In order to give succour to those with a face permanently poised on the painful cusp of a sneer – because they’re oh-so perfect and would never admit to any deficiency, or making any kind of mistake, being so damned perpetually efficient as to be super(in)human – I will declare, No, I don’t have it all backed up! There is stuff on various CDs, Zips, network drives, laptop, etc, but a few days after bringing in my caddied spare hard drive, because I really must update a complete back-up soon, the ceiling fell in. I mean literally! That sod Murphy decreed that some reflux event overflowed the hot water tank situated on the roof of the building, sending steaming water to course its way down through four floors. Three top floor offices, including mine, caught the initial deluge. You can imagine the outcome: computers, furniture, paperwork, books, etc. All those papers piled on the desk, because they’re relevant to my current loose goal, plus those hoarded in box files up on shelves, and which would likely never be read again, are pretty much pulped. Most of the lab space was spared, except for that in the basement floor, which was consequently waterlogged. Affected electrical equipment – including my desktop – has been dispatched for drying and testing (Yikes!).

This all happened sometime in the dark hours of Friday night / Saturday morning, with me – in town getting a fright about my mortgage, having the grey trimmed, and buying another book to throw on the pile – oblivious until arriving at around midday Saturday. The recovery gears have cranked in pretty efficiently, although it’s been an odd, inevitably interrupted few days. Lo and behold, I at last got a reply from ‘The Journal of Snail Velocity’, which, over six months after my submission, has informed me that they would welcome a revised manuscript, but that it takes at least a year from acceptance to publication. Marvellous! It’s already out-of-date. Maybe if their office got wet, they might move a bit faster. What to do? Hmmm, go home and watch the football.