http://www.katbrown.net en-gb katbrown.net 2011-8-12T00:00:00Z katbrown.net http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#94353 On Sunday I was a lay preacher in church. Please try not to laugh too hard my parents almost bit their lips off when I told them this was happening.The vicar pounced on me before Eucharist a couple of months ago.Im going to ask you something very scary he said. Hum I thought Ive faced Anne Robinson on The Weakest Link. Unless this involves standing up in front of an entire church this really isnt going to faze me.Will you do a sermon for us at EvensongAhahahahaha.Ten seconds later I found that I was saying as I do to pretty much anything my utterly charming vicar asks that Id be thrilled.Of course I thought it was bonkers to ask me. I only got confirmed a few months ago and spent so much of my classes being deeply annoyed by Leviticus that Im amazed I was welcomed so warmly. To me Preacher is a graphic novel not a description of myself. Moreover this was my first time at Evensong full stop.I found writing my sermon incredibly difficult not least because everytime the word sermon popped... 2011-5-20 11:25:16 http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#89725 Ive been very lucky to interview some absolutely incredible British athletes as part of a project for the Olympics. The story that stands out most is that of the table tennis Paralympian Arnie Chan who was sadly cut from the Team 2012 squad this week.A man who takes unassuming to new levels when I met Chan I initally thought he was a very tough interviewee. He didnt open up much and didnt seem tremendously passionate about his sport clearly I was getting massively lazy then he suddenly dropped a series of jawdropping facts as if they were nothing.Chan played the sport for 30 years playing in his very first Games within two months of picking up a bat. He has won a cluster of team and individual golds during his career and competed at six Paralympic Games winning team and individual bronze medals at Seoul and Barcelona. The double Paralympic medallists brother accidentally shot him with their fathers gun during a game of hide and seek in their native Vietnam leaving Arnie paral... 2011-3-21 11:41:21 http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#87467 Its the afternoon and thus the perfect time for a catrelated storyDo you remember the story of the Pampers kitten I worry about you if you dont as it only happened last week. Catch up here.Well there is some very good news in that the little thing has now got a lovely nonrubbish dumpbased home and not where I was expecting either.This from Ash The vet went very well purrfect bill of health. I also found out that it is 5 months old and a boy Also after a lot of deliberation I have decided to keep him. We have bonded over the last 10 days and he has now basically taken over the house. Plus he broke a lamp yesterday so he needs to stay until he can pay that backSo the little girl who is in fact a boy has settled in very happily chez Ash. Hes called Parker and here he his owning his property. AdorableThank you to everyone who RTd Facebooked and sorry to those who fell in love with him but who got sideswiped by Ash realising that what he really needed in his life was a little kitte... 2011-2-21 14:05:40 http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#87090 I adore cats. Unfortunately I dont think my landlord does and I live right next to a road which is why Im asking for your help to find a home for this absolutely beautiful tabby kitten who is currently staying with my colleague Ash in London.Ash found her taped up in a Pampers box in a pile of rubbish in the street last Tuesday. What a fucking horrible thing to do to an animal. Is taking the Tube to Battersea really that hardShes apparently really friendly but she cant stay with Ash so hes looking for a home for her quite quickly.He thinks she is less than a year old. Shes going to the vets on Saturday for a check up so once shes been looked over the next step is to find her a home who will adore her and not put her in a bloody box hoping shell die.If you can give this little kitten a really lovely home or know someone who can PLEASE email me and I will pass on genuine enquiries to Ash. If you cant please RT this post on Twitter or Facebook and to other animal lovers.Thank you for rea... 2011-2-16 17:32:03 http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#85928 I know I should have long given up on being appalled by anything the Daily Mail do but this takes the biscuit the cheese and the whole sodding barrel. Their lawyers particularly.No Sleep Til Brooklands blog A True Story of Daily Mail Lies This is a story written by Juliet Shaw. In 2003 she replied to a journalist request on Response Source asking for people who had left the city to move to the country. Her story and that of the other women interviewed was rewritten often reimagined and turned into a story about Sex and the City.Sex amp the Country What happened when four singletons fed up with shallow urban lives upped sticks in a quest for rural romanceShallow urban lives I didnt have a shallow urban life. I had two children and a career. Id just been through a very traumatic relationship breakdown and a period of severe depression. And I certainly didnt force my children to move 100 miles in a quest for rural romance. I wanted a better life for us all away from a situati... 2011-2-1 14:06:30 http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#83628 For the last eight years Ive been absolutely nutso for The Archers Radio 4s sixdaily soap about well not very much usually. New Years Day 2011 sees the show based around a farming community celebrate its diamond jubilee but as Saturdays the one day it doesnt air January 2 is the big one. Were promised a doublelength episode that will shake Ambridge to the core sattc on Twitter so if youve never listened to it before thats worth a listen if only because the most annoying character in the history of radio stands a fairly decent chance of snuffing it.Heres my short beginners guide to what to expect. If you really want to do research in advance theres the omnibus on Radio 4 at 10am followed on BBC by classic clips with comment from the cast. Hoorahintro music DUHDERDUHDERDUHDERDUH DUHDERDUHDERDUHDUH DUHDERDUHDERDUHDERDUH DUHDERDEEDLEEEDEE...Somewhere in the West Countrys fictional county of Borsetshire lies Ambridge a sleepy farming community with a sprinkling of hay thieves civil partners... 2011-1-1 15:32:03 http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#80944 Normal 0 false false false ENGB XNONE XNONE Style Definitions table.MsoNormalTable msostylenameTable Normal msotstylerowbandsize0 msotstylecolbandsize0 msostylenoshowyes msostylepriority99 msostyleparent msopaddingalt0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt m... 2010-11-22 17:08:37 http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#77925 UPDATE All of the diaries are finished and up at www.thetimes.co.ukconfirmationdiaryIve got a horrendous attack of the newschools as I get off the train and head to my first class. I havent returned to the area since Bens memorial service 18 months ago and as I walk into the church hall I feel shy and incredibly awkward. Am I religious enough Is it allowed that I think a lot of the Bible is bunk Is my outfit even vaguely appropriate Are my reasons for doing this as valid as everyone elses Will they let me join in or will I get that teenage feeling of being unsuitable again. Argh. Im planning to write to Bens mother afterwards about getting confirmed through her church. For the moment it feels a bit odd like Im sneaking into her garden and pitching a tent. Ben wasnt remotely religious himself although he did a lot of volunteering for Festival Samaritans. He was however one of those people who is just so good that it makes you roll your eyes when pursedlippe... 2010-10-14 17:02:48 http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#77591 Oh as if I could possibly go a fortnight without writing about Jilly Cooper again. This time its a bar review of the St Pancras Grand for the Sunday Times Style.Where did you goSt Pancras Grand Upper Concourse St Pancras International Euston Road N1C 4QL 020 7870 9900 searcys.co.ukWhyFor an audience with my alltime favourite author blockbuster queen and witty icon of women everywhere Jilly Cooper. It might as well have been the Pope my friend and I were that excited and the staff of Foyles in its 80th year of hosting literary dinners seemed equally overjoyed. This is the latest PD James is up next on November 8.What was it likeGiven that most of the saucy bits of her books take place in glamorous surroundings the glitz of the St Pancras Grand is perfect to hear Cooper talk about her new novel Jump shes convinced its her worst book and people will hate it this despite it reaching number one on The Sunday Times bestseller list a mere three days after going on sale.Lounging gloriously b... 2010-10-11 11:37:19 http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#77227 As spartan and sporadic as this blog is Im a Twitter girl at heart the fact that Im now writing a series of blogs for The Times seemed more appropriate to mentioning here.Over the course of the next six weeks I will be diarising the course of classes that will lead to me being confirmed as your actual C of E member in November.The first blog Ive written explains why Im doing it 14 years after the usual time everyone does it mostly through school and because everyone else is and why its taken me so long to get here.It costs a quid so if you already subscribe to The Times website click away otherwise feel free to wait until youve hoarded enough links to feel like you can.Heres the first few pars to whet your appetite1return this.socthis.socetrue hrefhttpcommunity.thetimes.co.ukver1.0Contentimagesstore30c30c286c426c42cb903c8efadc342de7.Full.jpg targetblank titleClick here to view this image at full size in another window...Earlier this year after two years of dithering and 17 years ... 2010-10-6 17:50:29 http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#76759 Great food tick meet idol tick get private sneak preview of plot for the next book hang on WOW. Theres more than food onhand at this literary meal...It shouldnt come as a surprise that Jilly Cooper has just told the filthiest joke Ive ever heard. Years of reading about blowjobs in helicopters Kenyan orgies and shagging on glockenspiels has left me blas233 when it comes to Cooper sex but nothing can prepare you for it coming live from this tiny glamorous woman with impossibly huge hair grinning away like a modelthin Nanny Ogg.Listening to Cooper speaking at Foyles literary dinner I dimly understand how Catholics in Hyde Park must have felt the other week. Ive worshipped at the Cooper shrine since finding my mothers 70s copy of Emily aged 11 and desperately wishing shed written about interesting things happening to a Katherine as well. Even now mention Cooper to most women over 16 and youll invariably be greeted in ecstasies along the lines of She is amazing Got me through schoolfirs... 2010-9-30 16:45:20 http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#66738 Outside a brief entry on my old blog Ive never publicly written about my veeeery longstanding and hurray finished battle with depression but having been happy and healthy for the last five years and witnessed a growing campaign to remove the taboos surrounding mental health I was happy to volunteer as a case study when a friend working at Stylist magazine was looking for them.Wow what a mistake that was.In todays issue of Stylist floating inside an insightful piece by hencehemmo on depression you will find a firstperson case study ostensibly written by me. Bollocks. This has been cobbled together from a long series of email QampAs and topped off with Two Stylist readers reveal how depression affects their lives.Im sorry did I miss the bit where I suddenly got ill again Thanks to Londons 78 buses grinding to a halt today I had to walk a fair bit in the rain but the last time I checked having a wet face and ENORMOUS attack of the sulks wasnt the same as depression. And FYI I walk to work... 2010-6-1 21:20:06 http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#60139 According to Lynn Gardner in todays Guardian Andrew Lloyd Webber is in a bit of a sulk about the fact people are posting negative reviews of Love Never Dies the not a sequel honest to his 80s hit The Phantom of the Opera on the internet. In amidst flouncing about the flurry of bad reviews doing the rounds on blogs message boards and the ultimate delight the West End Whingers verdict Paint Never Dries being picked up by every newspaper in Britain Andrew Lloyd Webber is reported to be cross that nobodys mentioned the moveable feast that is the preview week and how much can be changed over the course of the shows before opening night.Well tough. I saw it on Saturday night as close as I could get to tonights press night to form an opinion without having my trip spoiled by other reviews and the problem with Lloyd Webbers thoughts is that its very unlikely Love Never Dies biggest failing will be addressed the book is an absolute dog. Paint Never Dries indeed very pret... 2010-3-9 13:26:28 http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#57718 Normal 0 false false false ENGB XNONE XNONE Style Definitions table.MsoNormalTable msostylenameTable Normal msotstylerowbandsize0 msotstylecolbandsize0 msostylenoshowyes msostylepriority99 msostyleqformatyes msostyleparent msopaddingalt0cm ... 2010-2-4 15:53:51 http://www.katbrown.net/page12.htm#57698 Some of these will be selfexplanatory others less so suffice to say theyre all utterly brilliant and I couldnt live without them. All have much the same effect as a bucket of black Americano if same has not managed to get into my system first thing in the morning. Journalism and SEO Journo favourites on Twitter JournobizMalcolmColesPitching The World PressGazetteJournalism.co.ukMashable Theatre Theatre on Twitter West End WhingersMark Shenton The Stage Fashion and lifestyle Favourite FampL on Twitter DomesticSlutteryBrand AlleyTheSartorialist Sarah Vain andTall Offbeat Brides Im being a bridesmaid ratherthan a bridezilla but this is still brilliant London Londoncentric Twitter favourites To Miss With Love Georgian LondonDerelict London Run Riot London Review of Breakfasts Le Cool Film and funniesFavourite funny accounts on Twitter The EditingRoomCrackedB3ta 2010-2-4 13:11:38