3November1996

3 November 96
My dear folks,

I’ve another useful day behind me. There’s a formula I’ve yet to work out that relates the put-offabilty of jobs done to the glow of satisfaction one achieves by their accomplishment. It’s not their actual difficulty or tediousness or the application they require, it’s the procrastination factor that counts towards the sense of merit. That’s to say, the less you feel like doing them, the better you feel for getting them done. Maybe I should call this Benson’s First Law & go down in history for recording it. I call it the First Law because there are several other laws I expect to define.

I sat up late last night transferring masses of software from CD Roms to my computers - mainly useful stuff like Microsoft’s new browser, Internet Explorer 3. I tried the browser out & was most impressed. It’s “neat”. For months I’ve been underlining the most useful bits of the software available on the CDs which arrive with my computer mags. I spent another hour or two today compressing old files on to floppy disks. I was into my tenth disk when my computer screeched & flashed up the image of a spider on screen, together with the warning that the disc was infected with a virus - and its details. I most was impressed. I paid a great deal of money last year for the best anti-virus programme on the market, plus regular updates through the post; this is the first time I’ve come across one. The disk was one given by a colleague at the BBC where we are forever being warned to beware of viruses.

Mid p.m. I slipped downstairs to repair the shelving the “girls” flat below me, a relatively simple job as it turned out. Mave came down with me & shot into the girls’ flat the moment the door opened. I don’t know why he likes it so much in there, but he does. I took down with me a newly glued drawer from one of the girl’s desks, too. The front had come off & little wonder, as it was made of the crappiest of crappy compressed wood. It made me all the more appreciate of the solidity of my own desk, a piece of furniture I acquired for a song via a contact when Stuttafords closed its branch in central Johannesburg & moved to Sandton.

Furthermore, I have dug the remains of summer’s flowers from the window boxes & replaced them with a selection of pansies & primroses. Little Jones, the total bill was under a fiver & somehow the flat feels uplifted by the fresh young colours in the place of the stalky skeletons that have occupied the ledges. A rattle from the fax there as your latest note comes through, Jones. Many thanks. Sorry for the continuing trials by pump. I do hope it sorts itself out, as much for your peace of mind than the supply of water.

Snap, crackle and pop outside as the inevitable Guy Fawkes celebration moves towards its climax. Two guys have already been killed in accidents, both of them while overseeing organised displays. Brings back memories of walking through Rosebank and tossing crackers over walls.....the wheel of life!!!!!!!!

There’s a host of really good tv programmes on this evening. Tomorrow a.m. I must dump the documents I’ve been working on in the hands of the accountants & p.m. I see the BBC doctor for an RSI check-up. In the evening, I’ll join my cousin, Judy, for supper. In an ideal world, I’d cycle to all the above, but we’re promised a foul week, with a huge dump of wind & water beginning over the north west of the country shortly. Portugal, by contrast, Jones, has a large high moving towards it.
Move love for now,
T