Meeting a contact face to face

Some of the most interesting - and most fulfilling - articles I've been writing in the last year for Royal Mail have been around recipients of help from the Rowland Hill Fund. Today I met my conact, Mary Jeffery, face to face for the first time. It was a great meeting and We got on really well.

Between us, we've helped publicise some amazing stories and it feels good. Something positive to focus on!

Real progress on a new project

Can say no more, but something new and exciting is happening. Not musical, but since I can't play sax at the moment, that's all on hold for another month.

This new project is a great collaboration with an old friend and something entirely new for both of us. All great stuff and I'm looking forward to progress in the coming few months.

Bad luck gets worse

I was stirred from my bed last night by a neighbour telling me that my car had been broken into.

So this morning was spent talking to insurers, window replacers and police instead of going into London to work. What a waste of time and money for someone else's split second of wanton vandalism.

The chances are, they'll never catch anyone involved. If they do, I shall stand up in court to try to get them to see the stupidity of such behaviour. We may never get there and they may not listen anyway, but I'd like to have the chance.

Sublime to the ridiculous

Today is being spent hoovering up metaphorical loose ends and getting bits of writing done. Actually, quite rewarding.

DJ Derek is coming to Hitchin next month and I had to write a press-release and blog about it. Hence the picture. Hope I have as much energy as him in 20 years' time.

It's not fair!

I've decided that just saying "It's not fair" is all right. I'm not wallowing in selfpity, and I am definitely counting my blessings, but I have had some pretty horrible things in the last few months and it actually isn't fair.

I am very, very happy with my life, but deeply UNhappy that I am having to do everything one-handed as well as single-handed until my shoulder/ribs repair themselves in the next five weeks or so.

It's not as if life isn't hard enough as a single mother (even given that my children are wonderful), as the sole bread-winner and without family nearby. To crash my car so spectacularly at the start of November and then to crash myself on my 50th birthday two weeks ago was just annoying and stupid.

So, no, it's NOT fair. I'd just like something to go a little easier for a while, if that's all right. Please? Pretty please?

You won't often hear me moan, but I just needed that. Thanks for listening.

Definitely doing something right!

Apart from breaking my shoulder and three ribs, that was definitely the best 50th Birthday ever! Topped off by Florence and Freddie performing for me and my friends (just before my fall).

Approaching 50 - what lies ahead for the next 50?

I'd love to know what my friends and colleagues would recommend for my next 50 years. What books should I read? What music should I listen to? What cities should I visit?

Today is my last in my 40s and it definitely feels a little weird. Looking back will surely drive me mad, so what lies ahead?

A week of cold, aching ribs, working hard

Glad that week's over. A lot of hard work and I'm suffering for it physically. Apparently, my ribs don't like to be stretched.

Celebrating my birthday (not until Tuesday) starts here. Dinner with Florence and Fred.

Now I'm getting up to date again with everything in my life. Two months after nearly losing it all. Not bad going.

Harpenden Gang Show isn't the pits

Band run-through for Harpenden Gang Show. Sounding good and I'm amazed that I can actually play after mangling my right hand eight weeks ago.

Christmas disappears

Once more, my house is restored to some sense of normality. Christmas decorations all safely stowed in the loft.

This picture cracked me up

You have to love companies that spend a fortune on an event and make a bit of a pig's ear of it.

I don't think I made any friends this evening when I went along to the Simons exhibition of proposals for Hitchin town centre to write a blog.

I asked them where this was supposed to be a 'view' from. Probably a helicopter, around 20feet above Hollow Lane. Not representative of any view that might become reality. It's made me laugh all day.

After about an hour of discussions of the proposals themselves, one of the team made a passing comment about not being able to attract 'ordinary' people and everyday shoppers to see their proposals. Well, with display boards showing blank greyness to the outside world and the only indication of what was going on visible once you'd stepped through the door, that's not very likely. I hope they take my advice and make it a little more welcoming. Clearly, not much expenditure on PR.

Still laughing about the ridiculous artist's impression that probably cost a few grand.

I await the unveiling of Kings Cross

The gorgeous Victorian facade of Kings Cross will soon be visible as the rest of this monstrosity is removed. It looks as if they're more than half way there. Only visible from the top deck of a London bus, the work is continuing apace.

When people ask me what I do, this is it

Stories like this are so good to work on. Royal Mail has a World Class Mail programme that aims to perfect the processes that items of post go through between sender and recipient. When visiting Medway mail centre for its official opening earlier in 2012, I made contact with the WCM team and it was clear that they have some outstanding work going on there.

I just love interviewing ordinary people who keep Royal Mail operating around the country. Even trailing around after CEO Moya Greene (on the right in this picture) is interesting, as she always manages to get to the bottom of the real stories of the real people.

Hopefully more of the same in 2013.

2013: starting as I mean to go on

I eventually had one of the best New Year's Eve ever. It didn't start until nearly 11pm and finished less than two hours later, but was hugely enjoyable.

Celebrating sober with some of my most long-standing friends and a couple of new ones was lovely.

This was then followed up with a drive to Enfield and back, spending two hours with another really good friend and her family and friends. It was lovely, but totally exhausting. Mind you, to be up and about for just a few hours and to spend them all either with good friends or with family is a pretty good way to be. Definitely over-did the driving, though.