A bus man's holiday

Marion and I are on holiday at the moment but it is turning into a bit of a bus man's holiday as our new brochure is its final phase now and our print deadline is approaching very quickly. I could ignore the emails and say "I'm on holiday" but what's the point in that? This is my last Instanta brochure and I want to go out with a bang and make it the best ever. And it is looking very good indeed. Jen Hill our Senior Account Manager at Workhouse has put in a huge effort and I think we will be able to press the "print" button very soon.




I am writing this from our room in the City Inn in Westminster. Last night we stayed at the Days Inn on the M1 which, for less than £40 per night, was good value. We managed to get the City Inn on a very good deal on the Internet and for a central London hotel it is very impressive. Very close to Parliament and the Tate it is clean, spacious and comfortable and the staff are extremely helpful. The Internet is free (you even get a Mac computer to use so you don't have to bring your own) and the restaurant prices are probably better than last night's on the M1 so, pound for pound it's better value for the improved comfort level. We will certainly give it another try next time we are in London. Tomorrow we are staying in the RAC club. We aren't members but a friend in the wedding party is and he has kindly booked the rooms for us.




Before driving from the M1 to London this morning we had to go to Dorking to collect this beautiful little Japanese Satsuma vase that I bought at a live Internet auction. I thought that the auctioneer might post it for me but he felt that it was too valuable to take the risk. Good job we were in London for the wedding or it might have been ages before I got to see it. Very pleased but I have to sell something from the collection to pay for it. I now have three pieces by this artist Yabu Meizan in my collection.




Holidays mean time to read. So I just read "For Richer For Poorer" which I got as a birthday present from a friend. This autobiographical book about her life as a poker player is by Victoria Coren the Observer columnist and daughter of the wonderful but sadly late Alan Coren.I love Victoria's columns in the paper. They are always witty and well written. I never understood her poker columns in the Guardian but after reading her book it's a bit clearer now. The whole world of poker seems somehow sleazy and, however finely Victoria dresses it up with her brilliant writing, an air of grubbiness seeps from the book and permeates every chapter. Having read it though I do feel that I must give the game a try (at least once).



In the meantime I'll finish today with a self improvement video for you. Now you can all become a Navi.