (Wilder)
2. Some Like It Hot (Wilder)
3. Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (Tati)
4. Mon Oncle (Tati)
5. The Third Man (Reed)
6. Way Out West (Laurel and Hardy)
7. Kings Of The Road (Wenders)


7 people I want to join in too:

I'm not going that far.