Talisman

Freddie's Dead - Curtis Mayfield

Pooh !

Ain't Gonna Bump No More with that Big Fat Woman - Joe Tex

Couldn't be bothered to cook last night, so we had country (vegetarian) bakes with chips and mushy peas from the local chip van.

I wish there were more readers like you Chesil ! If only that were true - the truth is that most authors earn around 10 percent of the price of a book in royatlies (i.e. 79 pence for a £7.99 book). When my own book was published back in 2007, I worked out exactly who got what and was quite shocked to find that the book store earned more than both me and the print costs put together !

ignorance

Judas - Lady Gaga

I have paid that for a couple of e-books and didn't really baulk at it, as both were quite rare books which I wanted to read and which I knew would be good ones. It may seem like a lot, but really to me it is an investment in good quality writing. As for the hardback being the same price, well we always have that option. Once the paperback edition is released, the price will come down anyway, so maybe if you don't want to pay that, you will just have to wait. At the end of the day, it is all about choices.

Abba Gold

I have another 3 days to go before I finally get a weekend off. It has not been a good week at work so far - I was the only housekeeper on duty for 3 days in a row, plus I will be on my own again on Friday - my 7th day in a row, so not particularly happy. It is though what it is, and moaning doesn't seem to change anything !

Sausage and mash

She Has No Time - Keane

It's nice that I'm useful for at least one thing !

Egg, chips and beans.

Quinoa, which as you say is one of those so-called super foods, has a slightly nutty flavour, and is cooked pretty much in the same way as most grains. I don't have any recipes per se, as I just tend to use it as an alternative to rice, or cous cous. The main advantage apart from the high protein content is the fact that unlike a lot of other grains, it is gluten free.

Yes, it does mean that, one book a month. With no due dates, you are basically getting a free book, although I would be surprised if they would let you keep the book forever - there must be a cut off date somewhere. On the surface at least, it looks great for readers, but not so good of course for the author. Amazon do have a royalty programme for authors whose books are enrolled in this programme, but you have to agree to sell your books exclusively through them, which most authors are understandably loathe (I personally wouldn't do this), hence the fact that not many authors have bothered to enrol. For £49 a year, as others have said, you might as well just buy the books anyway.

Sorry to hear about your news Laura - the good news is that I have just been paid, and so I am (almost) rich again. I am then off to Guildford in about half an hour to spend a fortune in Lush (their Christmas goodies are now in), and an even bigger fortune on a new pair of winter walking trousers.

Like most things I would imagine because it didn't sell !

I don't think she understands to be honest, although it has been explained to her - her son was there when I left yesterday, and again today. The funny thing is that one of the nurses said to me that when he visited last, the day before he was admitted to hosptal, she said that was the last time she would see him. The best thing we can do for her though is as the carers all said, carry on as normal. As for their son, he has good friends who can help him, and he knows that he can always call on us. I am sure we will still see him visiting his Mum anyway.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Reading (of course) Writing Photography Walking Travel (especially to lumps of granite in the middle of the Bristol Channel) Sleeping

Thank you ! It has been a bit of a strange day today - I was cleaning the managers office this morning when I saw a note for the night staff asking them to prepare the paperwork for a new admisssion that was due today - the husband of one of our other residents. I knew he had been in a hospital but was unaware that he was coming in for respite, so I was surprised to see this. When I read the note though, I had the strangest feeling that something was going to happen to him and he wouldn't be in after all, then half an hour later I was told that he had died. His wife has dementia, so it was difficult for their son to say the least. Then after work I went to the funeral of one of our other residents who passed away recently. It was a nice service, but no one really likes funerals. One more day to go and then I get two days off.

Tell me about it. The trouble is, our Director knows that this is a vocation and takes advantage of that. The residents and families (and my actual Manager) at least appreciate me though. The Manager is most definately on our side, and I know that is she had anything to do with it, we would all get the large rises that we deserve. Sadly though it is not up to her.

With extreme difficulty - I haven't had a pay rise for 3 1/2 years either - but I am working on that one ...

Another One Bites the Dust - Queen