My Negative-Soundbyte Clan

Hi Negative-Soundbyters! I am now labelling you; if you are a regular reader you are now part of the Negative-Soundbyte clan. Now that is not clan with a “K” (obviously) so don’t worry; a white sheet and hood will not be appearing in your welcome pack!

But why do you really care? You get the odd notification from me about a post on Facebook, you choose whether to read it and then you move on with your day. And why on earth would I want you to become part of my clan.

“I mean Hoddy, what exactly have you been smoking since you left formal employment? Do you still wear shoes? And look, long hair on a guy your age is not so cool, especially if it's thinning around the temples. We don’t mind your leather bangles but if we hear a guitar and a rendition of Kumbaya on Youtube, we will be deserting you in droves!!”

The crux of it is that I want to create a real connection with you that is bound up in light hearted banter; in seeing the world through a lens that is glass half full as opposed to there being no water in the glass at all; in expressions of satire; in moments of humour; in looking at life’s little breadcrumbs and picking from them a smile or at a push…some laughter!! And I want to do accomplish this through the written word or maybe a photograph at times - in the shape of Negative Soundbyte!

“Now Hoddy, please – I need some of whatever is in your pipe right this very minute!!! We know you; you are that guy who has always been half-empty and generally a grumpy bastard prone to moments of non-speak. On that note how on earth did you manage to pull your wife…I mean pigs actually do fly!”

And this is the thing Negative-Soundbyters; since leaving the dark depths of the caves of Mordor (okay it wasn’t that bad, Victoria is a reasonable place to work!) I have started to embark on a journey of self-discovery in a way, facilitated by another tribe of people whose energy, enthusiasm, love, positivity and a genuine belief in each other’s potential has helped me to get back in touch with the Hoddy that had forgotten that the world is a very varied place filled with lots of interesting people doing lots of cool stuff! And that even a boring, old, cynical Accountant like myself (with grey over the temples; I have been told that chicks dig a bit of George Clooney?) can participate and add a bit of spice into the mix!

“Hoddy, we’re losing you….Hoddy!! Don’t tell us that you have joined a cult? We always knew that move to Streatham might lead to this. Apparently the Common is rife with barefooted folk babbling to each other, holding hands and looking skywards a lot!”

No it’s okay; you won’t be hearing about me on the 6 o clock news. Barricading myself and ten of my closest followers into my house and threatening to burn it down wouldn’t go down well with the neighbours or for that matter Mrs H. Crikey she would have a bloody heart attack; we’re in the middle of building an extension!

I used to write my blog for myself. It was my creative outlet; used sporadically when I felt that I had something to say. I named it “Negative-Soundbyte” because invariably the posts were framed around a moan that I had (in the spirit of “glass-half-empty”) and Soundbyte because they were supposed to be short and snappy. I think that I have largely stayed true to this and will continue to do so; gripes can make for some good comedy!

However I am now going to start writing it for you as well. This is our social contract. I write once a week and you read once a week. If you feel it is worth subscribing to or forwarding on to others in the spirit of the Negative-Soundbyte clan then please do so. If you have any feedback or ideas for me then please leave it.

I haven’t a clue how this will land in the big, wide, virtual world. But you will never know if you don’t try.

OUT.