it is sunny. and warm. and of my 19 events today, the first 10 have gone off without a hitch.

The fact that a publisher sent up a giant elephant costume (about a famous elephant picture book) assuming I would have a random minion to hand to wear it and dance about like a loon in front of 80 small children caused slight panic this morning. But Julie saved the day in a groundbreaking elephant boogie which I am sure will be discussed for years to come (and I will owe her copious amounts of cakes to pay her back). It was outstanding.

So right now, I am glugging coke straight from the two litre and gearing up for an afternoon of interactive poetry and flour bombs.

I love my job.

ps - I will be home in exactly 19 days!

festive fever

so, life:

I am 12 days into my 18 day festival. My average shift is 8am to 10pm. It's grueling and aweful and also amazing. I love kids. I also love champagne. As long as I don't mix the two, things are going well.

Two days ago I was on the 6 o'clock news on BBC 1 (which is repeated at 10pm and 8am - so everyone can have a go). I've yet to see it but my colleagues say I was articulate, which is a bonus. I am now marginally famous. Little old ladies stop me in the street with excitement which is nice. But the real testament to stardom is that one of my college student temp staff says his friends think I'm 'well fit'. I was never a hottie when I was their age, but now I'm apparently a Mrs Robinson.

Yesterday, two of my colleagues who met at last year's Festival and still work here got engaged (to each other) and I am on cloud nine with sentimentality.

Liam's mom and her partner are visiting this week. It's insane to spend my spare waking minutes playing hostess and having dinner parties, but they are very nice and have great taste in wine.

I have also handled two major first aid incidents. One of my staff members had a seizure so she & I spent the afternoon in hospital, and I was the one who called her mom.

Then two days later, a lady had a miscarriage in one of my tents. It was pretty aweful. It took all I had to play with her two toddlers and keep them engaged and calm while their mom was pulled out with an IV and stretcher. They are all fine now. I might be less so.

Other than that, I am living on 4 hours sleep, gutted I am missing the new modernist interpretive ballet of Dorian Gray which is taking the town by storm after it's New York premiere (it's the guy that did the Edward Scissorhands ballet a while back. le sigh.), and trying to get my shit together for the big wedding do in a month.

Things are...busy.