Looking forward to Thursday

Much better.

A shower before bed doesn't half feel good and I've changed the bed linen too, so squeaky clean me in clean bed. Luxury.

I have to be out of the Athenaeum Club a few minutes earlier tomorrow morning as I am not in the office until about midday. Instead I find myself plotting a course for one of the plumbier parts of the West End, Fitzrovia¹. I am off to the CIPFA conference at the Radisson SAS Hotel², just off Portman Square.

This is not something I would normally attend; I'd usually find a reason not to, but I was stymied in my attempts this time around. I am not delivering a keynote speech, or even giving a presentation or anything nerve-shredding like that. I am there as support in case my colleague gets ambushed with questions on subsidy, about which he knows sweet FA (like I'm much better). He's standing in for my boss who is on leave and who in turn should have been standing in for our ex-uberboss who has moved on, and he was standing in for someone else entirely. Neither of us are on the schedule of attendees or speakers and neither is the subject Steve has prepared as a presentation. Tra-la. Should be fun.

A lot of people are going to be expecting a talk on Strategy and Finance, but will get one on Innovation and Efficiency instead. I appreciate the irony even if no-one else does.

The organisers have thoughtfully provided us with a map locating the hotel, and another inset map locating London in England. Very useful. Around London there are three concentric circles, the outermost of which extends far enough east to encompass Vienna and Prague and parts of western Poland. Presumably this marks the furthest fallout limit when delegates realise they have been conned.

I understand the CIPFA conference lunches are legendary, so I shan't make it back to the office much before 2pm, just in time to brew up a coffee, read LJ and come home early.

Sometimes I love my job.


¹Though why identifying an entire chunk of real estate with acknowledged royal bastardy should add to the cachet of an area is beyond me. I seem to recall that it's only in the last 10-15 years the gap between Mayfair and Regents Park has been so graced on maps. I expect it's an estate agent thing, to buoy up already inflated property prices.

²I find the name of the hotel worrying. I hope that it is all some kind of Scandinavian reference and nothing to do with special forces, although that does raise the intriguing concept of urban camouflage and such. Commandos in pinstripe combat smocks with copies of The Times worked into their webbing.

Looking forward to Thursday

Much better.

A shower before bed doesn't half feel good and I've changed the bed linen too, so squeaky clean me in clean bed. Luxury.

I have to be out of the Athenaeum Club a few minutes earlier tomorrow morning as I am not in the office until about midday. Instead I find myself plotting a course for one of the plumbier parts of the West End, Fitzrovia¹. I am off to the CIPFA conference at the Radisson SAS Hotel², just off Portman Square.

This is not something I would normally attend; I'd usually find a reason not to, but I was stymied in my attempts this time around. I am not delivering a keynote speech, or even giving a presentation or anything nerve-shredding like that. I am there as support in case my colleague gets ambushed with questions on subsidy, about which he knows sweet FA (like I'm much better). He's standing in for my boss who is on leave and who in turn should have been standing in for our ex-uberboss who has moved on, and he was standing in for someone else entirely. Neither of us are on the schedule of attendees or speakers and neither is the subject Steve has prepared as a presentation. Tra-la. Should be fun.

A lot of people are going to be expecting a talk on Strategy and Finance, but will get one on Innovation and Efficiency instead. I appreciate the irony even if no-one else does.

The organisers have thoughtfully provided us with a map locating the hotel, and another inset map locating London in England. Very useful. Around London there are three concentric circles, the outermost of which extends far enough east to encompass Vienna and Prague and parts of western Poland. Presumably this marks the furthest fallout limit when delegates realise they have been conned.

I understand the CIPFA conference lunches are legendary, so I shan't make it back to the office much before 2pm, just in time to brew up a coffee, read LJ and come home early.

Sometimes I love my job.


¹Though why identifying an entire chunk of real estate with acknowledged royal bastardy should add to the cachet of an area is beyond me. I seem to recall that it's only in the last 10-15 years the gap between Mayfair and Regents Park has been so graced on maps. I expect it's an estate agent thing, to buoy up already inflated property prices.

²I find the name of the hotel worrying. I hope that it is all some kind of Scandinavian reference and nothing to do with special forces, although that does raise the intriguing concept of urban camouflage and such. Commandos in pinstripe combat smocks with copies of The Times worked into their webbing.

(no subject)

Just to annoy me, Hotmail will not load on MY browser today.

It loads on my colleague's, just not on mine. Still, I slept at the conference for most of the morning and in 10 minutes we have a scheduled fire drill. I'll be off home shortly after 4pm, so what the heck?

I can check my email at home.

(no subject)

Just to annoy me, Hotmail will not load on MY browser today.

It loads on my colleague's, just not on mine. Still, I slept at the conference for most of the morning and in 10 minutes we have a scheduled fire drill. I'll be off home shortly after 4pm, so what the heck?

I can check my email at home.