Tuesday 30 April 2013

An Update on my Slimpod Purchase

A month or so ago I purchased a couple of Slimpods in a further attempt to lose weight, the original blog post can be found here I Am Dieting. Again.  I listened to it twice a day (when I went to bed and just before I got up the next morning) for 21 days as instructed.  And started to crave chocolate.

The first time I listened to the first mp3, all I could see was Easter Eggs, the voice of the narrator just made me think of how smooth and round they are, how the chocolate feels as it melts in the mouth.  I have always eaten chocolate but never in any great amounts, I have never actively sought it out, if it is front of me I will eat it, but I have never sat on the settee at night thinking 'I wish I had some chocolate', alcohol yes, but chocolate no.  Now I was buying chocolate every time I went to a shop.


I put a couple of pounds on but even worse, I had to go up a size in jeans back up to a 20 after working so hard to get down to an 18 (which were getting loose enough to consider a 16). Considering that the mp3 I was listening to was called 'Drop Two Jeans Sizes' something was obviously going wrong.

I think it was because my mind was wired up to be contrary, whether consciously or subconsciously.

I stopped listening to it a couple of weeks back and I have lost 6lbs.  Now as to whether that is because I have stopped listening to the mp3 or because I am now on anti-depressants I couldn't say.

The size 20 jeans that I had to buy are now feeling too big around the waist, leaving a big gap at the back between my waist and the band of the jeans.  Watch this space for further updates.

Sunday 28 April 2013

Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb...

Further to my earlier blog I decided to make a Rhubarb Sponge with the two stalks of rhubarb I picked this morning.  It wasn't very successful.

It tasted lovely, the sponge was light and fluffy and the rhubarb sweet and tender but I just couldn't turn it out of the bowl I had cooked it in despite greasing it before I used it.  So the picture of my perfect sponge that I had in my head to post is not happening.

I did afterwards make some Yorkshire Puddings, they were far more successful.


While I was waiting for them to cook I caught up on last night's Doctor Who, I completely forgot about it last night.  Does anyone else think that this series still feels very familiar, I know I have said this before.  Last night they entered the room with the power source for the TARDIS but were warned they could only stay in there for minutes before they would die, what powers the TARDIS? Dilithium Crystals?

Next week's episode appears to be the Carry On episode of Doctor Who (we have already had the Red Dwarf and Most Haunted episodes), specifically Carry On Screaming.  For those of you who may not have seen it, people were snatched, and dipped into vats of a wax substance and turned into shop mannequins.

Is there going to be a Breakfast Club episode? That seems to be a favourite amongst writers.





Sunday Night Mash Up

My week in words and pictures...

Monday was spent mostly on trains, both overground and underground, travelling back from Great Yarmouth via London.

These were my Virgin Trains First Class freebies, table service too.



The First Class treats on the first train run by Greater Anglia was much more stingy, a small bottle of water and a pack of two finger biscuits which I had to collect from the buffet car, or should that be buffet hatch?

Next year the event will be held in Prestatyn which is great for me as it will cut my travel time down to about 3 hours each way.

Tuesday was spent finishing my washing (it was a lovely day and it all dried out on the line) and also finishing and scanning my two assessments ready to be emailed and marked.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I was back at work and those 3 days dragged.  

Thursday night I had another Crown Green Bowls match and I won my game, we lost overall but it's a start.

I found this during the week, this is a video of the FlashMob that I was supposed to take part in last weekend when I was away but for various reasons wasn't able to, it looked fun.  (Fast forward to about 2 minutes).



This weekend has been mostly spent in front of the telly, although I have done even more washing. I have also picked my first rhubarb of the year today too, I just need to decide whether to just poach it and eat it with custard or to do something a bit more exciting with it.

The facebook page that I created to run alongside this blog, you can see it here Diary of an ACCA Student  is not proving popular, I will give it little bit longer and then I may close it.

I have a busy week ahead, I am with my training provider Monday to Thursday, back into work for Friday and then with my training provider again Saturday and Sunday.  Luckily next Monday is a Bank Holiday so I won't have to be up at 5am for work.  I also need to find time to pack my case and get my euros for my week in Spain.

Friday 26 April 2013

Why do short working weeks just feel so darned long?

I only had to do three days at work this week but the week has felt as long, if not longer, than usual.  The days have just dragged on and on and on and.....

The weather can't decide what it wants to do, hot, cold, wet, dry, sunny, dull and today we had hail.  We had some massive hailstones that hid all the surrounding buildings from view for a good five minutes.

Last night I had another bowls match, it was my third and I won!  I enjoyed last night a little bit (and not because I won) because I played someone who was at the same ability level as me, my two previous games have been against players who have been bowling for years.  The game went on for ages, at one point I did think that we were going to have to go back today to finish.

For anyone that does not know the rules of Crown Green Bowls (and I am guessing that means most people), you do not get told your score until one of you needs just 2 points to win, the winner is first to 21 points so it was a complete surprise to find that we were 19-19.  I went 1 down on the next end (check me out using the lingo) meaning that my opponent just needed 1 to win, but I went 2 up on the following end and won the game!

The captain won her game too, and so she should, she is a County player, but we lost the match 4-2 overall. Just as the last game finished it started raining so we were all soaked by the time we got home.

I arrived home from work tonight to find my Haven brochure, a little bit of advance reading for next year's Queen Convention.


Tuesday 23 April 2013

Today has been something of a nothing day.

I have had so much to do today but I just have not been able to get motivated.

Other than doing more washing and planting my first vegetable plants of the year - 7 tiny cauliflowers - I have spent the rest of the day dozing in front of the fire.  Yes, it is the warmest day of the year so far and I have had the fire on.


A picture of my washing for you lucky, lucky people

I have felt so exhausted today and I think that is why I have been feeling so cold.  After 3 nights of sleeping well, even though the caravan was like an icebox and someone in the next caravan snored like a pneumatic drill, and waking up ache and pain free, last night (my first night back at home) I woke up just after midnight and was awake then until almost 4am.  At least I was able to catch up on Doctor Who, Law & Order SVU and the Grand Prix from the weekend and Broadchurch from last night (didn't see that coming, I thought it was Tom).  I ache all over.

I still have an assignment to complete this afternoon but I am doing a bit and falling asleep again.  I can't seem to focus enough on the questions, I have no concentration and my mind keeps wandering. 

I am craving cake.  I am craving frosting.  

I am craving company.

Even though the weekend away was not as good as it could have been, at least I had people around me, and I think that is what I am craving the most.

Monday 22 April 2013

My weekend in Great Yarmouth.


So I am now back from my first alcohol free convention weekend.  My first convention was way back in 1993, an open can of cider magically appeared in my hand as soon as I passed through the gate at Southport Pontins, and that pretty much set the scene for every year since.  After I had to get rid of the car and started travelling by train I sometimes had a can or two on the way.

I have both enjoyed and not enjoyed my first sober convention, which seems a weird thing to say. I enjoyed being around friends whom I really don't get to see enough as they all live much too far away, I enjoyed waking up feeling (and smelling) fresh instead of waking up feeling (and smelling) like an old bar towel and I am enjoying coming home still with money in my purse.  

I do feel like I have missed out though, everyone seemed to be having more fun and doing more things than our little group.  Things have niggled at me, little things that have probably been happening for years but that I have never noticed in my usual fuzzy state.  There have been times when I just wanted to get up and walk away but restrained myself.  I had been practising for weeks to take part in a FlashMob on the Friday night, but the look on the face of one of my companions when I explained what was going on made me glad that I had been trapped in my seat by someone else's chair.  

I do feel I need to breakaway and assimilate myself into another group but I don't want my current little band of conventioneers to think that I am abandoning them as they have been very good to me over the years, looking after me when I first started going by myself.  At least I have 18 months to think about what to do as the next convention is not until September 2014.



Friday 19 April 2013

All packed, but am I ready to go?

Everything is in the suitcase, not sure I can dignify what I have done with the term 'packing' seeing as I just stuffed things in willy-nilly.

My ipod, ipad and kindle are all charged ready for the journey ahead of me and the train tickets are separated out and within easy reach in my bag.


I am now just waiting for the clock to tick round to leaving time.  I am going far later than I would normally do as I adjusted the times to better suit my travelling companion as they had to catch a train to meet me.  Now that they are no longer coming with me I am left kicking my heels as I would have preferred to have been a good halfway there by now, in fact last year I was already on site by this time having travelled the day before and stopped overnight with friends nearer the venue.

Still, am looking forward to a couple of days of company.  Attending one of these events sober is going to be an eye-opener, there is always the danger that I only enjoy myself due to the constant fug of alcohol clouding my brain, but we shall see.

Have a good weekend all!


Wednesday 17 April 2013

It's been a long week.

It feels like it has been a long week although it has only been 3 days.

I don't think the weather has helped, it has not been able to make its mind up between cold, wet, windy, mild.  I leave the house at 6.30am with my coat done all the way up and on the way home I am sweating buckets.  The aches and pains which had disappeared are all coming back too, I am going back to the doctor tomorrow so will see what the next plan of action is, I am guessing more blood tests.

I arrived at work today with a major headache as someone has been squirting perfume on the bus. Most perfumes and fragrances give me a headache of some degree ranging from a stabbing pain over my left eye to a full on, eye closing headsplitter.  I have blacked out from the pain on one occasion.  The perfume doesn't even have to be strong for it to affect me, sometimes I can get the headache before I even smell anything.

I left the office to go to a meeting just before lunchtime and noticed that we had some visitors outside the building.  They were not the least bit bothered about people coming and going.


I am guessing I will be seeing a few more around the caravan park this weekend.  But at least they are not so cheeky as the ducks at Pontins Brean Sands who used to go round the camp tapping on the chalet doors until someone opened one and fed them.


Tuesday 16 April 2013

I Am Gobsmacked

This post is possibly going to be a bit controversial, but hey it's my blog and I'll cry if I want to.

The benefits cap came into force for certain areas yesterday, there are some exceptions to the cap, in broad terms over 65s, disabled & those working and claiming top ups.

The revelation that had my mouth hanging open was that as a single person, my income (were I claiming benefits) would now be capped at a maximum of £350 per week, £80 MORE THAN I AM BRINGING HOME FOR WORKING FULL TIME!  



How are people able to claim so much that they can be capped at £350 and complain that they are losing money?  

When I was made redundant (for the second time) a few years ago, I was awarded the princely sum of £64.30 Job Seekers Allowance per week, plus I had my Council Tax of £74 per month paid, an average weekly total of less than £80. The house is paid for so I knew that I needed, and would receive, no help there.  I had an agreed travel time of 90 minutes as a radius in which to search for work and I was threatened with losing my JSA when I refused to apply for a 20 hour per week job (4 hours per day) that was going to take me over 2 hours to travel to.

So how do people get away with claiming so much for so long?  Why are people claiming benefits able to afford a better lifestyle than those working?  I have no issue with Working Tax Credit, after all you can only claim this if you are working but on a low income, at least these claimants are wanting to work even if they have to accept low paying jobs due to location or ability.

I am now going to get ready to leave for my (comparatively) low paying job!

Sunday 14 April 2013

Sunday Night Mash Up

My week this week has been one day at work, two days at college, two days at work, a day at home (mostly asleep) and a final day at college.  I am pooped.

Margaret Thatcher died on Monday.  Some of the country grieved, some of the country danced in the street.  I am not going to get into what she did or didn't do but she was a landmark, she was the first female British Prime Minister.  She was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth like so many politicians are these days she was the daughter of a shop keeper who worked her way up.  Love her or loathe her, I cannot imagine any other politician's passing being marked with such passion.

I had my eyebrows threaded this week, I now have slightly uneven eyebrows.  I must remember to shave my legs before I go away on Friday, no-one gets to see them but I always shave my legs for holidays (the rest of the year I am either in trousers or jeans, so who can tell?).

I am rethinking my wardrobe choices for the holiday too so hopefully that will mean a lighter case to drag up and down stairs.

I need to get two assignments completed over the next week, I might take one away with me for something to do when it gets too wet hot to leave the caravan.



Today my arms went all lollopy, I know that isn't a real word but I can't think of a better description. I was trying to read my Kindle on the train home from Birmingham but my arms were shaking with the effort of holding it up, I ended up laying it on the table and I really struggled to lift my hand to change the page.  They still feel a bit lollopy but much better so I have no idea what it was.

I have just three days at work today then I finish for 6 days, I just hope I can find a bit of energy by the end of the week.  I also hope that I can find some enthusiasm for this weekend away because I am sadly lacking at the moment.




Saturday 13 April 2013

Something a little bit different today.

As some of you know I have been entering competitions, not winning, but entering.  Anything that I have won has been as part of a mass giveaway, 1000+ prizes that sort of thing.  For example, I've won an inflatable strawberry, a single packet of crisps, a packet of KitKats.  I did win an iPad Mini but that took over a year of comping for up to 3 hours per day.

Today I came across a competition running on Pinterest.  Now I have had my Pinterest account for a good 12 months, used it occasionally but it never grabbed me in the way it seemed to grab others.  At one point I was going to shut it down as other people had somehow found a way to pin to it, the same pinned image was appearing several times a day, as soon as I removed it someone else would pin it.

But back to the reason for today's post.

Confused.com and Nectar Card are running a competition on Pinterest, you have to create a board showing how you would spend a million Nectar points.  Here is my board #pinforpoints

There is a top prize of 60,000 Nectar points available to bloggers so I thought I would chance my arm.  I have to describe why I have chosen some of the items I have pinned.  So here goes.

I have chosen the laptop as I need a new one for my studies, I am still coaxing my existing one along so that it, and my printer, last as long as they can.  A new laptop means that I would need a new copy of Microsoft Office for Students as I would not be able to transfer the licence for my existing laptop across.

I would like the radio so that I can listen to it whilst I am studying.

My Mum bought a Kenwood Chef mixer when she got engaged to my Dad nearly 44 years ago and it is still going strong.  I have always wanted one but have never been able to afford to buy one.  I do enjoy baking but currently have to mix everything by hand which is satisfying but time consuming.

I have added the breadmaker as I have just been to my parents and theirs has broken after many years of faithful service.

I now need to include the link so that my entry can be found


I have entered PIN FOR POINTS from confused.com

Good luck to everyone who has entered.





Friday 12 April 2013

And so to the end of week one.

I have now been on my medications for one week and I am feeling good.

I am not about to start training for a marathon, I am not even ready to start doing the things I used to do without a second thought a few years ago but I am feeling better than I have for years.  My aches and pains are going or gone.  Events that would have had me sobbing in a big heap on the floor a week ago have been muted into annoyance and disappointment.

On the downside I am still really tired but that might be just my body starting to recover.  I have also broken out in some massive boils and spots, but again that could be my body cleansing itself and hopefully I won't have too many more as everything starts to settle down.

As I cannot drink alcohol whilst on my tablets I have treated myself to some alcohol free wine so I shall be sampling that shortly with my pie and mash.  So classy!







Thursday 11 April 2013

Calming Down.

I haven't posted yet this week as I have been in a bad mood after being let down again, it's my own fault, I really should have learned my lesson by now.  And that is all I am saying on the matter, I could say more but I won't.

This week I have had my final lessons on Tax, I now just have revision days to look forward to, I still have Audit (zzzzzzzzzz........) classes remaining, plus revision and then the exams, just 7 weeks away.  On the plus side, it appears that I will not have to pay to not sit exams.  As I have AAT Level 4 I qualify for 3 exemptions (F1, F2 & F3) for which a charge of £77 per exemption was applicable, however, it seems that as I sat the revamped AAT syllabus I have no charges to pay.  Also, and I am going to whisper this as I do not want to jinx it but my employers have had the invoice for my current studies for nearly two months and have not yet asked for my contribution, sssshhhhh.

I am feeling much better these last few days, the aches are going at last but I just feel so tired, I struggle to stay awake past 6.30pm.  I am going back to see the doctor next week so I will be able to update her.  She did give me a number to ring for counselling, I have dialled the number at least 4 times now but put the phone down before it was answered.  I will go through with it soon, I just need to build up to it.

My Mum picked me up some Vitamin B12 tablets as this was one of the deficiencies my blood 



test revealed, but when the entire contents of the bottle fit into the lid with space to spare you would think that the manufacturers would use a smaller bottle, or at least make the tablets bigger.

I returned to work today after 2 days training to find that one of my lovely friends had left two bottles of alcohol free beer in my desk drawer to try, I can't drink alcohol now as I am on anti depressants so I shall be trying one of those later, if I can stay awake.





Sunday 7 April 2013

Sunday Night Mash Up

What has happened this week?

Monday was a Bank Holiday so it was another four day week (was that really only last Monday?) but I managed to get lots done for the first few days back at work.



Thursday night was my first Crown Green Bowls match, I scored 6 points which I didn't think was too bad for my first time out, hopefully I will get better and it wasn't beginners luck.  I can't really see me staying on the team after this season as it hasn't really grabbed me (I know I have only played 1 match, but sometimes you just know).

I was warned that I would really ache when I got up the next morning but I didn't.  I assumed that the 25 minute walk from the bus had stretched it out of me but it caught up with me in the evening.

Friday I had my GP appointment and came away with prescriptions and options.  It was a shock when I paid for my tablets, £15.70!  It has been so long since I have had a prescription from a doctor that I had no idea how much the charges were.

I have now taken 2 tablets and feel a little bit jittery and on edge, as though I am waiting for something to happen, I also feel as though I need to keep moving about.  I was warned about side effects but that they should only last for the first 2 weeks.

I feel really tired too but that could be as much to do with my disturbed night as it is my tablets, I was awake for about 3 hours during the night so I was able to catch up with Doctor Who, Law & Order SVU and Law & Order Criminal Intent.


Last week's Doctor Who felt like a rehash of a previous episode and last night's felt like the Jackanory version of a story, it also felt very familiar once again, (wasn't a HooLooVoo a character in HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy?).  Hopefully next week's will be better as it was written by Mark Gatiss.

The squeamish amongst you may not want to read the rest of this paragraph.  A few days ago I discovered a spot when I was in the shower, I didn't give it much attention as spots come and spots go.  Today it was still there so I had a proper look at it, it was actually a massive boil.  It is now dealt with but has left a big hole which I have treated with Tea Tree oil.

I have 3 days at work this week, and 3 days with my training provider and then next week just 3 days at work before I go to Great Yarmouth.

Have a good week everyone.




Saturday 6 April 2013

Get in the papers, get free stuff.

Yesterday I became aware of an article, well several articles when I looked into it, about a couple who have switched off their central heating in protest at the price of gas.  And that's fine, but it is only going to be effective if everyone, or at least a vast majority of gas users turn their central heating off and this will never happen.  And really, do they need to go to every paper and television station to explain how they are keeping warm.

Most of us over a certain age will have grown up in cold houses as central heating was not available to the average person in the street.  We grew up with the 3 day weeks and constant power cuts, going to bed when the sun went down as you couldn't put the lights on.  In the winter, it was not unusual to wake up in a bedroom which had ice on the INSIDE of the windows (no double glazing), I know I am not the only one to do this.

Ice on a window, not an unusual sight even on the inside.

Even now, the house I currently live in, and have lived in for nearly 19 years, does not have central heating.  I have an electric fire in the living room and a plug in radiator for the bathroom.  I currently have a sheet, 4 blankets and a duvet on my bed and I have been known to sleep in dressing gown and hat as well as pyjamas and socks.  My hot water bottle is my best friend.  The thermometer in my bedroom shows that the room rarely gets above 60 degrees in the winter, usually nearer 52 or 53 degrees when I go up to bed.  I have had bath water freeze as it has gone down the plughole into the drain pipe leaving me to scoop the water out and into the toilet (the soil pipe being of a wider diameter does not freeze) to release the pressure on the down pipe, and occasionally I have to run the shower gel and shampoo bottles under the shower to loosen them up a little.  These are the things that I just accept as the norm, at least for now, and there must be others out there who have little or no heating for one reason or another

I am so used to sleeping in the cold that when I do stay in hotels I generally have to turn the heating off or at least down, if I can, or open a window all night as it feels too stuffy.

But to get back to my point, living without central heating is not hard, it just takes a bit of adjustment if you have grown accustomed to it.  Luckily, the couple who sparked this post are being sent warm things to help them.

So, turn your heating off, save yourself a bit of money, get your 15 minutes of fame and get free things.  Easy.

On a more cheerful note, it has been a lovely day today.  The daffodils in the garden have recovered from the hammering the recent poor weather has given them and are starting to stand up and open.  The washing has been out on the line and most of it has dried.  I have had the doors and windows open and aired the house, for a short while anyway.

I took my first anti-depressant today too and I do feel better but I think that is talking to the doctor yesterday rather than the tablet working already, I don't think they are that fast.


I have also researched vitamin D online and have discovered that cereals and soymilk are both good sources, so cereals and soymilk for supper it is as I refuse to eat salmon or tuna, bleurgh. Off to the shop I go.




Friday 5 April 2013

Blood Test Results Today.

It has been such a long week, even though it was just 4 days.

Tuesday was a bit of a catch up day, I really didn't want to go back to work and have to face people after 4 days off, I just wanted to hide in my bed, but I got there and I got through it.

Tuesday and Wednesday my line manager phoned in sick, we guessed that they would as they had been laying the foundations of a day off on the Tuesday.  I got so much done, without constant interruptions I was able to perform reconciliations of some of the accounts that we had been having issues with.  Today they returned, and as they returned so my confidence vanished as everything I had done was questioned.  I knew that I would need help with the things that were left to do today had my line manager not returned, but as one of my colleagues said, there is giving help and there is being patronising.  We are having a reshuffle at work in the next couple of weeks so hopefully I will be moving sections back to my old line manager.

Last night (Thursday) I had my first Crown Green Bowls match.  I joined the team about 6 months ago as something to get me out of the house for a few hours so that I would have at least a little bit of contact with people outside of work hours but it was so cold, by the time I had finished scoring the first game I could hardly feel my hands.  It was an ok night, not something I could become overly absorbed in but as something to keep me out of the house for while it was fine.

This is our team shirt.

I think I may have pulled something in my thigh during one of the ends.  It hurt.

On the walk home from the bus I took this photo, I do apologise for the quality of the photo, but the camera on my phone is not great plus it was late and it was cold.


Why do people think it is ok to park on the pavement?  I was able to get past these two, but there has been occasion when I have had to walk in the road.  A police car went past and did not even seem to notice these illegally parked cars, but I am guessing that if I had stepped into the road as they were passing I would have been stopped for jay-walking or whatever we call it over here.

Today I had my GP appointment to get my blood test results.  I actually went in early, I don't think I have been called in on time before, let alone early.  The doctor was lovely, really tiny and looking too young to have left secondary school let alone medical school (a sure sign I am getting old). She listened to me and then went through my results and my options.  I have a vitamin B12 deficiency, which can be solved by eating leafy greens (yuck) or an over the counter supplement and a vitamin D deficiency for which I have been given tablets for 6 weeks and then will need to take over the counter supplements, or move somewhere sunny (I like this option), if only we could draw nutrients from the cold and the rain we would all be fit as fiddles.

I also have been confirmed as having depression, which I had guessed I had more years ago than I care to remember.  I have been given 2 weeks worth of anti-depressants and a number to ring, this is for IAPT or Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, I need to speak to an adviser to see which treatment they feel would be best for me, this could be Guided Self Help, Individual Support, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy or a few other options.  The tablets do have side effects, but as long as the benefits outweigh the negatives they have got to be worth it.

I do actually feel so much better for speaking to someone so hopefully the only way is up now.







Wednesday 3 April 2013

Hello, good evening and welcome...

Bonjour, bonsoir et bienvenue...

Здравствуйте, добрый вечер и добро пожаловать ...

Merhaba, iyi akşamlar ve hoş geldiniz

Hallo, guten Abend und herzlich willkommen ...

I have international readers! When I started this blog I was not expecting many readers amongst my friends, let alone people from foreign lands, and yet as I start this entry I have had 399 views. Thank you all.


I started this blog to chart my studies for my (originally) CIMA and now ACCA qualification but as it has progressed it seems to have become less about studying and more about how I feel and getting my feelings out there and whilst it does not make for the most riveting read, it does help me.

And now for today's moan.

With just two weeks to go to my first weekend of fancy dress I am still waiting for items to arrive from eBay.  I am still not happy with my outfits but it is too late now (unless anyone has any bright, but simple to do, ideas).  Also I have found out today that in addition to sourcing two completely different fancy dress outfits, we are now expected to decorate the function room in red, white and blue on the Saturday night and pink and purple on the Sunday night!  Easiest thing to do is tablecloths but everything takes up space in the case which gets heavier and heavier with every train it gets lugged on and off, every escalator it gets dragged up and down and every set of stairs it gets scraped up and down.  And for some reason, every time I have to cross London by tube almost every station I use has several flights of stairs instead of escalators.  This is assuming that the relevant stations and lines aren't closed for maintenance.

Up one side, dragging the case.  Back down the other side, the case dragging me.

If rumours are true, the venue will be changed next year.  And if other rumours are true, where the event will be held next year whilst not being any closer, will at least mean that I will not have to travel via London.

Now for a coffee and a hot cross bun.

UPDATE - just as I was previewing this post I hit the 400!




Monday 1 April 2013

Back to work tomorrow, and I really don't want to go.

In much the same way that I was not looking forward to 4 days off work, I am now not looking forward to going back to work. Four days is just long enough for me to sink back into the comfortable little bubble of isolation and I do not want to have to leave the house and face people again.  It is going to be so hard to climb out of my safe bed at 5am tomorrow morning, and even harder not to get back into it.  It is a 4 day week too, so by the time I am just about getting used to facing people again I will be off for another 2 days.  It would be so easy to just pull the covers over my head and pretend the world outside does not exist.  Sometimes, though, even the bed feels too big, and I have been thinking about buying a single bed and moving into the box room.

I had cause to spend a night near Norwich last year and I had booked a single room in a hotel, I would normally book a double for single use but for just one night I didn't bother.  It was a very well appointed en-suite room but tiny too.  I could stand in the middle, stretch my arms out and touch the wall each side but I loved it.  I felt so safe and secure and could have moved in permanently, it was this feeling of security that has had me thinking about moving into the box room, but then I think that it would be a bit ridiculous sleeping  in the smallest room in an otherwise empty three bedroomed house.

It may happen still.

This afternoon I have completed my second interim assessment for ACCA, this one was on Audit and was a 'wordy' paper, (the previous was for Tax and was a 'number' paper), I just need to rewrite it now so that it can be read, scan it (that will be fun) and email it to my training provider.  My first exam is just 9 weeks away now, eeekkk.

Time, I think now, for a cup of coffee and a piece of cake.