Talisman

They're not usually that powerful though.

Moon dance - Van Morrison

Yes that's what I read too. I was listening to Ian Dale on LBC stuck in traffic on the way home tonight and he was talking to this incredibly stupid American guy who was actually saying that the one thing all of these shootings have in common is that they took place in areas of the US where the gun laws are more strict. What this means this man was saying is that it was therefore more difficult for others to take down these attackers with their own guns! According to him the answer lies in relaxing the laws even further to allow teachers to carry concealed weapons while in the classroom. Seriously! Ian was having none of it and told him exactly what he thought as any sane person would.

Its par for the course. Our needs are rarely considered I have found. We just don't seem to even be on most peoples radars, as they are too wrapped up in their own jobs. I suppose what makes us different is the fact that because we have to continually go into other departments to do our work we are forced to also consider them. It was a nice afternoon though. I got there at about 1pm so I could have my lunch down there as well and get some reading time.

It's always good to catch up with friends and family, and by the sound of it your sister is both. I had a better day today and seem to have a lot more energy - I just hope it doesn't mean another sleepless night as that often follows days like this. I am going to have a lazy afternoon tomorrow at least. They asked me to go and clean the shop that we have in the village where the clients learn retail skills and make and sell different textile products. The original plan was for me to go down there early one morning on my way into work and get it done before the shop opens at around 9.30, but today I learnt that as there is no one to run the shop it will be closed all day tomorrow, so I am going to go down there after lunch instead and go straight home from there, which is much better. It means I can have a nice afternoon offsite away from all the politics for a while and listen to my favourite LBC radio while I work. There is a rather nice coffee shop next door as well that does takeaway coffees. Of course they didn't bother to tell me that the shop would be closed - I found out by chance when one of the other staff happened to mention that an email had come round informing people not to take the clients down there that day. I made a big show then of phoning the shop to say how surprised I was that they didn't let me know given how they had asked me to clean it, and checking which day it was closed as my colleague hadn't told me the actual day. Hopefully it had the desired effect. As much as I like working here there are far too many staff who don't think about how others do their jobs. Because they work 9-5 or thereabouts they assume that we do too, even though it must be obvious to them that we don't. I mean how do they think their work areas are clean each morning when they arrive for work! That would be because I and the rest of my team start work early to get it done - why then would we finish at the same time as them when we start an hour and a half earlier?

I intend to!

Cash in Your Face - Stevie Wonder

I am super excited to have got 2 tickets for the Game of Thrones Experience with Ramin Djawani at Wembley on May 27th. I really didn't think we were going to get any, but looking tonight as one does, 2 suddenly became available for exactly the price we wanted, so I grabbed them quick. As its the day before the second May Bank Holiday I won't even have to take the day off work afterwards, as we will want to book a hotel of course so we don't have to rush home.

I have managed to complete a few more countries in recent weeks: Jamila by Chingiz Aitmatov for Kyrgyzstan From Dunes to Dior by Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar for Qatar I only have about 60 countries left now.

It was a bit of a mixed weekend for me. Neither Coran or myself have been feeling great lately - while I know what my problem is with Coran it is less obvious and she is having various heart and blood tests to try and find out what is going on. On Friday she reported a problem with her left shoulder and by Saturday there were pains in the arm and chest - so off to hospital we went. After various tests came back clear we were told it was due to tendonitis and they advised her to rest and take pain killers. We had been planning to go shopping to Guildford that day and have a nice Valentines lunch, but obviously that went out of the window. It wasn't a great day for either of us if I am honest. Sunday was better though as we made it into Guildford and had our lunch. Instead of going to our favourite vegetarian restaurant (which is closed on Sundays) we went to Pizza Express instead. I think both of us are feeling a bit sorry for ourselves at the moment and need a bit of tlc. At least I have all my staff back though as of this morning - and I have a trip to Spain to look forward to in 2 weeks time. It could be worse.

I am about halfway through book 15.

feather

I have heard of two this week - Egyptologist John Anthony West who pioneered the theory re water damage to the Sphinx and Icelandic composer Johan Johannsson who among other things did the film score for The Theory of Everything. He was found dead in his home in Berlin yesterday - for the moment at least cause unknown. He was only 48. RIP to both of them.

I ma looking forward to the weekend too. I have worked hard this week. We will back to three of us again on Monday though. I hope your appointment went okay. I expect we will have a decision re the new CEO on Monday. We need some stability after the last year.

The CEO of the charity I work for left in September for personal reasons and the candidate they appointed in her place was unable to start for reasons we plebs (I mean staff) were not told about. Another member of the Senior Management Team has been acting in the role for the past few months, but for personal reasons of his own decided not to continue with his own application. Today then was the day when the 3 prospective candidates - all very talented and different women had a whole day where they met different parties involved with the charity - the Board of Trustees, the Senior Management team and representatives from the staff, clients and their families. As employee forum rep for my team that meant me. While I liked the first candidate, who had a background in environmental health (very useful for my department) the second one too had great credentials, having worked in social care most of her life. I knew pretty much instantly though that the third and final one was the right one for us. The others in my group seemed to share that view, although of course SMT and the board might not. They have the final round of interviews on Friday I believe at which point no doubt the final decision will be made ...

No snow here yet - and I hope it stays that way. When you have to leave for work at 7am on ungritted country roads in the dark it isn't much fun.

I tried replying to this three times yesterday but kept hitting the wrong button and having to start again. I will try again then now. There are loads of Icelandic authors out there. Icelanders read and write more book per head of capita than any other nation on earth and I have heard it said that as many as 10 percent of the population are published authors in some form or another in their own right. Some of the books/authors I have read include: Independent People Halldor Laxness. I strongly recommend this one, written by Iceland's best known and loved author and set in the turn of the 19th Century. It brings into stark focus just how hard life was for rural Icelanders during that era. This one for me is an absolute classic. The Greenhouse/Butterflies in November: Audur Ava Olafsdottir I Remember You: Yrsa Sigurdadottir. Yrsa who is one of my favourite authors has written a whole raft of books, all of which I have read. This is by far the best one - a seriously creepy Icelandic ghost/horror story set in an abandoned village , which I actually stayed in after reading this book. The film is pretty good too. Burial Rites: Hannah Kent Heaven and Hell: Jon Kalman Stefansson (this is the first of a three part trilogy, each of which I have read) Seasons of the Witch - Arni Thorarinsson Living Inside the Meltdown - Alda Sigmundsdottir (Alda has also written some great non fiction books about life in Iceland) The Creator - Gudrun Eva Minervudottir Place of the Heart - Steinunn Sigurdardottir Stone Tree: Gyrdir Eliasson Island on Fire: Alexandra Witze On a Small Island: Grant Nicol Not all of these are crime fiction, but they are great books for anyone interested in Iceland. Not all of them are even written by Icelanders (such as Burial Rites), but I have included these anyway as they still give you a flavour of the country). I also have on my wish list waiting to be bought and read: The Blue Fox: Sjon The Last Days of My Mother: Solvi Bjorn Sigurdsson Frozen Out: Quentin Bates Bowline: Gudlaughur Arason And then of course there are the Icelandic sagas. I have read loads of these too and they are all different. Laxdaela Saga is probably my favourite, but everyone will have their own one.

That's a good series. I have read all of them. The next one Whiteout is due out in September and I have pre ordered it. There are always loads of Icelandic books I want to read - not just crime fiction.

Have you read any of the Icelandic authors? There are some good ones out there, and I try and seek them out whenever possible.

Congrats Noll - and no need to apologise Trevor. It doesn't sound pretentious at all, in fact it sounds lovely. Coran and I are having a quiet day today just pottering around at home reading and watching TV. Coran bought a keyboard over the Christmas period as she used to play piano as a child and has always wanted to go back to it. She has her first piano lesson tomorrow. I have free tickets for the Destinations Travel Show at Olympia (in London) so am going up there for the day to have a mooch around and gather information on various places I am interested in for the future and sample (hopefully) lots of delicious foods from around the world. Talking of travel I also booked my Granada card today - I am off to Spain in 3 weeks time. The card includes entry to the Alhambra (among other things) which is notoriously difficult to get tickets for. They usually sell out months in advance, but they always keep slots available for card holders, so this was the best way for me to get my chosen time and date. I shall be visiting the Alhambra then on 26th, which I am really looking forward to.

My suggestion would be to forget the idea of using a pub and use each others houses instead - much more civilised and you are guaranteed quiet there. Take it in turns to act as host and cook and just get everyone to chip in with the ingredients.

I always say there is a reason why most of that stuff is on sale - because it's rubbish that nobody wants!

I can't believe it's February tomorrow, which in the Pagan calendar is Imbolc, the first day of spring. It might still be chilly but the flowers are starting to come through in the garden at work. We have a carpet of crocuses near the swimming pool and loads of daffodils in the walled garden with various other things whose names I don't know. It has been a mega busy few weeks at work with only two of us and loads of extra work due to various health and environmental inspections. Thankfully we will be back to normal tomorrow when my third cleaner who has been of sick with flu returns to work. It has been tiring and at times stressful, the fact that I am not sleeping that well at the moment hasn't helped, but it is a day nearer the weekend and only three weeks to go until my next holiday, so things could be worse. I know there are plenty who would be very grateful to have my job so won't complain too much.

Angela Bofill - I love her voice.

Some people really do need to get a life!