We've had some snow, a few dustings, and if I were honest, nothing like the problem it's been for some parts of Britain. Apart from that section of pavement beside the College Car Park. Sheltered by the shadow of the abandoned building, it never thaws out in sunshine, and thus alwys freezes into a thirty yard skating alley.

Woah... That was close... Walk slowly...

You'd think by now someone would have noticed. Okay, it isn't some Dickensian vista of snowdrifts between tudor shops, but it certainly is a pain in the backside... If you know what I mean...

Down and Out?

I've noticed that teenage beggars have made a certain alleyway between a car park and a shopping mall a place of business. Every day you find one sat against the wall, asking if you've got any spare change. Should I feel guilty about my comfort and be charitable? To be honest, I can't really see these people as genuinely homeless. They don't have that resigned helplessness about them. It's just begging for extra income. A part of me is annoyed by that, but then, isn't that exactly what I'm doing but in a different way?

The truth is that the government will have me in a workhouse before long. Oh it might be different in image to the charitable slavery of Dickensian London, I might be protected by labour legislation of the modern era, but it amounts to the same thing. At least I'll have something to put on my CV.

Bah! Humbug! My goose is cooked! But at least I get an extra few quid for my trouble.

Interview of the Week

I was given a job interview the other day. A rare event. The estate agent I was summoned to was a very businesslike office, a sort of clean modern enviroment with a minimum of comfort and visual diversion from the business of selling property. The mood was quiet. It was like those dickensian workplaces where nothing moves, the only sound a ticking of a clock.

The two managers who interviewed me described me as "an interesting person". I suspect that was an undesirable aspect of my character. Can you imagine the scene two weeks later? Whaddaya mean I'm sacked? All I said was "Party on dudes!"

Seasonal Greetings of the Year

Have a happy christmas, saturnalia, or any fun party you happen to get involved in at this time of year. I'm getting so many knocking sounds from the contractors downstairs I'm starting to wonder if the Three Ghosts of Christmas have settled in...