What's happening in your life?

my hip went into spasm

I thought it was just me that that sort of thing happened to.

Sadly not! Nice to have a fellow sufferer of inappropriate moments on board.

I've had to sacrifice a baguette from my shopping. Coming in just there, I was lucky enough to coincide with the very noisy woman through the wall coming out of her building. A quiet word turned into something unplanned and the cheeky mare stalked off pretending to take the moral high ground. Too good for a slanging match in the street - yeah right. Scored a direct baguette hit on the back of her head.

Tomorrow I'm going into a high school to give a talk and lead some groups, as part of some kind of working world initiative. I wish I hadn't agreed to it.

What an absolutely marvellous day I've had. The 17 year olds were much nicer than I expected. Nobody was especially monosyllabic, they were all the opposite in fact. Some really lovely looking young men, and with far better manners than I remember groups of guys of that age having.

I was able to make a quiet but vital point to the girls about the fashion for reddish eyeshadow and huge painted on eyebrows being a grave mistake, unflattering and destined for being a cause of embarrassment in years to come. I recommend New Cid's 'I Smoulder' smoky eye pencil and shadow in one - ember. I promised to send a few in.

Productive chats about the world of work, myth busting the media, etc. Really quite enjoyed myself. One girl had done work experience on This Morning through summer - having pestered them since the age of about 10. How impressive to have such sustained focus and dedication at that age.

On the drive home I went somewhere I've never been before - a branch of Morrisons. There were loads of bargains. Bollinger reduced to £25 a bottle.

https://newcidcosmetics.com/product/i-smoulder-eye-pencil/

Cannot be bettered imo. It was recommended to me by a make up artist who is in such demand that she can choose which brands to work for - always does Balmain and they fly her everywhere. I rarely use anything else now. An easy pleasure to use.

I don't know if any of you have been to a Morrisons btw. The staff were adorable. I had a great chat with the girl on the fag counter about thermal underwear - we're both fans of.

I went to a Morrisons in the sad muddy town of Maldon once, and they were very rude, but in bustling Rochester they were very nice. I was able to repay their kindness too, a member of staff had been deputed to change over their big wall calendar but she was too short to reach, so I did it for her (probably breaking about 8 laws in the process).

I think I'll go quite often now. I've become a convert to Lidl and Aldi, but I hadn't considered Morrisons. I used to discreetly use an Asda when I was visiting my half sister, but after her unspeakable act of ignorant social and economic vandalism in June 2016 such visits have ceased, and she and all her descendants were explicitly banned in my will from deriving any benefit from any portion of my estate, in all circumstances.

She was repentant by spring of 2017 but our relationship remains on ice. There was mention of a new nephew last year. I sent a congratulations text which, all things considered, I thought was adequately generous.

A productive day here at Tanya Towers. As I was up on a chair trying to get my shower switch to stay in the ON position, I short circuited the entire house. 

I made my way over the river to see my grandad. An uncle has been passing messages between us. Due to the lack of power situation I was wearing a bandana with large sunglasses, and a paint stained tracksuit. I was greeted with "Blimey Tan, you just come out the Marsden?". 

Still it was really lovely to see the old git after all these years. My nan was told he was going to a garden centre, so I took him one of my terracotta pots of plumbago auriculata for him to take back as his cover. 

He asked if he could see 'the boy' and I so said I'd think about it. We each had double egg and chips, and cups of tea, so that sorted out today's food intake. While I was out, my neighbour let the electrician in to sort things out.

I got home and cleaned my living room carpet by hand. I'll vacuum later.

And I've had my eyelashes dyed and permed, and my eyebrows dyed a nice sooty black colour after which the arches were waxed into an angle just disdainful enough not to be unfriendly.

Most unusually, there was little talk of holidays while chart music plays. We relaxed into the job at hand with Exile's Kiss You All Over on loudly

I've had a crazy 48 hours.

If I have the energy I'll try and relate it tomorrow.

I've slept about tuppence-halfpenny o'clock.

There was blood and v*iny elderly b***s and wr*nkly oldf man's b*ms and hostipals and v*mit and Drambuie.

I'm so tyried.

Still, I've not wuite realise it yet.

After an event on Friday night I was driven out to the charmless depths of Middlesex to meet up with Sean for the night and breakfast. We got the tube back into town so I could introduce him to my nephew (technically my ex husbands nephew) who is at uni here. That went very well, and I was invited to a house party in the East End with said nephew on Saturday night. I left, by way of public transport, at a reasonable 2am so I didn't have to deal long term with Oldest Person In The Room Syndrome, but his friends were all very nice. I'd met a couple of them before.

He was telling me in a drunken state something about an ossuary or bone crypt which he has confirmed since he did say. I'm now looking into the legalities of repatriation and cremation. What is the point of burying people if they have to be exhumed and placed in storage after a few years anyway? Burial is such a revolting concept to start with. It's something I've had nightmares about for years - since in fact I was nominated to be the cord bearer of a friend and was only told at the graveside.

A graveside I'd nearly missed by being dropped off in a cab before the procession had arrived. I followed the one that came in the gates and only when it had been dropped in the ground did I realise I was at the wrong funeral. I then had to run through this vast cemetery in the pouring rain. Thankfully a groundsman was out and able to point when I shouted 'which way did the second hearse go?'. They were all waiting for me, and I was struck by the nightmarish thought that in the cold wet ground my friend would never be dry again, and was locked in for eternity.

I don't know what to do. We employ a disabled girl at work. Every adaption has been made. Last year she had a deadline extended by NINE months. Basically I covered her work as well as my own, she didn't have to do anything. For three of those months she was being paid in full and didn't even stay in touch. 

These extensions have had to be built into timings we provide to clients. She's just told me there that after a further extension of four months, again when I and others have covered interim and made excuses, that a report due on Monday morning, to be sent to the client by lunchtime, has not been done. When I asked why her phone went dead. 

It's now ringing out and she's ignoring it. On past performance this could last a couple of hours to several months. She's going to have to be sacked, and I feel terrible about it. I'm also absolutely furious. She's had the same bonuses on top of salary that others have had, and the same on account hospitality and grooming allowance.

We generally say five working days if you are having trouble, which gives time to either sort it out or delegate. Here we are two weekend days away. As I say, it's previously been three months behind instead of five days ahead. 

I'm absolutely fuming. I know she uses the grooming part of that allowance, in full, even when she can't work because the bill comes here. Too ill to work or stay in touch, well enough to cost £200 a week in a salon.

I've only ever sacked two people, and one of them still keeps me awake at night. I really didn't want her to be the third but she's taking the fu*king p*ss. I am so angry.

Am I right to be this angry? I actually think she's had more chances than others might've.

Just had an email there, saying that she is trying to treat herself with loving kindness and that deadlines are discriminatory to people with protected characteristics under the Equalities Act 2010. I have read the act, and it most certainly does not say anything of the kind.

I like her.

Nightjar wrote:I like her.

I don't. Have now cancelled my own arrangements for this evening so I can share her work with someone else. Still nothing apart from this jaw dropping email. None of this loving kindness is ever shared with anyone having to clean up after her. We are all just as minions revolving round her entitlement. It's the selfishness that really gets me.