Except. PC World. Yes, true believer, the company only mildly less annoying than a haemorrhage are back to their normal level of ineptitude. When I got this new laptop I took out their extended warranty for which I pay the pricely sum of £7.99 a month. Only today I got a letter saying I wasn't covered because payment had been refused by my bank. I called the bank and they confirmed that a payment had been disallowed, but not by THEM, actually by PC World itself not allowing it to go through. I call PC World and they tell me they don't why it's happened but they need all my info again. I explain that I'm in bed, just out of hospital and don't know where my wallet and credit card details are - but surely they have that info from the original agreement which is less than two months old (and I can answer any security questions they want). But, no. They don't have the credit card number any more because they've CANCELLED my warranty because the payment didn't go through and I'll need to set it up again. Can't they liaise with the department that has the paperwork? No. I'D have to send a letter to that department authorising them to give the other department the info. Or wait until I can find my credit card in the next few days... and not be covered until I do.

Just checking... it was ME who had the brain malfunction, wasn't it?

Also I got a funny card and best wishes from another colleague, Johnny Messias which raised a smile. But the big surprise was a bunch of flowers and a pizza delivery organised by Mark Millar and the lovely people at Millarworld. But this wasn't your ordinary pizza... oh no, this was from the Gourmet CHOCOLATE Pizza company. ( http://www.gourmetchocolatepizza.co.uk/) Slices of crisp, crunchy and just delicious choccy goodness in a pizza box. Almost puts jaffa cakes to shame. Oh, yes.

Thanks, guys. Wish I was with you for the Dublin Comic-Con this weekend, but I'll raise a slice and think of you!

The unconventional but stylish cover was a bit of a battle to keep but I think it will work well with genre fans. I generally think Impact needs to tilt to a more older audience and this Watchmen cover actually asks an important question rather than just cut and pastes existing studio images. I think audiences respond to a magazine's efforts to engage debate and be controversial (and Alan Moore is certainly that), so I guess the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, but I hope enough fans pick it up to prove my point to the publishers that we shouldn't just do the easiest, most basic designs.

Credit must go to Neal Molyneaux, Mike Leeder, Kerry Glover, Big John Bierly and Dina Burgess for stepping up to the plate in my absence and helping out in the past two weeks, giving me some breathing space before plunging (plummetting?) into some light work for #205, probably next week.

Anyway, please buy or order Impact #204 (out in about ten days time in the UK ) if you can... (clicketh this link to the official website). You won't regret it.

So. Deep breath. Breathe In. Breathe Out. Repeat.

Ignore the half-skulled man in the previous Hallowe'en post below from October 31st. The following day, November 1st, was one of the most f*cking scary moments in my entire life - and remember, I’m a guy who has so far lived through being nearly fatally poisoned, shot, threatened and interviewing Britney Spears.

Let me be blunt: last weekend there were several hours when I literally thought I was going to die (and if you believe everything on Wikipedia, I probably should have). Late Saturday afternoon, I suddenly got a headache that within a few seconds I knew wasn’t JUST a headache. Not even a migraine. Fortunately, I knew my parents weren’t far away and called them - explaining I thought I needed help and if they arrived to find me unconscious (a real possibility) they should call the paramedics. Within an hour, and amidst bouts of pain and vomiting, the ambulance got me to the hospital. Amazingly fast tests were done (God, I love the NHS!) and I was admitted to a ward. The following day I had a further scan (and angiogram) which confirmed I’d had a sub-arachnoid haemorrhage and there were ongoing discussions about the severity and the consequences. While the images were analysed etc I was confined to a bed and unable to even turn my head without more intense pain and body spasms. Hell of a weekend.

On Monday I was told that as far as haemorrhages go, I’d effectively been hit head on by a Ford Cortina rather than an Optimus Prime juggernaut. For those who need to know specifics, this was a bleed outside the actual brain, pushing against the skull (if I’d been more like Eli Stone and his George Michael musical ‘visions’, it would have been an aneurism inside the brain itself) and so the essential efforts were sorting out if this was a one-off, an underlying problem or something that required further surgery. After another twenty-four hours it appeared the first situation was the case - that there was no sign of further bleeding and that there appeared to be no rhyme or reason to the event. Layman terms: shit happens and a mixture of luck, cleanISH living and fast enough reactions meant that after some convalescence I should make a full recovery.

Right now, it looks I’m going to be ensconced at my parentals’ house until Christmas (simply as a sensible precaution), limiting my workload to the minimum and working my way through continued severe headaches/dizziness (safe, if nothing to be sneezed at - literally) and hobbling around (due to similar conditions to meningitis, there’s some linked general swelling and stiffness in the shoulders, back and legs) and for this week at least, largely just confined to bed and hellish Daytime TV - though I could watch that Obama acceptance speech over and over again.

It’s annoying I won’t make the Thought Bubble event and panels with Mark Millar that I was due to host next week (Tamsin, Lisa... give 'em hell!) nor quite likely a long-arranged set-visit later in the month, but I KNOW how lucky I am.

Thanks to EVERYONE at the LGI and their Neurology Department for their care; everyone who sent their best wishes - especially the Facebookers and HLWW listers. I’ll be getting back to you all as my sleep and thinking patterns even out. In the meantime, immediate thanks to Kerry - who knew the real dangers all too well - for immediately jumping in to organise Impact material, Jilly for her sense of humour and Carmel for getting the word out. Thanks to Big Mike, Dina et al for the speedy texts.

And, of course, thanks beyond the telling of it to my mum and dad for just... being there.

You’ll understand, I may not be posting quite as much for a while. But I’ll be around.

So. Breathe In. Breathe Out. Repeat.

I haven't been out for drinks with local friends in quite a while, so when Sabrina Peyton (who I know through Millarworld and Thought Bubble) mentioned a Hallowe'en party at the FAB Cafe in Leeds I decided I might as well let my hair down (while I still can) and even get into the fancy-dress side of it.

One thing I love about Americans is the enthusiastic way that they throw themselves into the holiday spirit. I've always been a bit envious about the fun and gusto that people like Kerry have put into their own costumes and fear-stivities. Hallowe-en in the UK has often been soley for the kiddies and even having said that, nowadays parents are less likley to let their kids knock on strange doors for candy. However there were a lot of adults dressed up for the occasion in Leeds City Centre and my self-applied half-skull face (80p kiddies make-up kit used to best effect proving cheap is cheerful) didn't seem too shabby.

Sabrina got dressed up as Hellboy's Liz Sherman (or was it a fully-armoured Sarah Palin?), Tasmin Isles was a garotted Marie Antionette and Lisa Wood was a bloodied widow (who knew these quiet, unassuming individuals could be so scary? Well, me, actually.). The Travelling Man's comic shop owner Nabil had a bullet-in-the-head, but thankfully no serious injury.

Spent some time at Travelling Man discussing the forthcoming Thought Bubble event, setting the world to rights etc before heading to the FAB Cafe, where alcohol was imbibed, snacks were snacked upon and Superman was dancing with a pumpkin, Torquemada was chatting with the Ghostbusters' Slimer and Sweeney Todd was serving a round of drinks to The Joker. So, pretty much your average night out in Leeds.

Enjoyed a few Coronas, thought didn't get out of my 'skull'...but it was a fun night out and good practise for the TB event in a couple of weeks!