One of the most important things you have to do when writing a blog, is to write a blog. If you stop writing a blog, you stop writing a blog, and your readers get bored and go down the pub. This is a major problem for depressive bloggers because depression really inhibits one’s confidence to write a load of objectively bland stuff for the sake of not-much. The less you write, the less frequently people bother to check it…until it rots away to buggery…

Anyway, while Humphrey pecks at the edge of the screen on this laptop, in a (successful) attempt to get some attention, I want to tell you about the City Inn in Birmingham. It’s where I stayed last night (courtesy of the British taxpayer) and it is my ideal hotel:

• FREE Internet access for all guests with ethernet AND wireless (and a bunch of exposed PCs, ripe for the hacking)!
• TV, DVD player (with DivX support), Corby trouser press (unused) in every room
• 24 hour room service, with good, cheap, food
• A bar that opens late
• A superb restaurant – haddock risotto with poached egg, followed by poached salmon with roased vegetables and salad 🙂
• Friendly staff
• Other things

We (a colleague and I) were in Birmingham for a two day event which could well be the most disgusting waste of taxpayers money ever. It does go on you know. Everyone there was very earnest, of course, and all felt it to be worthwhile, but I can honestly say that it would have been equally productive and far cheaper if the organizer had simply sat in his room at home and burnt £10 notes for a day. Such a pity. There are so many problems within education that need sorting out, and there is so much money to do it. It’s just a shame that the money ends up all getting poured down the khazi like this.
By day-two the tedium and pointlessness of it all had necessitated drastic action. Whilst I was psychologically prepared to sit through it all again, my colleague could bear it no longer and was so desperate to go back and start doing productive stuff again that we shunned the free lunch, coffee, tea and awkward conversations with tedious cretins in favour of going home.

But, it was a great night that involved eating gorgeous food, and then sitting reading some fluffy Tom Sharpe book in the hotel bar with a pint of Guiness or two. This is my idea of heaven.

Before this, there were load of noteworthy events that remain unblogged for various reasons. Just to help jog my memory, here are a few clues:

• Easter! Some nice wind-down events in various bars/pubs
• Visiting my parents and indulging in lovely food and company. In fact, last sunday we took Humph over there and sat in the garden…lovely. My sister called too – it was really lovely to speak to her! (Ok Frances ? 🙂
• A great night in Brockley with Dr J and Petra. After a few in the Brockley Barge we staggered off to the Wickham with Stuart H for some nice arguments. I may have consumed more Summer Lightning than that which could be considered polite…sorry
• Lucinda’s super-human catering event, where she managed to russle-up enough lasagne for 5,000 people in her house, from only 3 slices of pasta and 2 bits of beef. Great day that was, although I might have had a tad too much red wine than that which could be considered polite
• [Humph is currently talking to and dancing for my foot 🙂 ]
• Loads of other things that I can’t currently remember