Where are the April showers?

Yet still the April weather is remarkably pleasant! What is going on?! While I don't have the beautiful beaches of St Andrews to spend time on reading articles and planning essays, nor for that matter a nice view of the coast from a library window (the Arts and Social Sciences library here back onto a railway track), I have found some park benches in some pretty locations suitable for relieving me from my desk. At the moment I'm at that stage in my work where I've read lots, my brain is fairly frazzled, a plan of sorts is coming together, though patchy, and yet nothing of significance has been formulated - the stage where every distraction possible is being employed to avoid putting pen to paper. The avoidance is now at such an advanced stage that I've even taken to watching the Colin Firth adaptation of Pride and Prejudice for the first time!

It seems like it was months ago that I was back in Edinburgh. My week there was really good fun, though I have to say I did pack a lot in and really could have done with another holiday on return. It was soooo nice to catch up with so many of you. It's so bizarre how much my wee city has changed since I was last there in December. All of a sudden there are new buildings popping up everywhere, new shops emerging (like White Stuff on George St and the Swatch shop on Princes St - two of my favourites!), and people from school who I'm sure can't be old enough to frequent bars, appearing draped over stools in my local! On a more personal level, it was so amazing to hear that one of my mates from school is due to get married this week and that one of my mates from athletics is due to give birth this week! All of a sudden I'm feeling like I should be acting like a grown-up...maybe another day.

Many of you will be sad to hear that my little Clio packed in the other week. She decided to shed her exhaust the night before I was due to drive to Cardiff airport. In a fit of intolerance my dad announced to me that I should sell her, but after a week of reflection he has abstained from repeating such a 'suggestion'. Instead I have seen that she be taken good care of and she has been restored to her former self, at a price. I am hoping that now she can behave herself and cost me nothing for the rest of the summer. I have so many roadtrips and outings planned while I'm down here.

I've got myself a new job in Cardiff now. I'm working in Schuh and feeling very much in my element! There are just too many shoes I want to buy now. I think there's some sort of psychological game going on, created by Schuh executives, where the guilt of an employee choosing to buy one pair of shoes over another compels them to buy more and more shoes, thus turning Schuh's wage deficit into a sales profit - they're onto a winner! In my opinion the discount card is just a blow softener, now that I'm not grateful for it :-)