Sunday, Sunday.

Just got back from a long day out.

As mentioned recently in an earlier LJ entry, friend Harv is over from Aussie with the family, and it's the first time I've seen them for about 6 years.

Otherwise unchanged, Harv has developed an accent. More to the point, he now has that inflection which has begun to creep into Estuary English, and which is slowly strangling all other English accents. I speak of the rising inflection that makes the end of each sentence sound like a question thus making the speaker sound profoundly uncertain.

Oh dear. I can cope with the Aussiefication of the accent, but that inflection....

I understand from Julia, his wife, that to her and other pure blood Aussies, Harv still sounds as though he has retained a plummy, well-educated English Home Counties accent. He hasn't. He is in that linguistic limbo that defines him as English to the Aussies, but Aussie to the English.

Bless.

A bunch of us met up for lunch and then retired to the hotel for a chat. All very good to catch up. It's a shame that Australia is 23 hours away by air. I just know that a visit would drive me insane (too late, I hear you cry).

Anyway, after leaving Harv and family, it was a wander around central London for 3 hours before pootling off to booze with Miss Clark and Pat At both sans LJ. This was good, and I have just finished scoffing the gifted dried banana received at this meeting. Most toothsome. Sadly the Head of Steam, our favoured central London watering hole, near Euston, showed every sign of being closed, and so we retired to a local Young's pub - not bad, but a poor substitute for the real ale extravaganza we were hoping for.

Never mind.

Briefly, and in a nut shell, that was the highlight of my weekend. I must now iron a shirt, shower and sleep. Probably in that order.

Sunday, Sunday.

Just got back from a long day out.

As mentioned recently in an earlier LJ entry, friend Harv is over from Aussie with the family, and it's the first time I've seen them for about 6 years.

Otherwise unchanged, Harv has developed an accent. More to the point, he now has that inflection which has begun to creep into Estuary English, and which is slowly strangling all other English accents. I speak of the rising inflection that makes the end of each sentence sound like a question thus making the speaker sound profoundly uncertain.

Oh dear. I can cope with the Aussiefication of the accent, but that inflection....

I understand from Julia, his wife, that to her and other pure blood Aussies, Harv still sounds as though he has retained a plummy, well-educated English Home Counties accent. He hasn't. He is in that linguistic limbo that defines him as English to the Aussies, but Aussie to the English.

Bless.

A bunch of us met up for lunch and then retired to the hotel for a chat. All very good to catch up. It's a shame that Australia is 23 hours away by air. I just know that a visit would drive me insane (too late, I hear you cry).

Anyway, after leaving Harv and family, it was a wander around central London for 3 hours before pootling off to booze with Miss Clark and Pat At both sans LJ. This was good, and I have just finished scoffing the gifted dried banana received at this meeting. Most toothsome. Sadly the Head of Steam, our favoured central London watering hole, near Euston, showed every sign of being closed, and so we retired to a local Young's pub - not bad, but a poor substitute for the real ale extravaganza we were hoping for.

Never mind.

Briefly, and in a nut shell, that was the highlight of my weekend. I must now iron a shirt, shower and sleep. Probably in that order.

Monday morning

Ooh, but it's a bit chilly this morning, and I'm not properly awake.

I really fancy a couple more hours in bed.

That is all.

Monday morning

Ooh, but it's a bit chilly this morning, and I'm not properly awake.

I really fancy a couple more hours in bed.

That is all.

What to do?

I am in a bit of a pickle. It's not particularly serious or anything, but it has left me sitting here wondering quite how to approach the damned task.

To rewind a couple of months, my boss accepted on my behalf (thanks, mate), an invitation to give a presentation on rent restructuring to TPAS in Warwick, this Wednesday (or Thursday - I can't remember which). I wasn't especially keen, but not overly put out, either. I would just update the presentation I gave in August and include some information about the consultation outcome.

But since then we have decided¹ to postpone the introduction of the proposals for one year. This is the source of my quandary. Precisely what do I put in the presentation? It makes no sense to outline the proposals and discuss the benefits/disbenefits for half an hour and then say, "but we're not going to do it."

So I am a bit stuck.

And my boss, who I really could do with talking it all through with to agree some kind of approach is off sick today. Now that's planning.

This of course is why I am writing this up rather than re-pitching the presentation: nothing suggests itself. Nonetheless, I daresay something will get done. Adrenaline adds to my creative ability, so by about 3 this afternoon I should be on a roll². In the meantime, I am sitting staring at the screen, completely devoid of inspiration.


¹ By which I mean the Minister decided, see LJ's passim.

² Well, we can hope.

What to do?

I am in a bit of a pickle. It's not particularly serious or anything, but it has left me sitting here wondering quite how to approach the damned task.

To rewind a couple of months, my boss accepted on my behalf (thanks, mate), an invitation to give a presentation on rent restructuring to TPAS in Warwick, this Wednesday (or Thursday - I can't remember which). I wasn't especially keen, but not overly put out, either. I would just update the presentation I gave in August and include some information about the consultation outcome.

But since then we have decided¹ to postpone the introduction of the proposals for one year. This is the source of my quandary. Precisely what do I put in the presentation? It makes no sense to outline the proposals and discuss the benefits/disbenefits for half an hour and then say, "but we're not going to do it."

So I am a bit stuck.

And my boss, who I really could do with talking it all through with to agree some kind of approach is off sick today. Now that's planning.

This of course is why I am writing this up rather than re-pitching the presentation: nothing suggests itself. Nonetheless, I daresay something will get done. Adrenaline adds to my creative ability, so by about 3 this afternoon I should be on a roll². In the meantime, I am sitting staring at the screen, completely devoid of inspiration.


¹ By which I mean the Minister decided, see LJ's passim.

² Well, we can hope.