Talisman

Warm (for the time of year), dull and grey. The sun is supposed to be out tomorrow though.

Yes - maybe. I think the key is just to take time to do it properly and talk to my own Manager on Wednesday when I have my own one. I am sure it isn't as scary as it seems anyway - most things aren't and it isn't as if I don't know the people concerned. I know them all very well in fact and speak to two of them at least every day at work (the other one isn't there every day). I am glad as always though to finish for the weekend. I spent most of the day waiting for a large delivery which still hadn't turned up by the time I left, so I said to the maintenance men who finish an hour later than I do that if it did turn up after I went to chuck it all in the housekeeping shed and let me sort it out on Monday - god knows what I will find then on Monday morning!

Good luck with the jobs to both of you - and good news re Penny. I am nervous for a different reason - I have my own appraisal next week, and have to do them for all 3 of my own staff as well by the end of the month. I am not nervous about mine, as I know I do a great job, but I am nervous about conducting them as I haven't done them before and haven't had any training. I have printed out all the guidelines to help me so will have to try and have a read in the next few days.

When I look back on my own reading over the last 5 years or so, almost a quarter of the books I read are non fiction. Everyone reads non fiction in some form or another and at some time - who hasn't read at least parts of The Bible, and who never picks up a newspaper? Okay a newspaper is not a book, but it is still non fiction. I have to be honest here and say that to me as a non fiction writer the assertion that what I have written and published is not a book is a tad insulting. I am sure it wasn't meant that way, and it's no doubt for me to look at why I feel that way, but still it's there. Its true that most of the people on here do read and discuss predominantly fiction, and yes these types of books are stories, but non fiction can be too. I have read some great books based on true stories of peoples lives, particularly in war zones and so on that are told as stories and read very much like fiction - Dave Eggers What is the What and Tracey Kidder's Strength in What Remains both spring to mind. These are both brilliant books.

Have you looked to see if the author has a website you can download at least a sample from? I don't know how old this book is but I doubt whether it is out of copyright which means that unless it comes direct from the author or publisher (which may be the same thing anyway) any free copy that you do get is likely to be in breach of copyright anyway.

Coran and I are not up to much today as not much is open. We have been out for a coffee this morning but that's about exciting as it gets. Friday and Saturday were a bit busier though. On Friday we went into Guildford for some shopping. I spent almost £50 in Lush mostly on soaps and moisturiser and we both bought new walking shoes. Mine cost £102 but they will be worth it if they last as long as the last pair did - almost 6 years, and they are so comfortable. Our usual veggie restaurant isn't open during school holidays so we went to Marks and Spencer for lunch instead. Yesterday was the weekly shop and another good rummage through all the clothes in Sainsbury's, which are 25 percent off this weekend. I have a trip to Montenegro coming up at the end of April, so bought a pair of blue and white mixed linen shorts, a mustard coloured hoodie and a pair of black sandals - all for £33 which can't be bad. Last night I went to see one of my favourite operas on the big screen at the local theatre/cinema - Cosi fan Tutte, which was brilliant and very funny - the name means women are like that and it's a bit of a parody whereby two men decide to test whether their fiancés are true to them by disguising themselves as each other. It's all a bit unlikely, but great fun with some really good singing and acting, as opera is of course both. I am going to see another one on Wednesday - Macbeth which if the trailer is anything to go by looks spectacular. We don't have much planned for tomorrow other than a massage. Our friend Mel whom we haven't seen for some time is coming at 11 to do both of us, so it will be nice to catch up with her and see what she has been up to. After that we probably won't want to do much anyway!

Exactly. He had a first or debut non fiction book and then a debut novel or fictional work. For those who write in different genres it is then entirely possible to have more than one debut.

Willoyd is right - the term debut means first appearance, think of the word debutante and what that meant - a young woman's first appearance or coming out (a term that means something very different now) into so-called fashionable society. There are huge problems with saying that the term debut only applies to fiction. Are you saying that those who write only non fiction as many do (including myself) cannot have a debut? How then would you classify such authors? You seem to be saying that if someone writes both, no matter how many non fiction books they have written, only the fiction ones will count which is patently absurd, especially when you consider that celebrity authors rarely write their own fiction books anyway - most of them are ghost written. With non fiction on the other hand, because it is their area of expertise they are much more likely to have written it themselves. If anything then it should be the other way around and their first published non fiction work is their debut! Because of the nature of non fiction, factual writing, most people have written a lot of other stuff before they get published, which may or may not have been published in other ways, such as academic journals and so on. For my two penneth if someone does write both, I would say it is entirely possible to have a debut as both a fiction and non fiction author. Just saying ....

I probably would too, but of course unless you know the author personally you wouldn't have the opportunity to read such works, or even know about them. In terms of publishing then a debut can only be the first book to be published. It is very rare for an author to have the first book they have actually written published - unless of course they do it themselves and assuming we are talking about fiction as opposed to non fiction. Non fiction is a completely different market and much more of a niche thing.

Coran and I went to see A Wrinkle in Time last weekend, which was really good. I suspect that a lot of people though wouldn't get it at all or have a clue what it's really about.

I hope your dog's alright Noll - and that both of you are too. It sounds like a stressful time. I have had another busy week at work but have enjoyed playing with some new toys, which will no doubt make me sound incredibly sad. We are coming to the end of our financial year and because we hadn't spent all of our cleaning budget my boss suggested that we get some more new machinery, as if we don't spend it then next year they will take it away. So I suggested a cordless vacuum cleaner, a new carpet cleaner (my female cleaner who has a shoulder injury finds it really difficult to use our current one) and a good steam mop. I haven't tried the carpet cleaner yet but the other two are brilliant - there is a shortage of plugs where I work so having a cordless vac is brilliant - I can take it all over the place - the toilets, the stairs and so on without worrying about cables trailing everywhere and trying to find a plug. As for the steam mop - it's fantastic. It's a constant problem with people walking on wet floors, but not now, as steam dries instantly and also disinfects. If we can get some more money together I want to order a load so that each department has their own one! It's the Easter weekend now though which means 4 days off. The weather doesn't look brilliant, but I have to go to Guildford tomorrow to stock up on Lush goodies, and to get a new pair of walking shoes as mine are no longer waterproof. On Saturday I am going to another opera - one of my favourites, Cosi fan Tute and on Monday Coran and I are both having a nice relaxing massage. I suspect I will also spend a lot of time in bed reading - starting in about 10 minutes!

I never thought of that lottery thing - I normally get lucky dips anyway and don't have regular numbers. I filled this in 10 years ago like a lot of us when I was 42, which makes me 52 now (and 3/4).

Although I think Uber who owned the car have been cleared of any wrong doing. I don't know the exact details but just saw the headline. I agree though that having someone in there who can take over the controls kind of defeats the object. It's new technology though which will no doubt evolve. There's no way you would ever get me in one of those things though!

When I heard about the self driving car that killed that poor woman in Arizona I thought what a shame it wasn't Trump! I am sure there are quite a few who thought the same thing. As for secrets being leaked from Russia I wouldn't be at all surprised - I am sure there are quite a few to tell and we don't know even the half of it, not that Putin is squeaky clean either, or for that matter our own politicians. Personally I am not sure who is worse - or more dangerous. The other thing that has come to light this week in the UK is the revelations that the Leave campaign for the Brexit referendum may have broken the spending rules. The young man who blew the whistle on all of this, who is of Pakistani origin, has been outed as gay in the most appalling manner by the man that is accused of being behind a lot of this, who also happens to be one of our Prime Ministers most trusted advisors. As a result members of this young mans family in Pakistan, a country where homosexuality is still illegal, have been placed in severe danger.

Good for you!

It's not that bad - honest!

Various European countries - and the US expelling Russian diplomats. I don't think Putin is going to be very happy and wouldn't be surprised if there was a large-scale Russian cyber attack in retaliation. I am backing up my computer just in case!

Too bloody right. Your boss sounds like a complete arsehole. What he is basically saying is that you are not allowed to be yourself as it doesn't please him. There's a word for that and it's called bullying. You will be much better off away from that sort of atmosphere and can do so much better.

You and me both. The sense of freedom is great, although I still have to carry stuff with me just n case. I have to wait another 8 months until I know for sure, as women over 50 have to be period free for a year before they can say for certain that they have had the menopause. Today was such a beautiful day though. Everyone feels happier when the sun is out.

I was gobsmacked to look out and see no frost this morning. It has actually been a really nice spring day with plenty of sunshine. I felt a bit overdressed!

I am sure things will get better soon, they usually do I find. I will send you a hug as well though. Things are really good for me actually at the moment after a pretty stressful time at the beginning of the year. Corans health seems to be slowly improving, I am sleeping a lot better as well which certainly helps, and my moods have been a lot less up and down. I haven't had a period for almost 4 months now so I am hoping this means I won't get another one, which would certainly explain the lack of mood swings and improved sleep patterns. Sorry to you men if this is a bit graphic, but its part of life. Work is really good too. It's a busy time for us with spring cleaning and so on. I have been busy getting quotes for new machinery as we have not spent our budget for the year and we want to make sure we do as otherwise it will be cut next year - I am hoping to try and get some steam mops to give the floors all a really deep clean without the use of chemicals, which will potentially save us even more money. The garden at work is coming to life with lots of flowers in bloom and buds starting to appear on some of the trees. The spring equinox is tomorrow and the clocks change this weekend - I think most people feel a lot better after that as it means that summer is on its way. Long may it last!

I don't think I have even heard of teaberry. I had a lot of different types of berry when I went to Finland many years ago but don't remember that one. The other flavours all sound good though - I like pistachio too. Its about time that Magnum did one of these.

We watched Pride at the weekend which is about how the LGBT community supported the miners during their year long strike. It was actually really good.

Minus 2 when I left for work this morning, with wind chill to match. It didn't get far above freezing point until lunchtime, but tomorrow will be warmer.

I didn't know that either about babies only seeing in black and white. It was so cold at work today especially in the wind. It was beautiful though I must admit, but I am glad to be back home in the warm. That's the only problem with my job when the weather is bad like this - the constant going from warm (indoors) to cold (outdoors). It has its plus side though in the summer when I can wear shorts and get a nice tan!