Well, although still not 100% I am feeling about a zillion times better than I was this morning. Which is nice. Went for a walk in the sun at lunchtime (it then proceeded to rain as I was on my way back) which blew a few cobwebs away and it is continuing to stream in through the windows on and off helping to keep me warm and toasty.

And had a few more files back and got the west area booklet back from printing already so they are in the post and being distributed already. Huzzah for finally getting something done.

0900

Good News - Not only did Joan & Helen win a tidy little sum at the bingo last night, but Joan actuall one some of it herself rather than Helen all the time.

Bad News - I feel like total death today. Dizzy, shivering and even had to stop the car on the way in to work so I could get out and throw up on the roadside. Not a pleasant experience. I don't really know why I continued my journey instead of doing the sensible thing and turning round and going home to bed. If I don't perk up soon I'm probably going to do just that anyway. I am sure it is all connected with the tablet withdrawal and am frankly sick to the back teeth of it (no pun intended). If only we weren't so damn busy here with all the service changes for Monday I would have gone home without a thought, but I'm just too damn conscientious.

Bad News - Still no timetables arrived from Pindar. I have just sent them a note suggesting that they might be advised to get their act together if they want to keep the printing contract when it comes to renewal time. I know they are doing their best but they are holding us up now. OK, so people here have been twiddling about with things up to the last minute but I did warn them in February that we would be having all these changes now so they have had plenty of time to get people ready to work on our stuff.

Bad News - Being grotty earlier meant I made no lunch. But if I do feel like eating anything later I will have to go out and buy it, and it is raining. Quite heavily. In defiance of the forecast.

Dream News - It was a busy night in my head again. First off some sort of extended travelogue through woods near Welwyn Garden City. Not that I recognised them of course, but you know how it is in dreams. You just know where you are even if the location bears no relation to anywhere you have ever been or seen. Then there was a long and involved plot involving hospitals and Llamasoft. Not sure why the two got connected but there you go. The main plot had a huge gathering of forum members at Yak's house, parts of which were accessed via ladders and trapdoors rather than simple staircases. But then I was also having to go off to hospital to (a) visit Ernie and (b) keep appointments of my own that were going to mean surgery and all sorts of other goings on. At that point I woke up feeling fine, dandy and ready to go to work. Then realised it was only 4am and decided a bit more sleep was called for.

That produced yet another "Back to Argos" dream. Newmarket again, and totally realistic this time, with no strange extra stockrooms or expanded loading bays or other improvements that have featured in previous dreams on the subject. With the current Jacqui/Claire management team in place. But it was very much an "on loan" from Suffolk CC situation where I was giving them a few weeks help to sort out a bad mess rather than going back permanently and they were paying dearly for it. Of course waking up from that one with the alarm found me feeling as crappy as I still am - see above!

1000

Good News - I knew if I waited long enough before posting this there would be some. A couple of files arrived at last and we have at least been able to get one of the two update books up to Design & Print. Who have since complained about spots on the copies. Can't bloody win here. So now for some more...

Bad News - Although for Joan this time. Seems that although Gill is going next week and Marion from Ipswich is coming in (should really be good news that bit but...) they are also getting Peter back and Lee has to go to Bishops Stortford instead. This is definitely bad as Lee had got the stockroom looking the best I have seen it since I worked there while Peter is generally a pain in the posterior.

1100

Good News (I think) - I'm still sat here and haven't had to go home ill. I feel pretty ill but am still grimly clinging on in the hope that I can at least get these damn timetables sorted before I give up.

D'oh! Forgot to mention earlier. Had another slightly surreal experience on the way to work this morning. Saw my old car hurtling round the A12/A14 roundabout at Nacton. It's lost a wheel trim but otherwise looked OK (and was going faster than I would ever have gone round there!). I guess it was bound to happen eventually, when I'd been through enough cars or whatever but still slightly odd to see someone else behind the wheel.

And the quest for John Mandeville's book has been as easy as predicted. Not seen it in the shops yet but did find it on the interweb and have downloaded and printed it for later consumption.

Still waiting for files of course. Have had a few in but the whole process is just dragging today. Even the age-old method of going out for a walk in town failed to produce any new arrivals. In fact, all that did was to leave me feeling a bit gloomy at seeing lots of nice things in the shops but having no spare money due to the forthcoming (and much moaned about) teeth stuff. Oh well, only six months and all that will be over and done with.

Hmm, must have been major congestion on the interweb yesterday - the files I was waiting for (well, some of them) turned up at ten to three. Having been emailed at ten to eleven and twelve-ish. It's not even as if they were particularly large files either. Very annoying and by the time I'd finished sorting them out it was too late for me to get back to Felixstowe to pick Joan up. Grrrr.

There then followed a slightly strange and surreal evening - we made our Wills. Something we've been thinking about doing since we first got a mortgage and hastened by the experiences last year with June next door and then Ernie shuffling off this mortal coil. Having to actually think about what we'd want to do if we were in need of serious medical intervention or lost our marbles was quite sobering. Not to mention deciding what to do with the old corpse when the time comes. Plus there was then stuff like making sure neither of us would have to sell the house to pay for care and a few other twiddles. All of which pushed the bill up to nearly £500. Which was a bit more than we bargained for but was all stuff that needed to be done. Joan listed out a few individual bits & bobs she wanted to go to specific relatives but frankly I haven't got anything I'm attached to in that sort of way. Oh well, I can at least snuff it in peace now!

Today we have more waiting to be done followed by frantic proof checking and (I hope and pray) assembly of update booklets to get printed so we can start giving them out tomorrow. Even I'm begining to get a little cheesed off with the speed of things now.

Playing the waiting game with Pindar again. Stuff they've had for a couple of weeks is still not here, stuff I sent yesterday is back already. Does my head in, and gets everyone else moaning at me. Hey ho.

Picked up Joan's tablets fine last night then watched the '60s film of Batman with my tea. Made me laugh all over again which was nice. Better than feeling down and anxious waiting for the Mrs to come home. Must watch it with the commentary soon.

Then just as it finished came the call from Joan to say she was at Bury, which was my cue to head for Ipswich. Coach arrived safely about 10 minutes after I did and we were home by about nine thirty. She had a pretty good time overall and even managed to obtain a freebie t-shirt and coffee cup thing (one of those posh stainless steel efforts).

And now I'm stuck in the office with the rain falling. Great.

Urgh. Feel all grotty again this morning. Having felt pretty grotty for much of yesterday too. I think it must be related to dropping the dose on the old anti-depressants again but don't quote me on that. Seems logical though.

Anyway, Joan arrived safe and sound (despite the suspension going on the coach) and by all accounts had a good evening chatting before turning in. Spoke to her again this morning and she didn't sleep all that well, but then I never do when I'm away either. In fact I even woke up and had to get a drink at 4 this morning - can't remember the last time that happened (but I think it is due to being dehydrated after the effects of yesterday and last night). Tawny wasn't best pleased either.

So, The Black Hole was actually a lot better than I remembered. I know I must have seen it on TV at least once before but otherwise we are back to the original 1979 cinema release (when my teacher was also in the cinema - I jokingly said I should go sit with him and his girlfriend and it has been recycled as me intending to ever since. Bloody families. Mind you, I can also recall the supporting feature was something about rodeos). Some of the effects were really rather good - especially the weightlessness bits. Still not sure about the ending though - it appears that Reinhart ends up in hell merged with Maximillian but quite where the survivng heroes end up I'm not too sure.

Some pretty vivid dreams again last night too. The first one started off in a fairly sane manner - Started off at a big theatre accompanied by people I used to go to chool with talking computer games before mutating in to a new scene where I was working somewhere that was a sort of cross between here and a post office and was showing the brother Richard around before he got stuck in to whatever his job was supposed to be. That then shifted again to me helping BBC newsreader Fiona Bruce to escape from this strange office as it was under attack (this bit I can understand as I did watch her reading the news which was mainly about the war in Iraq just before I went to sleep). We had to do a whole bunch of climbing walls and scrambling down slopes before ending up on the edge of London. Never knew my office was so big! Anyway, from there we had to get down to the west country somewhere which involved "borrowing" abandoned cars and driving through largely deserted streets (the Embankment was a bit eerie) picking up further refugees on the way. Quite exhausting.

After the interruption for a drink there was another action-packed widescreen adventure. That one started with me cycling around some strange version of Welwyn Garden City with Mum before going through a shop (!) and ending up in a dispute between various members of the Eastenders and Casualty casts over a baby with much violence and running around car parks going on.

I think I need to get my brain more exhausted before sleep.

Today I have already called in at the doctors to sort out Joan's prescriptions that she forgot to update before she went away. Which meant I was late arriving but luckily managed to grab the last space in the car park. I can pick it up tonight so that means an early finish will also be required. Shame. Will be popping out over lunch too as (a) I have a credit card bill to pay and (b) I was too lazy to make any bread to enable me to make sandwiches.

Why can't people make their bloody minds up? About ten minutes after I posted yesterday Joan phoned to say it was all on again after all. So I am just back from dropping her off at the bus. And naturally missing her like crazy already - especially after finding a note from her in the fridge when I went to get a drink! Oh well, I know at least 4 of the people she is travelling with so I am sure they will have a good time.

Went around to Ma & Pa for lunch earlier - well, it is Mother's Day after all. Very nice and she liked her present.

Finished the Adventures of Dougal while I was sat outside Argos waiting for Joan to come out last night. Very good stuff, especially as most of it was actually written as book rather than tv scripts so worked wonderfully. Three more to read which I think are all tv transcripts but should still be just as enjoyable. Have now started The Riddle And The Knight by Giles Milton. Story of his search to prove or disprove the validity of a book written in the 1350s by Sir John Mandeville claiming to have travelled far and wide and proving the globular nature of the planet. Fascinating stuff so far and has prompted me to go searching for the original after only 20 pages (it is allegedly available as a penguin classic so should be fairly easy to track down).

Right, time to check the Llamasoft forum for a bit, watch The Black Hole on telly, have some dinner and then chill out for the evening playing games or something to stop me missing Joan too much.