Talisman

almighty

Belated happy birthday from me too Peacefield. I am off to Lundy on 18th, so it's a good job I spent a fortune on all that winter walking gear if what you say is true, as my cottage in on the west of the island where the nearest landfall is North America, and the wind blows in places that I even I didn't know about !

I love all of them but most of all Leonard.

A House is Not a Home - Luther Vandross

judge

Yes, it is better. I had a meeting with the boss today to see how I am getting on, and she said they have been waiting for someone like me for a long time. As you can imagine, I was very happy to hear this. Even though then I might be worse off in the short term, in the long term I think I am going to so much better off. Looking back on it, now the stress is starting to go, I don't know how I managed to stick at that old job for as long as I did.

twelve, knocking Cinderellas glass slipper to the floor with an almighty crash

stone

Buy Me a Rose - Luther Vandross

I have had to take a pay cut too Jules when I started my new job, as I am now working less hours, but actually I don't mind, as there is less stress, and by finishing later I will not be going out every afternoon for cups of tea and cakes. Not only will I save money, but I will probably lose weight then too ! Most of the snow has melted now where we are, and it is drizzling with rain, but I feel the need to get out of the house, so Coran and I are off for a walk to the viewpoint in a while to get some fresh air.

Everything She Wants - Wham

naughty

sleeping

Have I Told You Lately - Van Morrison

smile

I wondered what you meant there for a moment Laura - and then I realised that you must be talking about my new job. Apart from having no uniform and name badge and being forbidden from using the hoover until I do my backcare training, it's great. In fact the more I see there the more incredulous I am about the things that my old employer got away with and why I put up with it for so long. This job is better in every conceivable way - the other housekeepers are great, the residents are lovely, and the workload is so much easier. I am so glad that I left the old place, even though I miss the reisdents, and realise now that I should have done it ages ago. The stress is dropping away, and I am even sleeping better as well.

Gangnam

It's been coming down here for most of the day too - not heavy but enough to cause problems tomorrow morning. I expect the skiiers and tobaganners were up at the viewpoint earlier as usual, I lacked both the the energy or the inclination to go and find out. I moved the car to my neighbours drive yesterday (their car is in the garage) so that's its facing forwards and I can drive straight out, but we live at the end of a large car park, which is at the top of a sleep slope, and whole village is at the top of an even steeper one, with roads that are not gritted, so getting to work tomorrow on my first day might be interesting. At least it will be at 8am rather than 6.45 though !

If you are planning that amount of travel, consider an Interrail pass - these are train passes that are valid for various lengths of time (it's changed a bit since I did it 20+ years ago) across basically most of Europe. They are also valid on some ferry routes such as the cross channel ones, and the Baltic ones between the different Scandinavian countries and North Germany. For cheap accomodation, get a YHA (youth hostels association) card and use them. They are better than they sound, all over the place, and great places to meet other travellers (even if most of them are at the top of steep hills). It's difficult for me to make specific recommendations as to what to see and where to go as it was such a long time ago that I did this, and Europe is so vast, plus we will inevitably have different interests. For me it was and is all about getting off the beaten track. The only other suggestion I will then make is a good guide book - the Rough Guide to Europe or something similar. If you ever though do get to Denmark then look up the Roskilde Ship Musuem - it's quite possibly the finest example of a Viking Longship anywhere in the world - absolutely fascinating. Copenhagen is nice too, from what I remember. PS Just seen Charlie's reply above, and yes indeed StoneHenge is a good 2 hour drive from London if not more. There are though other sites in the vicinity such as Avebury and the famous White Horse, although to see them all you probably have to join an expensive guided tour. Not my cup of tea, but you might not mind. I guess though it all depends on your budget.

bold

It's coming down thick and fast here now - we have a food few inches in our garden already. Although it looks pretty, I hope it goes by Monday, as I don't want to miss my first day in the new job. Good job Coran and I went food shopping yesterday though.

I just highlight them with my Kindle - it's the easy option and it saves time and paper.

Most companies are like that these days Brian - my former (and soon to be current) employers are exactly the same - there is no sick pay either. Basically if you don't work then you don't get paid. I have lost a fortune this past week through being sick and unable to work. It seems to be the way it is these days. As for me working from home - cleaning rooms by remote control from 10 miles away might be a bit difficult.

It has been on my wish list for quite a while now as well, but since I am going through a phase of reading popular as opposed to my more usual literary fiction, I thought it was time I gave it a go. I am a little over halfway through and enjoying it so far, although it is a bit far fetched. I particuarly enjoyed the bit where he meets the famous actor.

You can have all the snow that is reported to be coming my way - pretty as it is, I hate the stuff, especially given that I start my new job on Monday. At least my cold seems to be getting better though. When Coran and I went into the old job yesterday to say goodbye to all of them, the boss wouldn't even look at me. He just went into a meeting (with the usual face like a bus) and shut the door. That just about sums the place up, or rather, what it has become.