wishing I was you

Apart from the obvious pleasures of a weekday dedicated to such a pursuit (adding in the all important breakfast/lunch decisions), I love Norwich

For a while I used to spend 3 days a week there, staying in the Travel Tavern like Hotel Nelson and working at Anglia Television, right in the centre. Lovely city.

Have fun, post what you buy. Its good that Norwich still has 4 record shops.

Watching Tideland (before lovefilm get angry at me), getting a haircut, going swimming, operating the sound/vision desk for the local CofE Junior school 200th anniversary service, and leading a Bible study on the book of Lamentations.

Fun times aplenty!

I will be mostly dealing with frantic trainee ESL teachers who are at the end of an intense 4 week course. I will be then supervising a traineee who's at the end of their online course doing some practicals. I will get home at 10 pm, when I will proof read and edit a publicity brochure for my school. Then bed.

Wish I was in Norwich..

done an hour in the gym (interval training and abs workout)Listened to two Latitide Word podcasts.
At work and trawling Amazon for books about New York.
At some point I may even do some work. Seems unlikely though.

as my eldest daughter calls it. We are spending the day together in pursuit of fun.

Just have to have a bit of software training for an hour or so and then we're freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

Going into London for a meeting with an agency. Then, if the weather holds, I will whizz over to Denmark St on my Brompton to buy a Shubb SP2 steel bar for my lap steel. I never even knew I needed one till yesterday. Now my life is a hollow shell without one.

Sadly the demise of the Resonator Centre means the likelihood of finding one is low.

after a rubbish nights sleep (3 year old son maxxing out on bad dreams!). Hoping to finish promptly at 5:30pm. Looking forward to tomorrow - day off for kids sports day and afternoon with my wife.

..to sell our September stuff to a small independent bookshop in the suburb of Crosby, (PaddyH's local emporium). This will take place in a caff opposite over coffee and toasted tea cakes - on days like this I love my job.

Soapbox moment : if you have an independent bookshop, try and use it if you can. They can't command the margins Amazon do from their suppliers, hence the price issues, but the good ones will hand sell you stuff you didn't know you wanted to read. They're going the way the of independent record shops (i.e they're struggling to survive), but there's still time to save them....

bringing my son to an activity centre so that he can burn off all his excess energy, and I can sit and have a coffee! Then we'll meet his mum for lunch, and after that I have to work. However, I would love to be looking around record shops!

Doing much the same as you. I will be doing it in Glasgow though. I will spend some considerable amount of time in Fopp on Byres Road and I will also pop in to the Oxfam Vinyl shop. Coffee, cupcakes, then a drive to New Lanark for a walk to the falls of Clyde. I'll also be playing Black Country Communion's 2nd album vloud in the car. My record collection also stretches back to the early 70's and before. Right, Im off.

already listened to 25th anniversary Life's Rich Pageant (nice subtle remastering job) and half of the Athens Demos. After work will pop to Entertainment Exchange to pick up something for the X-Box and then home.

Oh already had a small argument with someone who said I bumped her car while parking. I didn't and the 'mark on her car' turned out to be birdshit.

understand what the best tariff would be with British Gas, have called them twice and when I put the phone down, feel like I'm going senile because I am no further understanding what the hell they have been going on about. Will finish job application (don't know why I bother), head off out later for ordinary chores, listen to a bit of cricket, read, nap and then listen to the news later to hear about the collapse of the European financial system and wish Robert Peston didn't have such a damn irritating and knowing tone to his voice.

The plan was to cycle to Tempelhof, the beautiful old former airport in the south of Berlin. They've more or less opened it up to the public, so one can go zooming about on the vast runways. However, it's chucking it down and I really should crack on with some work.

This morning I have already done my ukulele practise (I'm playing a song at my sister's wedding next weekend), and my wearing-high-heels practise (I'm wearing heels at my sister's wedding and I'm usually a strictly-flats kinda gal).

Have made a couple of phone calls vaguely pursuing some freelance work (not my strong point, I get a bit embarrassed about touting for work)

The little daughters are currently doing some painting (the elder daughter is painting on paper, the little one is painting her tummy).

This afternoon, my mum's going to look after the girls for a bit and I'm going to go to the gym.

Tonight, I'm going to try and do some more drawing. Or I might just finish reading Tina Fey's "Bossypants", which is brilliant.

Trying to take over the world......

Fabulous day so far, decent haul including:

The Horrors - Skying as recommended in this very parish
Mystery White Boy - Jeff Buckley, Simply Vinyl Edition
The Delivery Man - Elvis, Lost Highway 10th Anniversary double clear vinyl

Plus six or seven others bought just to replace worn out records or ones that have gone missing along the way, things like East Side Story for one, Gorilla by the Bonzos, Brewing Up With Billy Bragg.

Kettle on, amp warming up, it's going to be a good afternoon too!

so I'll be trying to get people to return my calls.
Then I'll give up, open a fat red and stick on Pet Sounds.

...not exactly Newcastle but a short trip up the A1 brings you to the wonderful Barter Books in Alnwick, one of the UK's largest secondhand bookshops - and it's got coffee and nice biscuits, too...

Joos sittin by the side of the bookletmaker, watchin the booklets goin in... an watchin em commin oot agaian.

Traditionally I go out with my eldest daughter and father-in-law to somewhere like a local Toby Carvery or Harvester. Today I ventured along the road to Wigan and their Taybarns diner. Before 5pm it is £6.20 for an all-you-can-eat buffet. I had salad, chips, chicken, pizza, pasta, dough balls, apple crumble & custard, cheesecake and ice cream. I stayed away from the carvery, burgers, hot dogs and chocolate cake.

I cannot move.

don't you think the salad was a bit extreme? Steady on old chap.

another wafer thin mint Mr Beany?

as have spent most weekdays this year trying to find ways to help the police save money/ get value for money on IT kit and support.

The coalition isn't making this easy. Oh, the silly sausages!

til October.

spent an eternity in the queue for Tesco Insurance then picking samphire before rain stopped play. Now I have to manicure it for market tomorrow.

In ten minutes, I have to go and pick up a cheap hire car, then I'll come back to the flat, load up (tent, rucksack etc), and drive to Speyside... I have a stack of friends celebrating 50th birthdays this year and this weekend the party encompasses a meal in Aviemore, then a barbecue on Sat in a wee village nearby. Tonight I'll camp at the Rothiemurchus site, walking distance from Aviemore - tomorrow at the house having the barbecue ... On Sunday, I head for the Moray coast to visit my parents then on Mon, back here again to drop off the hire car by 2pm, look at my bank account, wince, and hunt for jobs. I'm in two minds at the moment as i'm looking forward to Speyside, party and pine forest, lochs and walks (won't manage anything ambitious but even if i toddle around Loch an Eilein for a couple of hours on Sat morning that's a win). On the other hand, the jobs gloom and money issues hover in the background. But for the next 48 hours, it's movement, people and the big country. If it's clear, i might even see some stars. The problems can wait until next week.

I work in a school so I have started my 6 weeks holiday today - its the annual joy of feeling 12 again, a summer of potential stretching off into the distance. I spent the morning buying wood to turn into a guinea pig hutch with my eldest 5 year old (soon to be owner of said guinea pig) who had a delightful time doing ballet moves in the middle of the builders yard. This afternoon we will attempt to take off her bike stabilizers which may be an experience! Currently backing up I tunes purchases which I have been putting off for too long. Not an exciting day but nice not to be rushing around for once and to spend time with my girls and Mrs C.