Birds with ring tones and the financial wizard

Heard some birdsong in the garden this morning which we hadn’t heard before – but couldn’t see what was causing it, darn it. Lord H’s comment was : Goodness me, a bird with a different ring tone. How strange! Which makes me wonder if he’s quite got the hang of nature …

Anyway, wild panics at work today when we appeared to start the University open day with nothing to show potential students at all, at least in terms of care services. Sally and I rushed around and did a quick recce – as we feared that the porters might have taken the open day boxes to the library instead of where they should have been in the IT building (as we also had a care services library event later on) – but in fact we eventually found out they’d put the boxes in the IT building store cupboard. Yes, it’s a mystery to us all. But at least we had something on our table apart from free pens and a wild-eyed staff member. Eventually.

That problem solved, I concentrated on sorting out the library event – which meant getting the box of leaflets up to the library (which I did) and hoping that the porters would take the heavy stuff. Which they did, without leaving it in the IT store room … To try to drum up trade, I sent round an email to all first years on Monday – but I now wonder if maybe I should have offered them a free book – that’ll terrify them … Alas (that word again!), we only had one caller in the three hours we staffed the desk, so we are obviously not reaching our customer base. As they say. Hell, I can do scary Management Speak like the best of them, you know. The only difference is: I don’t mean it.

I also did battle with the Student Induction Group meeting which takes place on Monday, but the Chair still hadn’t agreed the agenda (in spite of multiple chases!) and was in any case apparently up in Leeds for the day. I don’t know – the appeal of Harvey Nicks to the academic staff is getting out of hand. But it left me having to send out draft papers and a made-up agenda (today being, as always, my last day in for the week) and looking forward to taking the flak on Monday. Hey ho. Oh, and I’m having to change the date of the next Nursery Group in December due to the child care issues of our invited guest. Joy abounding indeed!

However, the lovely Juli of Mighty Erudite has sent me the latest version of Kate Noakes’ wonderful poetry collection, Ocean to Interior, to check before she sends it to be typeset. So I started on this in my lunch-hour (my back exercise class disappeared off the horizon somewhere during the course of the day, I fear ...) and will finish up as soon as I can, bearing deadlines in mind. Once it’s published in November, I can thoroughly recommend buying it – it’s classy stuff indeed.

And tonight, Guy (hello, Guy – again!) is popping round to talk to Lord H about finances in a financial wizardry type way. So I’ll have to hide in the spare room and do knitting or something – or whatever it is women do when men talk business. Lord knows. Oo-err, so we’d better tidy the flat before he arrives as otherwise I’ll never hear the last of it from Jane H (hello, Jane!). Must also video “Heroes” – I can’t miss that!

Today’s nice things:

1. Birds with strange ring tones
2. Kate Noakes’ poetry collection
3. Surviving the various marketing crises – just!

Anne Brooke
Anne's website