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Horace

Hi all

It sounds that you have been productive Wordsmith, I wish I could say the same but I have been laid low with the most horrible lurgy. I started feeling unwell last Tuesday and when I saw my GP on Thursday (had to see him about something else), he mentioned that there was a horrible bug going around. He checked my heart and it is fine, you could say that I have had a little panic about my own heart after hearing about mum's:eek: Her stupid GP has told her that she is suffering from stress and in fact was quite rude to her. Mum is seemingly ok and is hanging on for an appointment with a private consultant.

I didnt go to work last week - I was rather ill on Friday and the weekend was particularly bad because my nose had turned into a runny tap. I dragged myself out of bed at 11.30am on Monday morning and sent a tweet that I wouldnt be at the networking meeting on Tuesday nor would I be able to lead the group and then I went back to bed. I ventured as far as the post box yesterday - ensuring that I spread my germs around by the jobcentre:rotfl: I went out again today, I had to go to the bank and pay in my HB cheques, I took a large bag containing carrier bags to the charity shop (they are always desperate for bags), I took my prescription from Thursday to the chemist too and ventured into Tesco because I need food that I can eat. I felt really bad and apparently I looked ill too - this afternoon I logged onto the computer and have been catching up with emails. More news..I have prepared my first invoice for the part time work I have been doing so have just billed £196:D:j Hopefully, this is the first of many invoices. I must remember to keep a third back for the tax man although I am not sure that I actually pay tax as my income is so low.

My own networking lunch is getting off the ground with 6 people booked in already although ideally I would like another 6 but there is plenty of time. I need to get cracking on the breakfast meet for 14 April too because I haven't really done any work on that (have been ill) so fingers crossed I can get more than me going otherwise I shall pull it. I was asked today too if I wanted to be an Ambassador for Business Biscotti trouble is the meeting is on the same day as my 4N group although I am seriously considering knocking that on the head.

Off now for a cough and splutter.

Ciao

Wordsmith

Morning all. I achieved most of what I wanted on Tuesday. Yesterday I was at a client's, then worked in the shop for the last couple of hours of opening because lovely boss man is poorly bad. Proper flu, not just man flu.

Today I will have achieved:
PO admin up to date
Service with a smile to people collecting benefits and pensions
Updating client's web site
Admin emails out for another client
Five hours in shop after other lady leaves (lovely boss man still very poorly)
Cashing up for shop
Newspaper returns for shop
A bit more on my sister's web site (if I get time)

Good news is that short-fuse client gave me some cash on Monday (about one-seventh of what I am owed, but it is a start). There is not much extra work coming in at the moment. Publishing work, which is what I love, is very thin on the ground.

Wordsmith

Morning, all. I achieved most of yesterday's list. Gave service with a smile (more of a grimace when it was busy, busy, probably) except for the guy who I am fairly sure stole my gate. I do so hate handing over benefits to people who have stolen from me or the shop. Didn't get time to work on my sister's web site, but that was likely so I don't feel too bad about it.

And by the end of today I will have achieved:
PO admin up to date (OK, I didn't get it quite up to date yesterday)
Service with a smile for pensioners and customers
Phone call to my internet service provider re payment (they have a silly payment method and I want them to change it)
Phone call to my telephone provider re payment (didn't realise I had to renew every month)
Checking emails for client
Eight hours in shop after other lady leaves plus cleaning and cashing up at the end of the day
A bit more on my sister's web site (if I get time)
A call to the osteopath to arrange an appointment (once I get the telephone number, which I've already lost twice)
Some thought on bringing in extra income (as if I don't spend half my days thinking of this ...)

I'm a shop girl on Saturday and Sunday, so won't get much freelance work done. Enjoy your weekend, everyone.

Wordsmith

Horace, I'd be interested in the details of how you are organising your network lunch - how you are getting people to come, how it will be funded, and what will happen at it.

Hope your mother is doing OK.

Horace

Hi Wordsmith

I went to work today and worked from 10-2 - so that is more money to invoice at the end of the month. I am loving this paid 8hrs a week.

Networking lunch - I promote it on LinkedIn and have a group on there too. I charge people £15 and for that they get plenty of networking time, a speaker and a hot lunch from my own personal menu - so folks pay me in cash on the day and I pay the venue for lunch (a lesser amount than I am charging people to attend - I am not making much). I know that the venue are promoting it too and so far I have 6 booked in although I am hoping that more will attend.

Was most miffed earlier to find that I had been removed from 4 meetup groups that I am a member of on querying it, I was told that they felt I would be promoting my own business - hardly, they are not my target market I don't deal with joe public only businesses and surely I am allowed some downtime. I have a sneaky suspicion as who is behind my removal from these groups because why is it I was encouraged to join by the organisers and all of a sudden I have been removed without a by your leave?:mad: Who wants to be a member of Backabush Explorers in their various guises or even their Outdoor Adventure group if that is how they treat their members - certainly not me!. My advice to anyone wanting to join these particular meetup groups to avoid them like the plague. There are better ones out there - ones that won't rip you off with their extortionate fees.

I am still in the grips of catarrh and cough - so will be doing my best this weekend to shift them (I am bored with them now).

Suppose I had better start totalling everything up ready for my accountant so that he can do my self assessment.

jpwhittle

Hi all, havent been on this board for a while due to moving then being completly ill. Hi to all the new people joining hope everyones ok.
Sorry to hear youve been unwell horace. Hope your starting to feel better.
I was wondering if anone knew if there were and trade fairs in the uk in august or the beginning of december. We are hoping to branch out in the part business soon and would love to see what suppliers i could find at a trade show.

Horace

Hi JP - glad to have you back, sorry to hear that you have been ill.

What sort of trade fairs are you after? I know there is usually a listing of some at the NEC https://www.necgroup.co.uk (I think that's the web address although cannot think offhand). I know that in the Autumn (around September time) there is the Autumn Fair at the NEC which is a massive trade fair taking place in all Halls. The Autumn Fair is mainly for retailers selling everything from fancy nicknacks to jewellery and pots n pans and pretty much everything in between.

I had a horrid lurgy and because I have no immune system seem to get things worse than others do, I am very catarrhy at the mo which is driving me nuts but it is better than last weekend when my nose morphed into a tap:o

Forgot to say that I think mum is ok - I haven't phoned her this week partly because she won't be able to understand my mumbling down the phone..I am more mublig than coherent if you get my drift?

jpwhittle

hi horace, im looking for party boxes, plates and stuff like that. Im only in englande for 3 weeks at the end of july and a week in december so really hoping to find something around then.

Glad your mum is ok horace.

Wordsmith

Mornin' all. I am a bit late posting today (oops, actually is afternoon). I was at client's all day yesterday. I didn't get any more money, but he did say there is an envelope with some in at their other premises. (And what good is it doing there, I thought but didn't say.)

By the end of today I will have achieved:
Service with a smile while handing out benefits (child benefit day today)
Sorting out the licence so the shop can sell petrol and diesel (this was already on today's list, but the inspector has just been round and so now it is ultra-priority [but obviously not so much as a priority as posting on the MSE website:o])
Prepared for a day in a client's office tomorrow (by "prepared" I mean checking that I haven't forgotten to do something I promised I would do)
Paid for my car tax on line
Taken cash from the bank to pay my rent
Taught for two hours (8 to 10 this evening, yawn)
Maybe been a shop girl for a couple of hours this evening (waiting to find out)
There are lots more things I could do, but to be honest, I am feeling rather lazy today. Tomorrow will be different. It will, it will ...

Horace

JP - I use Italian Options for favour boxes and gifts https://www.italianoptions.com - they are UK based and only deal with trade. I know that crockery suppliers all attend the Spring and Autumn Fairs at the NEC so I am not aware of any other trade shows that they may attend. Try looking up trade shows, UK on google and see what comes up.

I didnt go into work today, I spent the whole of the night coughing like there is no tomorrow and even overslept this morning:mad: I cannot afford to oversleep tomorrow as I have to be at the eye hospital at 9.30am and it is two bus journeys away so I have to leave the house at the ungodly hour of 7.30 - this will ensure that I get to town in good time to get a bus out of town. Sometimes if I arrive at the hospital before my appointment time, I get seen a bit quicker. Am off to the doctors tomorrow afternoon too because I am fed up of the feeling of drowning and coughing.

I need to spend some time sorting out attendee lists for Thursday and must remember to take some £5 notes as change although I could change money at the casino as well as taking my own private menu so that folks can make their selections.

The 4networking group that I lead is being closed down and I have now given up fighting for it to remain open - I would rather sort out my own breakfast meeting out and that is what I intend to do, the new group opens on 12 May having been put back from 14 April. I would rather work for me than work for free for someone else. Anyway I have been causing some controversy in the meantime by asking pointed questions and disproving the arguments put forward by my area team as to why the group should close. I am not afraid to ask the question that everyone thinks but is too afraid to ask:rotfl:

Wordsmith - I hope you get paid soon, I think it is getting to the stage when you need to start making yourself less available to the chap who so far hasn't paid you.