They say opposites attract. The Boy is a fully paid up, new technology hating, neo-luddite. He despairs with my twitter addiction, he doesn’t understand the point of facebook and thinks smart phones are the devil’s work, particularly iPhones. He believes that they world has been ruined by email, we are stupider because of Google and that reading books and writing anything by hand will soon die out. His world is small, close and reachable by bus. Whilst I am the opposite, a fully paid up technophile. I communicate with friends all over the world via the internet, many of whom I would never have met because of blogging. Twitter is fun, fast and a brilliant source of giggles, banter and news. Facebook may be the devil’s work (the only thing we agree on) but it’s an essential part of my life. 2.0? Sign me up. I would however go much further; I’d love to be able to teleport (I hate flying), I think nanotechnology is the future (image having bots that could cure your cold before you ever caught it) and I’d love a chronoscope (because I am supremely nosy). Basically I want the world of my sci-fi novels to come to life. Opposites really do attract. But between the tweeting and the DMing and the skyp-ing I do understand the need for real face to face communication, without it we aren’t human anymore. Ok, I am exaggerating, there are people out there that live their lives on the internet to no real harm, but I like to meet up with my blogging friends as much as possible. Not even the power of the internet beats the power of looking someone right in the eye whilst talking – probably why so many rows happen over text and email. It’s no wonder tweet ups are proving so popular; although unlike blogging people I meet through tweet ups are rarely how they come across on screen – I often feel cheated. But I’m happy to embrace this new way of communication, the boy isn’t. We needed to find some middle ground. A way of preserving something of our old way of life for the future. An email might last as long as the server holding it does (mine go back 6 years on Gmail, with far too many reminders of LTE) but it’s meaningless, just words on a screen. But a letter is different. It is physical; it is something you craft out by hand. Your handwriting is as unique as you are. The boy has letters written from his grandmother to his grandfather, I have postcards from the war. So, we made a pact that every year we are together, the Boy and I would hand write each other a letter. It doesn’t have to be a love letter, it doesn’t have to be meaningful, but it would be a record of our relationship from this point forward. Something that would endure as long as we tended it and looked after…

I got myself in trouble on twitter last night. I’m usually a mild mannered person. I don’t antagonise or react (I used to, but i’ve grown up a lot recently). But unfortunately last night one person managed to tip me over the edge….and it ended up with name calling and general childish behaviour. This is pass-worded because I don’t want it passed around willy-nilly, plus I had a huge hit count on my blog yesterday. I certainly don’t want to cause more trouble, but I just needed to get this out. Thanks x I watched the England / Germany game at a Scottish friend’s house, with her Scottish boyfriend and Scottish pal. So, picture the scene – 3 Scots and me, there was banter, there was teasing and of course, unless you have been in deepest darkest Mongolia there was a 4-1 result. Not in our favour. I had also been reading twitter at the same time, which like with many TV events was providing a source of much entertainment. I had been sniggering at some of the jokes and the banter… Oxo are to release a White cube with a red cross on it. It’s to be called laughing stock David Blaine is said to be gutted because his record of doing fuck all in a box for 42 days has been broken by Wayne Rooney. All part of football. England, it must be said, were shite, they deserved the abuse. But between the banter tweets there were a few, lets say, closer to the edge than others. Tweets that instead of being about football, were directed at the English fans. Mainly, I must point out from the Scots. I follow a lot of Scots. Now, if you are not from the UK and reading this, you might not know that there is a huge rivalry between the Scottish and the English. Google Scottish history and you will find out the reasons why – or read this fabulously funny tongue in cheek post from Think of England (it’s all Mel Gibson’s fault). Anyways, joking aside, the rivalry runs much deeper than football – indeed I think Scottish nationalism cannot exist without a loathing of the English. Something, living in Scotland as an English person I have come across more often than I would like. And luckily a lot less than some stories I have heard from other English friends – it helps being a girl. Most of the time it’s funny, I just nod my head and go aye, bloody English. I don’t rise to it, i’ve lived here for 14 years, I have learnt not to. My friends take the rivalry with a pinch of salt, as a joke, as something to laugh about. Unfortunately not everyone is like this. As one friend pointed out, if anyone ‘joked’ like some people were about any other country apart from England then they’d be accused of racism, instead of having a great sense of humour. Instead, people get away with xenophobic…

I would like (Edit: see you just have to ask nicely!) …to work out how to change a song on the ipod on my iphone without having to take out the phone from my bag. Surely that little control on the headphone does more than volume? If not, sort it out Apple… …England to qualify…obvs… …my tummy to go more than 3 weeks without having a fit and landing me in bed for the day, swelling or giving me nasty cramps. So close, but so so, far… …things with me and B to carry on exactly like they are right now… lovely, happy, coupley niceness, I am a very lucky girl… …the sun to be out for the canal festival I am working at this weekend. It was miserable last year and I can’t face 6 hours standing in the rain again. If you are in Edinburgh come down and see me, details are here. There is a raft race and everything… …to have a holiday or weekend away to plan, May and June have been brilliant and the summer is stretching a long way ahead of me with nothing to look forward to right now. Need cheap options… …for good things to happen to the Strawberry Fox (the boy I was in love with for years, but no more) as he has had a very tough year having watched his father battle a brain tumour. Sadly he passed away last week and the funeral is on Friday. RIP… …for the boy to get one of the jobs he is interviewing for this week, he needs to get his career of the ground now he’s graduated. If anyone is looking for an editorial assistant, designer, events organiser, fab jack of all trades, then get in touch (please!)… …and finally, last but not least, to say a very happy birthday to my mummy. She’s in france, so I cant treat her, but I hope she’s having an amazing day…