Day 1847

Beautiful day, very warm. Rather like the weather for the last election. Worked on the exchange positions batch form.

Came back, read Private Eye - before the election this time round. Watched the news, nothing unusual to report, Tony B. looking popular in Stockton. Carried on with The Pickwick Papers, which has been my lunchtime book for some time and merits evening reading too.

Quite tired now after this morning's hangover, and the last five years. As I've said before, if I must I'll wait another 5, 15 or bloody 50, but hopefully this time we will 'stop the bastards'. Polls are steady at 18 points, so even in the Armageddon scenario of them being as wrong as 1992, Labour should take a 3-point win. If there's any truth in them at all, any figure between 6 and 12 points seems likely. But only time will tell; polls open in 10 hours, close in 25 hours

I'm getting up at 6.30 to make sure I get to vote. It's all we can do now.

Day 1846

Made a very good impression at work by putting together emergency SQL to be faxed to the bank to sort out a prob, J being ill with some filthy lurgey.

Celebrated the reversal of ill fortune at work with a bottle of wine, but drew up a programme of activities for tomorrow night and E-Day evening to prevent repeats - I must be up early to vote on Thursday, and if, goddess forbid, things go wrong, I must not have a hangover on Friday. Similarly, I wouldn't want to have a headache in the Glorious Dawn either.

Listened to the rest of Modern Life. Sunday Sunday rather Madness-like.

Day 1845

Worked quite hard all day, me and K co-operating on parallel forms. Windy all day with squally rain in the afternoon. Got the missing Blur albums, Leisure and Modern Life Is Rubbish, for £9.99 each which isn't bad these days.

Got a bit down after tea, felt better after exercise and watching Tony Blair answering questions on the ITV 500. Getting very close now - 58 hours till the polls open, 73 till they close. Will it really work out this time?

Day 1844

Labour leads variously quoted at 17, 18 and 24 points. I still feel a result in the 6-10 point range is more likely. Went up to PC World in Dulchester for a printer cartridge, got Java in a Nutshell/.

M came round at eight, discussed Linux and the election.

Thought about taking Friday off, but decided the work situation wouldn't favour it and anyway, I'd waste a holiday day if I was tired from a sleepless election night.

Day 1843

Went out and got the shopping in the morning: noticed Liberal and Labour posters, and when I got home, I further noticed that that bloke up the road, a prison officer no less, did not only have a Labour poster on his house but on his car too.

This started a train of thought that led to getting the election prediction program out (the one I painstakingly typed the 1992 results into a while back) to calculate what might happen here. Eventually made up my mind and rang up the Labour campaign headquarters for a poster. One duly arrived about 20 minutes later, so I immediately displayed it. Hopefully it will influence last-minute waverers.

Actually gave Week Ending a listen, just in case we see the end of an era on Thursday. Very funny, with Major playing the Death of his political career at chess, then coin-tossing, then Cluedo, etc...

Read and finished Ursula's The Eye of the Heron - realised I've read it before, but still good.

Day 1842

Quite a jolly day at work, with the promise of Windows 95 on my PC.

In the evening went out in the rain to the Crown to meet M and E. M still cautious about the election, probably still will be 3 years into the Blair government. (Oops, bit of complacency there). I mean, after 1992 it's hard not to feel that any assumption of victory is going a bit far. I've been waiting ten years for a chance like this, and while I'm prepared, as an emergency plan, to wait another 5, 15 or 50 if I have to, it is nice to think that in six days the Ghost Train will finally pull into the station.

No new polls, so nothing to check against my graph. Saw Tony on the campaign trail on the news, wind-blown and passionate for a change, made me feel he does after all believe in what I do.

Finished The Word for World is Forest. Gripping stuff. Ursula never fails.

Day 1841

Early in the morning got out my 1992 diary and looked up the polls 8 days before that election. Drew decline/error graphs and came up with an estimate of a 6-point Labour win next week. After more polls came out today, revised this to 10 points. Ladbrokes index betting is holding up well too with Labour on 360 seats.

In between, went to work, worked rather hard (the new spec, a complicated one, seems designed as a chance to prove myself after the warning of a week ago. Did that really happen by the way? Seems like a dream now - though I'm not out of the woods yet).

C came round in the evening; we discussed the election and updated the web page.

Started The Word for World is Forest. Was off the computer at 8 pm again. Good.

Day 1840

Yet another worrying Wednesday opinion poll, showing Labour only 5 points ahead adjusted (21 points unadjusted). While the horrible example of 1992 is ever present, I can't help feeling 'shy Tories' are being over-counted here. Hope so anyway.

Worked very hard all day, checked all the code in my old forms and global procedures..

In the evening managed to get off the computer by 8pm. An improvement - and it was nice to get some free time.

Day 1839

Discussed Thursday's warning with K; she thought I was making too much of it.

Had a good look at the Full Moon, made another drawing. It might be more profitable to study one half each night, because one's eye gets tired quickly with telescopes.

Must start making more use of the 7pm-9pm time slot, as I'm getting no time to myself.

Day 1838

Didn't get the push.

Listened to depressing R4 play about woman who goes mad and commits a gun massacre in N. Ireland. Had an encouraging experience with the new Linux - after some experimentation, found the install program and got xv and the Java development kit installed. Great.

Day 1837

Improved the new Linux with some aliases etc. Exchanged e-mail with M about it, and about her new ISP. Looked at the nearly-full Moon in the telescope at 25 x, drew a map.

Gave more thought to the work situation. I must carry on Friday's exertions, partly so I can't blame myself if the worst happens, partly because unless I get away with a decent reference, and 6 months' experience, I'll be back where I was in September. I'll have the courses of course, but I'd have at least an indifferent reference. Hopefully though I can turn things round. (Of course the opportunity to change jobs might turn out to be a good thing - I'd still need a reference though.) At least I have experienced the sacking trauma in advance, as it were.

Watched Star Trek: Voyager, surprisingly good. Will endeavour to do so again.

Day 1836

Don't know why, but the only thing I ever end up doing on Saturdays is computing - must change this, if I don't get the push, anyway.

While in Sainsburys saw PCW was giving away Red Hat Linux on its CD: after some thought, made a boot disc, which recognised my LINUX partition and the CD-ROM drive - with the latter, installation was a breeze. More amazingly still, despite raising PCI complaints, it ran X Windows under Generic SVGA card / Unlisted Monitor. Very pleasing. Sole quibble: no xv. Will try and copy it from Slackware CD. Must let M know it'll recognise CDs.

Day 1835

Didn't sleep very well, got in 10 minutes early and worked all day, hardly daring to look out of the window.

Home for The Simpsons and Star Trek - Journey to Babel, a good 'un with Spock's parents in it.

Round to M's in the evening. Gave them their 6-month anniversary half-bottle of champagne, which was much appreciated. I must say that I am lucky in having them as friends - an easier, more trouble-free friendship I have not known.

Day 1834

Got a warning but they also seemed keen to assure me that the firm losing the contract didn't mean I wouldn't get paid. Rather a strange thing to say, I thought, to someone you were threatening with the infernal.

Came home, had tea, hit the bottle. I have a maximum keenness plan for tomorrow, and would not have slept well anyway.

I suppose if I can get an M.Sc. with distinction I should be able to impress them.

Day 1833

Much colder today. Had to watch out at work after I got spotted working on an illicit command parser. Went out at lunchtime and got a pink/orange ('coral') shirt which'll be nice for the summer.

Day 1832

Up at seven, used the time for trivial tidying activities and Need for Speed. At work, wrote a tiny BASIC-type interpreter which cracked the block-if problem. Now I face the old 'how to tell where an expression finishes' conundrum - you either enclose everything in brackets or use pushback.

Beautiful evening. Posted my CD-ROM problem on Cserve. When it got dark, penetrated the orange streetlamp haze on the southern horizon and saw all five main stars in Corvus, including the lower triangle and α Corvi, the new furthest south observation at -25°.

Day 1831

Election scene still rather quiet. A few more posters about. Not too bad a day at work, finally got rid of that Time Periods form that's been frustrating me for weeks.

Tried to think of something suitable to get for M&E's half-iversary next Saturday, I thought a half-bottle of champagne might be appropriate. Or half a cake.

In the evening looked at the stars - managed to see Corvus for the first time, which equals my joint record furthest South observation.

Day 1830

Went to Lakeside in the morning, looked in the bookshops and PC World. Would love a digital camera, but they're so expensive. Bet the price'll come down later.

Had problems with my CD ROM drive in the afternoon, rang up M for advice, went round to collect the W95 resource pack CD and spent a pleasant evening-sunshine hour discussing jobs with her. Admired their reupholstered settee.

It's the end of another diary book; the exam, course and job uncertainties I was facing when I started it 10 months ago have been resolved, but now there are new ones. And let's hope the old partner and election uncertainties are both resolved soon!

Day 1829

Set about converting the Microsoft-supplied sample VB MDI text editor into a HTML editor while listening to the Secret History tape. Latter very good - inevitable omissions and telescopings of course, most obviously in the Cloke Rayburn/Laura Stora/general drug direction, and most obviously of all in the omission of any reference to the narrator's rampant prescription drug abuse.

in the afternoon that play Tunes of Glory was on R4, about the alcoholic colonel in the highland regiment - excellent stuff.

PM was on after that, sign of the election times. This week's dismal poll is apparently another blip, 2 weeks in a row that's happened. Wish T. Blair wasn't so right-wing, but then they said the same about Harold Wilson in 1964

In the evening to the Crown with M and E. Good conversation about Quantum Leap - E. shared my enthusiasm for the bigamist ep and its third-family final twist.

Day 1828

Change in the weather - brisk N. breeze, little round clouds. Quite cold and grey in the afternoon.

Went into the Bargain Book Dustbin in the Commerce Hole at lunchtime and saw audiobooks of The Secret History in profusion, for only £1.99. Quite a jolly time at work, with the general end-of-week mood. Home at 5.55, gave Star Trek and The Simpsons a watch.

In the evening gazed at the stars - made notes of Comet Hale-Bopp's position in Perseus.

Day 1827

After about two weeks' work, got the worst two forms finished within minutes of each other. Great weather again, quite hot.

Did more star-gazing in the evening - Alpha Hydrae and some stars in Coma Berenice.

Day 1826

Five years since a dreadful day. 22 days till what could be The Day.

Weather fine yet again. Worked quite hard on the foreign exchange forms, not long till they must be ready.

In the evening scanned photos for C's page, published it. Did some star-gazing, added the head of Hydra to my constellation-hoard.

Day 1825

Not too pleased with absurd stories about Labour and privatisation, I mean, whose side are they on for f's sake? Still, I'd be prepared to put up with a lot for The Day.

Went shopping for new shirts, couldn't find anything in good taste. I'll have to wait for the new wave of fashion. Well, as in so many other ways, our time will come.

Day 1824

The firm have lost one of their contracts due to internal reorganisation at the merchant bank. Looks like the high seas of capitalism will be getting rougher for HMS Lyerdata.

Listened to the Grand National re-run in the office. Got a £1 version of Pickwick Papers from the cheap bookshop in the High St.

E-mail from M, who's been to see the re-released Star Wars. She says she's aiming to check her mail daily - it could be possible to communicate regularly.

Day 1823

Beautiful day. Went down to Lakeside, had a wander round, looked at digital cameras in PC World - too expensive at the moment.

Went out to look at the comet, set about adding Draco, Cepheus and Canes Venatici to my constellation vocabulary.

Day 1822

Wrote a good SDI text editor (basis for a dedicated HTML editor). MDI not so easy - working on it.

C. came round in the afternoon to watch the Grand National, unfortunately it was called off due to bomb scares. Hopefully they'll run it on Monday.

I feel like reading I, Claudius again, but isn't there a danger of flogging it to death? I've been inspired to read it again by my parents' pics of Rome from their holiday in Italy.

Day 1821

Labour's unadjusted lead back to 24 points, which was nice to hear. Dreamt I saw a Grand National tip on telly saying 'Pick the Rabbit' - closest match was Buckfast Bounce.

M rang up at 8.10 to say come to the Dog & Gun, the new restaurant-pub south of Much Village. Had a jolly conversation, M getting so intimate as to insult me for wearing white trainers with jeans 'like a computer nerd'.

At closing time overheard a bloke at the next table talking about late customers at his shop. Reminded me of the woman who is a Queen when she pushes the trolley and a serf when she sits at the till, also of the society in Big Planet where everyone spends 5/6ths of the time playing servants to the 1/6th of the population whose turn it is to be aristocrats.

Made our pissed way back to theirs and watched ep 1 of The Prisoner. Rode home by midnight. So: 'The weekend is back'.

Day 1820

Renewed the Thirty Years' War book.

Got home, cooked stir fry. Labour manifesto out, very practical and deliverable if nothing else. Weekend again tomorrow, thankfully.

Day 1819

Irritating day - 4-point drop in the Labour-Tory gap. While this always happens in elections, there are only 14 points left - 3 'lives' as it were. The prospect of 5 more years of Torycaust is almost too horrible to contemplate.

4 months at the new job today.

Day 1818

Went to the building society.