Ice Ice Baby

Lecture today from the British Library. Very interesting but slightly marred by the freezing air con which turned what had been an admittedly warm room into one of the lesser known regions of the North Pole. I would not have been surprised if a Polar Bear had wandered in at some point during the talk. That said, as the room was quite full, if one had done so there wouldn't have been anywhere for them to sit.

We got to hear all about the British Library's vision for the future, and given that I have visited it quite recently, I could envisage it quite well. It does look and sound like a lovely place to work but I understand there's a hiring freeze on. Appropriate given today's lecture room temperature.

Chameleon

I don't know whether it is to do with being deeply unfashionable in my teenage years (that said, isn't everyone?) but I tend to go for camouflage. I don't mean that I troll round wearing desert fatigues and combats in the Kent town where I current reside (though to be honest I'm not sure that would actually cause anyone's eyebrows to raise), but that I use my clothes to hide. When I can wear what amounts to a uniform, I will. For work this amounts to black trousers and a top of some description, for home, it's jeans. To think that I spent my formative years wearing my school uniform skirt short, my shirt untucked and my tie the wrong way round in an attempt (along with everyone else in my school) to stamp some personality on it. As the crowd in The Life of Brian shout "I'm an individual!"

Except... except that now I have lost weight I am rediscovering clothes. Kind of. I am not exactly rushing out and wearing mini skirts to the office (too draughty, too impractical and too difficult to sit with your legs curled up under the desk in what is frankly a DVT threat but oh so comfy). Yet I am now thinking more about what I wear and how I look. Yes, you will still find me in jeans, but sometimes, just sometimes, I'll maybe surprise you.

Jasper - a jewel worth queuing for

So today Kate and I went to hear Jasper Fforde talking about his new book 'One of our Thursdays is Missing'. As usual he was interesting and came across as the sort of person you would really like to have at a dinner party. It does make me vaguely wonder how much of this personality is an act 'JF the author' and what the real person is like - or if he is really as he seems. I never really question interviews with actors in papers, I just assume that they are as they portray themselves.

Anyway the excerpts that Jasper read sounded brilliant and I am looking forward to reading the new book (I am obviously not a complete JF addict as I haven't put down my current book to read it!). Could possibly have done without his comment when he was signing and stamping the books about being a frustrated librarian though...