Talisman

The reason is basically because someone made a cock up. That's all there is to it, simple human error. I will get it next month, but in the meantime my credit card is going to get a bit of bashing. I am still not happy about it, but there appears to be nothing I can do, so I guess I just have to live with it. At least I have tomorrow off - although I will be working for the rest of the weekend. Monday at least though is double time.

Sigur Ros - can't wait for Wembley in November

It has been a strange week for me - and one that has gone quickly, which is probably just as well. Tuesday was pay day, bu when I got my payslip I had a nasty shock - they have deducted all the time off I had my recent trip to Lundy as unpaid leave, leaving me with just under £500 to live on for the next month. I knew that I wouldn't be paid for all of it (they told me I would be paid for the 39 hours that I have accrued up until the end of the holiday year, which is any day now), so I expected them to deduct something, but not this much. Of course I spoke to the Business Manager about it, and while she was apologetic, she said I will have to wait until next month to get what I am owed, which I not at all happy about. All I can say is thank goodness for credit cards (and the Kindle spring sale), speaking of which, Coran and I have managed to get tickets to see one of my favourite bands at Wembley in November - Sigur Ros, which I am really excited about. Because I subscribe to their website I managed to get the tickets before they go on sale to the general public, so they should be good seats. For some reason I seem to be thinking about Iceland a lot lately (it might be all those pictures of the Northern Lights that my Icelandic friends keep posting on Facebook), so it might be time to start planning another visit soon.

puppy

The First Garden - Stevie Wonder

Mad World - Tears for Fears

I started Requiem, the last in the Delirum series by Lauren Oliver yesterday, and am already a third of the way through. I will probably then finish it today. That will be my 22nd book already this year.

This might seem a strange choice for someone who is not a Christian, or even religious (I prefer to think of myself as spiritual), but I think I would read The Bible. I am interested in religion for the philosophical debates that it throws up, and would have studied it at school had my parents not talked me out of it. For me it would just be a fascinating if slightly challenging read, and one that would no doubt take half my lifetime anyway !

I have just finished watching Whale Rider. I hadn't seen it for some time, and had forgotten how good it was.

Normally I have cereal, but I was naughty today and had a fry up (vegetarian of course) in Sainsburys.

That weekend was a particularly bad one due to the problems with the flooded floor and so on, but sadly the fact that I was on my own will not be a one off. Since they stopped paying staff more to work at the weekends most of them have stopped doing it. The thought had crossed my mind. They are though I hear getting someone else who will work weekends soon, but whether he will work every weekend remains to be seen. If not, there will be one person in one weekend and two the next, so it will be pot luck as to whether he works the same weekends that I do. As to whether I can bring it up, yes it has been mentioned, but all they said was "do the best you can, and what doesn't get done doesn't get done". Not really an answer imo, as some fo the families complain if their residents rooms are not done, but I am not a miracle worker and am not going to work myself into the ground for little more than minimum wage. Having said all of this, it is still though ten times better than my old job, as at least here you don't get shouted at and bullied, neither do I have start work at 7am or work for 7 or sometimes 8 days in a row, or do the washing up and laundry.

Of course they didn't tell you, they wanted to hire you and not scare you off. If you don't do the training bit when they've changed it to, will you be able to pick it up another time? I guess it comes down to how much it will actually inconvenience you. Pox on them, do what is best for you. Taking into consideration any back lash from management that could come your way. That's fair enough until you consider that I specifically asked whether I would be expected to work on my own at the weekends, and I was told no. The reason I asked that was because it was like that in my previous job, and I knew how stressful that was and didn't want a repeat performance. Bear in mind the fact that this new home has more than twice the number of rooms. On the weekends, we have just 5 minutes to clean each of them which is not enough - hence the fact that many families complain that their relatives rooms are not done properly. Having said all of this, this last weekend was particularly difficult because of all the other issues with the flooded floor etc - not every weekend (I hope) will be like that. They still imo though need to get more cover. As for the training, it will only mean finishing half an hour later than normal, so its not really that big a deal. It was the principle of not having been asked, especially after everything else that happened. It's mandatory training for all who work in the care industry, so I would have to do it as some point. Today was thankfully a better and much more relaxed day.

Not a good weekend for me - I have been the only housekeeper on duty all weekend (normal here unfortunately as well as in my old job, not that they told me this at the interview), expected to clean 55 rooms plus another 15 bathrooms. Today I found one bathroom floor flooded, which no one bothered to tell me about, plus one sink blocked up and then I found that a resident had used his rubbish bin as a toilet. If that wasn't all bad enough, I then discovered that they have changed the date of some training we all have to do from April to next week, without bothering to ask if I can do the overtime or even let me know. I am tempted to tell them I have made plans and can't do it. Not surprisingly I have a pounding headache and ache all over. If every weekend is going to be like this I will have to think very carefully as to whether I want to work Monday to Friday like everyone else seems to.

No, it's not Dover (I don't live anywhere near there) but part of the Box Hill National Trust estate near where I live. They call it the White Cliff even though it's not near the sea, as it's a very steep wooded area, made of chalk. The box trees, from where Box Hill takes its name grow along its slopes. It's basically the path that climbs up the hill from the main road at the bottom of the hill - those who saw the Olympic Cycling Races on TV last summer will have probably seen parts of it. It's not really a long walk, but it is quite steep for those of less than average fitness, and a good place to sit and watch the world go by when the sun's out - sadly it isn't today, so I think most of my reading will be done on the settee !

That's horrible Pontabla - at least you found out quickly though and will hopefully get your money back my reporting it quickly. We have had a lovely couple of days of spring sunshine here and I hope it lasts as tomorrow is my day off. I plan a long lie in followed by a trip to Sainsburys for the weekly shop and a huge veggie breakfast and then an afternoon of reading up at the National Trust centre with a nice walk down the White Cliff and back.

Sigur Ros on shuffle.

Hope you feel better soon.

I thought I would try something a bit different (perhaps not so different for me) for my next read. I had heard of Tim Severin before, who is what some would call a fantasy writer and whose books include a Norse trilogy set partly in Iceland, so knowing my own love of Iceland (my third love after Coran and Lundy), when I saw the first book Odin's Child as the Kindle Deal of the Day a few days ago, thought I would give it a go. So far I am about 10 percent in and enjoying it. The reviews which were mixed, said that it take a while to get going, and that it is difficult to get to grips with the various characters and their relationship to each other, but having read most of the Icelandic Sagas (at least the ones that have been translated) I am finding it is not a problem for me. So far the book has read very much like a Saga, although there are some things about Icelandic history that were new even to me. He has obviously though done his research. If I like this first book, then I will probably donwload the others too. My wish list is though rapidly growing, as when Coran and I went to Guildford yesterday, there were at least 6 more books there that looked interesting.

One thing I will say is that you need a pretty strong stomach to read this book. Without wishing to give too much away, the descriptions of some of the bodies are pretty stomach churning, and the character of Colin really scary - like Lee in the first book, mainly because he is just so believable. What I mean by that is that you can imagine something like this actually happening. I think the book's on offer at the moment, as when I looked earlier it was definately less than what I paid for it - so it might be a good time to get it if you know that you definately want to read this. I have already pre-ordered her fourth book, which is due out, according to Amazon in October.

There were another 7 that I found in Waterstones today that I have been added to my wish list.

Just updated the list again, and surprised to find that although we are less than halfway through March, I have already got through 18 books - and since one of them was an anthology, another 20 countries too. The latest one was the new Elizabeth Haynes - Human Remains, like her previous two, this was a dark thriller/crime fiction novel about the lonely and suicidal. It threw up all sorts of questions about the nature of death and relationships, and the way in which we treat our loved ones. Not for the faint hearted though. I think this one is going to stay me for a while, so it will be difficult to choose my next read.

They are forecasting snow here as well next week - at the moment all we have is mist and horrible drizzle. I am enjoying three days off from work this weekend - the highlight of yesterday was a trip to Sainsburys. I also finished my book, which means browsing on Amazon for another one. Today we are going out to celebrate our anniversary - at the moment we are trying to decide between Pizza Hut in Crawley or The Barn near Guildford - I think it might be The Barn, as they do proper home cooked veggie food, which is hard to find these days, although I get the feeling with all the recent meat scandals, that this might be about to change.

Finished the book from Chile tonight - Ways of Going Home by Alejandro Zambra. It was okay but not the best I have read. I am havig a rest from the challenge for my next read - the new Elizabeth Haynes.

I enjoyed it. It is a bit 'American' in places, but it a thought provoking read. The main theme I would say is atonement, whatever that means to you. I guess you could also call it responsbility.

Could it be I'm Falling in Love - David Grant and Jaki Graham