The Iconics - another charity gig!

Mike O'Neill Big Band does it for charriddee

Another busy day

Achieved loads. Plus, I've got a real focus for my novel now. Just need to block some time out of the diary to get on with it.

A good awards night

Colleagues and friends from AB celebrating three wins at the IOIC awards last week.

Another great (female) writer dies

Sad to hear the news of the death of Nora Ephron today.

Family dinner

A truly lovely evening with cousins James and Sophie, his daughter Amber and her husband and daughter Isabella.

Always nice to have an evening out with Florence, too.

A new client - FTF

FTF Worldwide organise massive events, with fireworks, helicopters and even the Red Arrows thrown in.

They've asked me to do some bits of writing for them, which promises to be interesting. Cannot wait.

The Best of Hitchin wins award!

I am so proud to be part of the Best of Hitchin team.

Last night, Louise and Keith Yexley were presented with the Best eBusiness at the Federation of Small Business Hertfordshire awards. I'm happy to be a small part of their team.

If you haven't already, check it out.

Learning, always learning

Today sees the start of the examining process for this year. I have 300 GCSE Media Studies papers to mark in a month.

What amazes me is that you can read ten papers and there's always something in one of them that I didn't know. It just proves that there are some good teachers out there.

What sad news

Ironically, the day after what would have been my wedding anniversary, I learn of the death of Betty, my ex-mother-in-law. What a lovely lady and she will be sadly missed by Peter, her children and her grandchildren. And me.

Cracking day

Managing to achieve quite a lot. Positive visit to the dentist and he's finally persuaded me to crown the tooth I broke 18 months ago. Pain - physically and financially - will ensue, but it'll be better in the long run. It's my 20th wedding anniversary today. Well, it would have been if we'd made it. A little sadness but both the marriage and the divorce were the right things at the time.

Interesting research on Paul McCartney

Writing a blog for SoSoActive on Paul McCartney was very interesting. Found out lots I'd never known.

I'm beginning to find this kind of writing quite addictive. It's fascinating to read information and then to check its sources.

Another small business - growing

Spent the afternoon with a very interesting company in Berkshire. Great products and service almost make growth a certainty.

Happy Father's Day. Now, if you could just ...

I feel somewhat mean that my Father's Day gift was asking Dad to help dismantle a kitchen cupboard.

Mind you, I did buy him and Mum breakfast before taking them to Luton airport for their well-earned two week holiday in Crete.

Leaving Manchester (temporarily)

Florence's last day as a resident of Piccadilly Point in Manchester.

She's sharing a house for her second year and this day marks the end of a significant era in her life. It took us a couple of hours, several bin liners of rubbish and a bottle of Flash, but we left her room immaculate.

The summer beckons for her.

AB success at IOIC awards

Andy and Gary with the Subspace trophy. Just one of the awards collected by my AB friends tonight.

As I'm one of the writers on Royal Mail's Courier and that won, then technically I was a winner tonight. A good night.

Negative blow - it had to happen

Today brought the phone call I have been dreading.

Work for my number one client may well be drying up.

It adds a reality to my business, as I have passed ten months as a freelance writer. AB has allowed me to follow my dream for those ten months and allowed me to make some very weighty and important gains to my portfolio.

I am not down-hearted, as it is just giving me the push I perhaps needed to really focus on MY business and not on theirs. The future is wide open and the only way is up.

Volunteers who sit on their hands - why bother?

Why would you turn up for a meeting at which you are determined to play no part?

Fussie and Runway

So much good work going on in small businesses around the country and I visited Spirit Footwear in Aldershot today, who are a prime example. Without small businesses, we'd probably never have big business. Then we'd be in trouble.

People like Ian and Charlotte are quietly inspirational, working out what consumers want to buy and selling it to them. I'm writing a piece for myroyalmail.com, but I'd like it to have a wider reach - we asa nation should be celebrating people like this much, much more.

Not quite letting go of my students.

Today was the English Language and Literature A2 exam sat by many of my ex-students at both Fearnhill and Hitchin Girls' schools. I wish I could have been there to guide them through the course and especially revision, but at some point you have to let go. It will be interesting to hear how their results turn out in August.

Rory Malone hits Christchurch

When I was 19, I was adventurous. I took life by the horns and lived every moment to the full.

But I'm not sure that I would have travelled half way around the world to stand on a stage - alone - and perform to strangers.

Rory Malone is from New Zealand and is travelling the UK. He played at Christchurch (Hitchin, not the other one) this evening and put on a good show. There were some technical hitches and the rest of the night left something to be desired at times, but Rory is definitely a name to watch out for.

First 'real' gig with 'The Iconics'

Shootpool, Aylesbury. Awesome gig.

A busy day in London town

Hard at work at AB.

Not really focussed

For some bizarre reason, I am struggling to focus at the moment. Must sort it.

RUTA will rock Rhythms of the World

A great gig tonight in Kings Cross. RUTA are a Polish band that defy all cateogrisation. Punk, folk, rock, jazz. Eclectic, for sure. They'll rock Rhythms of the World in July.

Two hours in A&E - but no fracture

Thank goodness. Not broken. Just badly bruised and very swollen. Danced onto by a stilleto at last night's shindig. Worth it, though.

Kaiser Chiefs party (without them)

Who needs a great band to have a great party?

Tonight was the 'official' launch of Kaiser Chiefs' album 'Souvenir'. Sarah Graham painted the cover and decided to throw a launch party in its honour.

It was a great party, despite the absence of any Chiefs.

Big band gig - a rainy Hertfordshire afternoon

There are worse ways of spending a rainy Sunday. Playing with the Mike O'Neill Big Band at a golf club in Hertfordshire was fun.

The end of The Voice - series 1

Bits to praise, bits to frown at. Overall, a good series.

Great night with good friends

The only way to end the week - night out with three gorgeous young men. Two of them are a couple and the third is WAY too young, but fabulous, just the same.