A couple of days ago I was feeling quite smug. In April I'd be going to London for a training course that I'd been hoping to do for more than a year. Even better, I'd be taking the opportunity to see John Finnemore on Sunday, an art show on Monday, John Richardson on Tuesday and Andy Zaltzman on Wednesday. Last weekend, after my frenzy of yarn purchasing, I even managed a few trial runs of places I'd need to travel to. My only concern was whether to book something for the Thursday night too. And maybe a little mini-concern that I might be rather tired by the end of the week.
Then I received a letter telling me that my training course was cancelled.
I should explain: I don't normally do this. It's rare that I go away for work but, when I do, I am a model of professional and responsible behaviour (save for the odd G&T-inna-can). I usually spend my evenings sitting in a hotel room, watching BBC News, writing something boring for work and making sure I don't have any accidental fun. It's boring. I also don't make a habit of filling my week with exciting comedy and art events (even the most dedicated social butterfly would find that a challenge in Burnham). No, this was a rare and exciting thing for me and I was starting to feel a "Holiday" level of anticipation towards my week in London.
Maybe I've read too many books and watched too many films. I'm not looking for action, adventure and high romance from real life but I'm pretty sure the rules state that: when a character pushes themselves outside the routine of their regular life to experience new things, it's supposed to have a good outcome. They are not supposed to receive a letter telling them that their fun has been cancelled.
So I've spent the last day trying to work out exactly how much I'm willing to spend for something I really want to do yet know in my heart will be too expensive. Come hell or high water I'm seeing John Finnemore but it was the entire week-long comedy/art adventure I was looking forward to. But I know what midweek London hotel rates are like. Plus food. Plus the train tickets. Plus travel when I'm there.
Just how much are three comedy shows and one student exhibition worth?
Well, thanks to the genius of laterooms.com, it's looking like Rebecca's Super-Fun London Adventure may be more feasible than I'd first thought. Apparently there are student rooms you can rent out of term time. Add in some complex but undoubtedly sound advice on splitting train fairs and it's actually beginning to look like I may be able to afford my fun after all.
Now one final challenge remains: I just have to beg, bribe or bully my team leader into allowing me to take a week off during our busiest month, while he'll be on paternity leave and we're two people down. Surely that can't be harder than finding affordable accommodation in London, can it?
No comments:
Post a Comment