Chris Thompson   Chris Thompson on the internet

It’s late, my dog’s asleep on the next sofa, and I’m writing away with a film on in the background. I’m sort of half listening and watching, and half writing. And I’m getting strangely drawn into it, too. It’s called Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, which makes it all the more unexpected. I suppose it comes at a time when I’m analysing the conventions of a story, and what makes a good story, and what makes a bad one.

All the traditional conventions of a rom-com are alive and well with this one.

I also stumbled across an article a little bit earlier, and it was strange enough to share. A curious beastie has washed up on the shores of Allonby Beach. The pictures look like a strange mix of octopus and sea shells – it’s a big tangle of slippery looking tentacles. Although it looks like some sort of face-sucking alien, it is apparently goose barnacles.

Just when I thought the news was becoming stale…