Today is a big day – the start of something new, interesting and challenging. Tomorrow I’ll be starting work for a new company who are based in Berlin, and I’m here for a week to get to know the team and soak up some of the atmosphere.
So far I’ve successfully negotiated my way from airport to hotel without issue. No biggie, but I’m impressed I managed to get here without getting lost. I’ve also wandered around Alexanderplatz and grabbed some food. Oddly, I saw three dead pigeons in the space of a hundred yards. An omen of doom? A pigeon virus yet to make the jump from mainland Europe? An overzealous tram driver? Who knows.
I’m now reclining in the hotel while a German dubbed version of Pirates of the Caribbean – The One With Bill Nighy In It – airs on the TV. Hopefully it will help me with my German, perhaps a pirate brogue will go down well in the new office?
All of this is ultimately a step towards a new kind of lifestyle, with more adventure and some more time to write. Speaking of which – following my writing update in February I’ve successfully completed none of the goals I set. instead I have been swept up in a new project which I’ll reveal a little more of over the coming weeks.
For now, sleep, food, Pirates of the Caribbean, Am Ende der Welt – and maybe some writing. Throughout this week I should get the chance to explore. Know something cool I should see? Let me know.
Currently Reading: Step Right Up, by William Castle. Not entirely unconnected to my new writing project, this autobiography of horror-director William Castle is a great read. Taking us from his early days when he convinced Orson Welles to loan him a theatre through sheer gumption, through to his renowned publicity stunts to pack in the crowds for horrors such as The Tingler, House on Haunted Hill and Homicidal.
‘Ladies and Gentlemen, when the clock reaches sixty seconds, you will be insured by Lloyds of London for one thousand dollars against death by fright.’
PAUL CUNLIFFE 