Who needs to understand the captions when these pictures of Swedish dance bands speak so well for themselves?

I’ve been reading all day and have just counted up the pages in the pile of proofs I’m taking home for the weekend. 64. I suspect the John Simpson book is now officially on hold until Monday.

I didn’t like the idea of staying in the office to work on them beyond six so stuffed them in my bag and went to the pub with Leo and Mark. It was the King of Corsica, which I have always been weary of as it has clear glass windows, rather than frosted.

Clear glass says ‘cheaper’ to me, and ‘cheaper’ says ‘often need to be replaced’ and ‘often need to be replaced’ says ‘rough’. I have seen nothing to confirm this opinion, and those who know better than I do assure me it is wrong. It’s always friendly enough, though, and it does karaoke on a Friday night and I can’t ever imagine there being a fight in a karaoke pub (unless someone was jeering). We all peeled away just gone seven and I read proofs on the train, and arrived back home to find a rather lengthy letter about the people who are publishing my book. They have gone into administration.

I can’t say I’m in the least bit surprised. They have been more and more and more difficult to get hold of, and very twitchy when it comes to talking about my contract and the several thousand pounds they owe me for the work I’ve submitted.

Half of me thinks ‘good - that’s the end of them’, but it isn’t necessarily - they could still be resurected. The other half of me is a bit pissed off, though, that I might end up getting very little for the considerable amount of work that went into the books I wrote for them.

The letter makes grim reading. They haven’t paid any rent on their premises since January, so their landlord is narked, and one of their biggest customers, Grolier, was sold by its shareholders, so there is nothing coming in on that front either.

They appointed a new sales director “with 20 years experience” who ended up making a net loss of

1. Silent night
   It's eerily quiet here just now. No sound at all from upstairs. When the war was on I could hear John Simpson commentating through the...
   
   
2. Last night and today
   Yesterday daytime was nice and relaxed. A late start after a late night, lunch in Galleywood with the cat (who is rapidly losing all of...
   
   
3. Things that scream in the night
   Baggy eyes. The windows are locked tightly shut, but the things that scream in the meadow wake me. They are being eaten by the foxes....