Atishoooooo!

And cough, cough, hack, hack, splutter, splutter...yak!

Yes, it finally got the better of me. Went to work yesterday and really shouldn't have, but institutional educational establishments have a way of making you feel guilty for having a day off sick unless you are actually dead (and then you still need a note from your GP).

But after a succession of people telling me I looked awful, and shouldn't I go home, and after sporting a headache and temperature for most of the day, I decided that today would have to be the first sickie day in goodness knows how long, and this morning I made the call and stayed chez moi.

I have done some marking. I have been very generous with my marking, in that I have sneezed over a lot of it, and coughed over the rest, thus sharing the bounty of my germs with at least 56 students. Not sure how long a germ lasts on an exercise book; I guess time will tell...

I have also tried to steam my head clear by drinking lots of lemon and ginger tea, having a very hot shower and doing some ironing. Steam works well, but only as long as the steam lasts.

Managed to lose hearing in my right ear by blowing my nose too hard. It is now very itchy. My ear, not my nose. And it keeps popping. My ear, not my nose. And running. My nose, not my ear.

I've been listening to the radio (with my one good ear). Really good programme this morning on Radio 4 about how fear of failure often prevents us from making the most of our lives. It,of course, is true. Fear of failure often stops me from writing. Stupid really, but after listening to the guy on the radio this morning, whose passion was music, I can understand a bit more of where I am going wrong. The thing that got me most was when he said that he had spent too much of his life getting up in the morning and dreading going to work. And his wake up call was a near break-down.

And even though I have a stinking cough and cold, and am confined to barracks, I still feel better than  if I was at work, because the anxiety and stress has been relieved for one day.

So, I sit here, surrounded by cats and magazines and piles of grotty tissues and empty mugs. The estate agent called yesterday with 'feedback' from our weekend viewings. Two of them liked the house but not the location. The Italian couple are 'still thinking' which I think means they will offer something ridiculously below the asking price, and the fourth couple haven't been contactable.

The MMM Adventure has fizzled into a sort of spectator sport, which given my current physical wretchedness is just as well. Still, I was gladdened to read in the paper this morning (something else I haven't done for weeks - actually have time to read a weekday paper) that Saturn has entered my sign and changes are in the wind.

Whatever that means.