Regarding payment - one certainly doesn't get paid extra to get up at 4 or 5 in the morning to sit in an airport for three hours.

[rab] Hmmmm....if it's required by your job, and you're not on an hourly rate, then yes you do get paid to do that, but not paid extra. Or perhaps, if your job didn't require you to do that, you wouldn't get paid so much? I'm just arguing for the sake of it really, so don't take any of this to heart :-)

[Phil] Oh you must try it. But I'd rather you visited someone else's girlfriend...

Hello everyone,so lovely to see you're all still here. Last posted a couple of years ago, (then got new job, husband and baby, just about remembering who I am again). Have just had first glass of wine in about 18 months, so apologise now for the possible poor standard of postings!

[Ella] Congrats! And welcome back! I haven't noticed anything untoward yet.

[Penelope] Thank you! And on the horrendous errors front; there's still time :)

[Ella] What pen said!

Ella! How nice to have you back with us :-)

[and Ella] Please come and join my Animal Vegetable Mineral Abstracty thingy - it seems to be taking a bit of time....

[Ella] Nice to see you again.

Good news: just received my first official rejection letter from a major U.S. periodical. I feel like a real writer now. =)

[J] congratulations!

Yawn. Another quiet night.

I am surprised by the intensity of my loathing of Gillian McKeith tonight on telly. She is the most tasteless, boorish and annoying silly moo.

I am quite sure that I have missed some entertaining programmes over the years but, these days, I do tend to pick and choose what I watch (as opposed to sitting in front of the damned thing 'flicking around').