Sowing the seeds of love...

Am about to start work on a new play. Not the writing, just the preparation, the putting together of ideas and unearthing some research, maybe coming up with an actual story to go with the subject matter. I have been asked to do this. So, naturally, I spent the afternoon gardening. I have re-seeded the front lawn. I have no idea if this is a good time of year to do this kind of thing but I followed the instructions on the packet. Apparently, I will see signs of new growth within 14 days. Whether any work on the play has been done by that time is anyone's guess.
Met some newspaper people in Lamp, one of Hull's better establishments. The newspaper people are all becoming multi-media 'experts', such is the direction of the printed press, and were in training to make sub-standard, amateurish news videos that are then posted on the HDM's website, along with some hideously embarrassing 'news bulletins'. Somehow the paper won an award for innovation for this extremely poor branch of its business. It's only innovative if we can discount a few decades of television news. They get a few hours training which, apparently, is all you need and probably accounts for the terrible end-product. If those in charge at the paper had any understanding of what the internet actually is and the potential for news organisations it harbours, they might stand a chance. But The Guardian they ain't. Yesterday I saw several thousand copies of the Manchester Evening News given away, which is a sure sign that traditional print media, desperate to keep a readership at any cost, are living in fear of losing all their advertising revenues. It was surprising how many people refused a free copy, though, and preferred to side-step the vendors, instead choosing to walk in the direction of a man in a clown suit playing a keyboard programmed to make drum noises. Maybe that's the future.