Saltaire Ferry Terminal

Thanks so much for all the good wishes yesterday. There is good news. The journal has turned up. I left it at Roam's student flat, not on the train at all. What is worrying me now is that I was absolutely convinced that I had picked it up when I left, and was also sure that I had taken it out of my bag on the train. I have distinct recall of both events. It's seems that I've not only got the problem of forgetting things but now also one of inventing entirely fictitious memories!

Right now though I'm just very happy that it's turned up. Today I had pretty much accommodated the fact of it being lost forever and had come to appreciate that it was the process of writing the words that was actually more important than the words themselves. It's been my way of burning a creative candle at each end of the working day. It's lovely to know that the writing will be returning to me but the realisation of that lack of attachment has been quite an important lesson.

The day started badly but it has come good, helped my taking a run along the canal at lunchtime. The piece of code I was struggling with most of the day is now sorted but I need to finish off the cosmetics as it has to be finished for the morning. At least I'm in a very much healthier frame of mind than I was last night.

PS Leaving stuff on trains is not a new problem for me. I've been absent-minded all my life. The problem is that I tend to lose myself completely in what I'm doing. I've always loved train travel for the space it affords for reading or writing or programming. It's my most productive time. But I think I get so absorbed that my head is somewhere else when it comes time to leave. I have been getting better at remembering to do a check but clearly a little more training is required yet.

PPS Of course, F was for Fiddlesticks. But you knew that already!