Category: old blogging

Well, the interview went ok, so it looks like we will be recruiting this lady, assuming she accepts our terms, and I’m not sure about that. I don’t think she realised that horticulture is a low-paid industry, and that she could earn more flipping burgers for Burger King. You really have to want to come into this business for enjoyment, which I accept is wrong, but is unlikely to change until product prices get back to the sort of levels that they had in real terms 40 years ago. And I don’t see that happening any time soon.

Much activity here today. Preparing tonight’s presentation, plus interviewing prospective new employee for the nursery this morning.

The bank appointment went well, and the rest of the day continued with a frantic pace of productivity that lasted well into the evening. I’m pooped now, but relaxed. Off to sleep soon I think.

Back in the old days, when you entered a horse racing sweepstake you knew that only the person who drew the winning horse actually won anything. Thankfully, those days are gone, and although my horse came in third in the National, it seems I have won some cash in the Nags sweepstake. Unfortunately, Gary wasn’t in the bar tonight, so I couldn’t collect my winnings. I’m sure my cash is in safe hands. There’ll be trouble if it isn’t.

Blimey. I’m having a productive morning so far. I’ve

• been to the District Council offices to start the ball rolling on getting planning permission for new windows
• made an appointment at the optician
• registered at the local GP (only seven and a half years after moving to Chichester from Barnham!)
• purchased a CD (Making Bones by Red Snapper), and
• taken delivery of the CDs I ordered from the States last week, which have turned up amazingly quickly.

Now I am going to spend a few minutes working on more forms and paperwork for PFE before I head down to the bank for my appointment at 11.30, and then on to the office to get ready for a presentation I’m giving in Reading tomorrow night. And, on top of that, it’s a bright and sunny day (if a little chilly in the wind). Things are good.

Since when has the Rainbow (a pub on St Paul’s Road) been called The Happy Medium?? What a stupid name!

There was a big fire last night near here – an old shoe repairer’s premises, long disused, on Northgate caught fire. I passed it in the cab on the way to last night’s family function. It was well alight, and I’ve just been round to take a look. The outside of the building is relatively unscathed, but looking inside, the whole of the roof is ruined and the inside is a charred mess. Judging by the burnt blankets that the firemen have left beside the building, someone was squatting in there, although I can’t imagine that it was a particularly nice place to be.
It’s a shame that that building, and the old Electric Cinema next to it (which was one of the first cinemas in the country) are being left to slowly rot into the ground. The site itself is a prime location – there must be some developer who would be willing to do something with these buildings to bring them back into usefulness.

I’ve spent most of today sat in front of this computer, pounding the keyboard and searching for information on the net. I’m working on creating the agreements and forms that PFE will need in order to be able to function effectively. Thankfully, I’ve been given a lot of help by various people, otherwise I wouldn’t honestly know where to begin – it’s the sort of help that will almost certainly save me a lot of money in legal fees. As it is, I need to pass several of these forms, particularly the contracts, in front of a lawyer before I use them, just to check that I’ve missed nothing out and not created any nasty problems for myself.
Either way, I’m gradually going cross-eyed from looking at the monitor too much. Which reminds me that I was going to make an appointment to see an optician and have my eyes tested, with a view to getting some spectacles. More and more time on a PC seems to be making me more and more tired, and I’m sure my eyesight is contributing to that. I gave up wearing my glasses when I was about 16 or 17 in a fit of vanity (I’m long-sighted in my right eye), but now I think it is time to start wearing them again, at least when working. Besides, these days a cool pair of glasses is seen as a fashion plus, and I’m less likely to be called "four eyes" today than when I was the speccy swot at school.

Of all the reporters in Iraq at the moment, I bet the Americans least wanted one of their own bombs to fall near John Simpson.

Yay! A wysiwyg baby!