New month, new season, new start?

Well I can't blame the cat for this one - I woke bright eyed (ok, a bit red eyed as I was rubbing them far too much at Everton over the weekend - that will be the different pollen in the countryside), and bushy tailed at 5am again!  I thought my body had got used to waking at 7pm while I was away in London which is a fairly civilised time to be getting up ... but no, now I'm actually able to collapse in bed when I want, 9pm usually, my body has reverted to waking at 5pm.  You just can't win!!  I would love to be able to take the nap that I was able to get in London, at home, but I can't sleep here between 1:30pm and 5:30pm, who would get the OH's tea ready?  Or do the washing, or hoovering, or shopping or the gardening ...

Which reminds me, I've had the dread letter from ATOS - my appointment is Friday 13th September - what a day to choose!!  If they interview me in my present state I guess I'm doomed to be completely taken off Employment Support Allowance and sent to seek work - I must confess I'm feeling OK at the moment.  Do you think taking in a list of diary/blog entries that catalogue the times when I'm not so well would help prove my case?  Like the fortnight in July when I was in bed for four days after my daughter's graduation and some other social events and it took me two weeks to get back to some semblance of normality, or in January/February where I was so ill I didn't even do any proper research or blogging for three or four weeks.  That's when I lost that second stone in weight, remember?

Despite dreading the two weeks in London I managed to only 'fail' completely on one day, after some inappropriate food the day before.  I had my naps every afternoon and I trusted my team to know what they were doing, and on top of that they really, really looked after me.  Even the slightest sign I was tired and stroppy and they packed me off to type up notes or visit with friends so I didn't get worked up over the continual daft questions we get in our office - tell me what proper job would look after you like that? 

I do remember that on most days I was desperate for someone else to come on shift after two hours by myself and that after four hours I was running on chocolate Freddos and crisps to keep awake - fortunately by then everyone else had usually arrived and I could just 'supervise' for a while, pass on the happenings of the morning and prepare to stagger back off across the District line to my nice 3rd floor (with a lift) hotel room for five hours.  I count the evening part of my GBBF work as if it were normal person socialising not as work per se - it's much quieter than the morning as the festival is open, none of that desperate rush to get everything done before we open and to solve all of the catastrophes of the previous day and night.  Plus the office was one of the few air conditioned rooms in the building and we had real chairs, not the horrible folding/collapsing rubbish that were in the Volunteer Village area. (I've heard the Procurements chap trying to source better but affordable chairs for everyone next year ... there were quite a few spectacular collapses of the old ones - CAMRA members often being 'larger than average'.)  Coolness and good chairs lead to many visitors.  Visitors are nice, CAMRA friends are nice, I will miss them all dreadfully next summer.

So if ATOS and the Job Centre can recommend a four hour a day sit down job with a five minute commute to a bed I'm all for it!  The money would certainly be nice.

What am I looking forward to in the new (academic term calendar wise) year?

A new Open University module, A327 Europe 1914-1989: war, peace, modernity which is my final module ever due to the change in fees.  I've blogged my feelings on that topic more than once.

Barnsley Archives, a new year of transcribing and Friends of the Archives volunteering.  Discovering more about how it all works and hopefully even that digital Barnsley Chronicle will turn up eventually.

The Family and Community Historical Research Society's new project on the Home Front during World War One and their conference next May in Leicester, where my daughter has a spare bedroom so I can stay free!

And I suppose NOT having to go to meetings for GBBF all over the country, I did used to hate the long car rides or train journeys, I got really tired and usually only kept wake during the meetings with copious chocolate - except that means I won't be seeing my friends anymore - but there's always Facebook. *sigh*

And maybe, possibly ... being asked to do some more talks ... for money ... Cross fingers.