Newcastle, sun and the cr***t cr**ch

Actually, it's all rather in reverse order. I wanted to start by saying that at last the "current situation" has got to me. Yes, it's a fair cop, hands in the air and all that, I admit to worry, concern, rising panic and being in a state of confusion about the whole thing.

When I was a student with no grant, no loan and parents who thought it would be character-building for me to manage without additional funding from them, I was aware of every penny I spent. For three years, I literally bought nothing unless it was absolutely essential. (I am, of course, including fags and mascara in the list of essentials, but leaving food and heating out!) Now, suddenly, I find myself in exactly the same frame of mind again. I simply don't want to spend any money. No clothes, no treats, no expensive face products and even - no shoes! In fact the only thing I want to buy is baby stuff for my lovely little grandchild, as yet unborn.

So thank goodness it's a sunny day and the flight to Newcastle this afternoon will be glorious, with views across the country all the way.

Isn't this all interesting? Is it 'good for us', as some pundits keep writing in their newspaper and magazine articles? I don't know. It's certainly different and what's for sure is that the word 'resilience' will come to have real meaning for most of us over the next year or so.

Hope you're all managing ok and enjoying the sunshine too.

See you soon,

Angie

Bunking off

The gorgeous husband and I are having a week off. A whole lovely beautiful week off to concentrate on being creative,go to the movies, enjoy each others' company, catch up with a few pals, go for coffee and long walks, watch classic TV Greats, get to the gym more and eat wonderful lunch every day.

In reality we have:

Tidied the office

Ordered the coffee (yes I know it sounds pretentious but worth it to the last drop!)

Done three loads of washing

Sorted out the plumbing and heating in the other house

Dealt with tenants leaving and new ones (hopefully) arriving

Written two new programmes for a client

Re-issued two "lost" invoices

Eaten left-overs

Watched rubbish TV

Seen nobody (so far)

Responded to 100 emails and phone messages

But we have made a start on designing Christmas cards (moi) and some large-scale pictures (him)

Tomorrow we are going to see Michael McIntyre; he is my very favourite stand-up comdian so I expect a lorra lorra laughs.

And I am making fabulous chicken soup tonight to act as Jewish  pencilin in readiness for winter coughs and colds.

So it's not too bad, eh?

Oh yes, and that other thing with the dentist - silly me; it was only a first appointment to take some measurements. You'll be glad to know I survived with great calm and dignity.

See you soon,

Angie

Be Prepared

It is exactly one hour until I have to leave my cosy office and my friendly ibook to go to the dentist for a long and probably complicated session. I love my dentist - he has been a mate for nearly 20 years - but I'm still dreading it. When I get there, he will make me laugh, remember to ask about husband, daughter, work and so on - but I'm still dreading it. He never hurts me, treats me beautifully, has great magazines in the waiting room and is as gentle as a kitten - but I'm still dreading it.

In preparation, I have tidied the desk, paid the bills, sorted out all my work for the foreseeable future,phoned two close friends, emailed the daughter, stocked up on essentials and eaten a hearty breakfast. In other words, I am behaving as though I'm about to face warfare or at least a siege! So what's that all about? 

I think the only reason I was a fantastic Brownie and then Girl Guide, was because I loved the motto about being prepared. (Actually, I think the Guide one was a bit more complicated but who cares?) It suited me even as a child to have my stuff in order and to plan at least two contingency options for 'just in case'. So, despite knowing that all will be fine in the chair this afternoon, everything is ready for me to go into complete meltdown instead. 

Perhaps I should just quickly update my will.

See you soon,

Angie

100 Great Ideas

100 Great ideas to Create Personal Impact - the name of the seminar I am about to launch with my colleague and friend, Hannah. We have planned it, written it, marketed it and now we are waiting for it to take off.

It's also 100 Great ways to induce heart attack! Years ago I swore never again to put on an open course. They are such hard work, so stressful and utterly unpredictable in terms of response. So why did I change my mind?

Because I had an idea that I wanted to try out and I was lucky to find the right person to work with. If it comes off, we will be quids in and two very happy people and if it doesn't, we will have benefited from another huge piece of learning.  Sure, I'd rather we made some money out of the venture but, as I have always said, it really isn't the dosh that gets me out of bed every morning. It's the challenge, the thought that this will be  useful to people who sign up and come along and above all - the fun!

I have always found writing new programmes and delivering them the greatest thrill and quite honestly I just can't wait to get stuck in. So fingers crossed that we will get enough people to go ahead.

See you soon

Angie