Bugger.

Like a madwoman I have accepted another commission. It's only a small one, I can deal with it.

And there are some wonderful things about freelancing abroad – like haring through the cobbled streets in a Fiat 126 with some woman I barely know from Adam, looking at random locations around Piacenza that might possibly be relevant to a story. Or like the fact that instead of sitting isolated in a London flat I can wander off for my coffee breaks and drink an espresso with my new pal V and her crap guide dog (great at detecting biscuits, not so great at detecting overhanging branches). Or that at the end of a long hard day I can go for a bike ride in the mountains or run down to the river and just plunge in. Those are the good things.

And there are some not so wonderful things, like the fact that my dongle has quit on me for absolutely no explicable reason. One minute fine, the next minute software completely kaput. Right in the middle of something really flipping important. Sigh.