Unexpected end to the week

The plan was that this evening me and Roland would have a pleasant, leisurely supper with a bottle of wine maybe sat outside as we've both been a bit busy recently.

Things went a bit tits-up though, starting at the beginning of the week when yet again I didn't get my full salary payment. Never mind, we said, we can muddle through 'cos Roland will get paid on Thursday (yesterday). He didn't. Nothing.

Despite him submitting his time sheet for authorisation and forwarding to the finance department (he's on a 3-month contract at the University doing bits of teaching, bits of curriculum development which ends mid-September) in plenty of time for it to be processed and for him to be paid on the 29th. Turns out that the person who signed it off just didn't get their arse into gear to get it to the finance department in time. He will be having strong words with someone at the beginning of next week about this.

But this evening, and tomorrow evening, he's working behind the bar at Take5 as our friend Marilda, who owns the business with her husband, called in a bit of a state as she is short staffed. What's not to like? He gets a few quid and Marilda is helped out of a little hole.

Me, I'm home with the cats, the radio and a book of Italo Calvino's letters. And a pizza and a couple of glasses of chilled white.

On balance, things really could be a lot worse, they really could.

ps: I'm pleased that the House of Commons decided that going to war with Syria was a bad idea.

They just need to end the war they are currently waging with absolute gusto in this country on poor people and disabled people.