Saturday Morning Consumerism

Saturday morning is supposed to begin with me getting up before seven and going to the gym for an hours work out, coming home to take Nathalie to karate (at the same Sports Centre I'd just left) and then chilling out. When I don't begin with that routine the whole day takes on a strange life of its own.

This Saturday was one such day. The car was due in for its MOT at 8:30, so I dropped it off and walked with Nathalie down to karate, I then had an hour to kill before picking the car up. Having picked the car up, it passed by the way, I should have gone home - but I didn't.

I had a Eureka moment.

I went to Homebase, then picked Janis up and went to Staples and by the end of the day I'd been back to Homebase and PC World and spent eight hours and the best part of two hundred pounds refitting my home office. In the big clear-out that preceeded installing a new desk I managed to donate more than 150 books to charity.

I'd managed for more than four years without a desk, I know it sounds daft, I had one of those PC workstations, but having got back into family history, doing some more writing and working with my digital camera and digital video camera I was getting increasingly frustrated at having to balance files etc on my thighs.

I bought new office fittings (CD stack/bin/clock/stationery holder/bookends in coloured co-ordinated silver - a new laser keyboard and mouse (this is great because you don't have to be in the room with the PC to type) and a cross-cut shredder. The best thing though is the desk, plain and simple beech effect, just over five feet long and £90 off in Staples sale.

With all three of us involved at one stage or another we started at 11:00 and finished, tired and exhausted at 8:00 p.m

Next Saturday I'm going to the gym.