Dawn

Yes, that's right, madcap Bonkers fans... I've seen dawn this week. Twice. Oh yes, that's hardcore.

It's all thanks to several essays and assignments, all due within the next week. As predicted, the only word I can usually think of at this time of year is "panic", which I try to avoid as often as possible but, at 05:00, sometimes gets the better of me. Today I'm breaking from my US of Americaland essay to complete my Imperial China assignment, due Tuesday. Then tomorrow it's back to the library to continue talking about Yanks and Dubya (I've tried to get a Bushism in somewhere...) and Monday sees the beginning of the panic over the EU Briefing Paper, then more China to finish off the week.

I'm so going to love it when Matt and Queenie get here a week tomorrow: it'll be the first chance I've had to chill and have some holiday and mess around in about, ooh, a month? Okay, fine, so this is what real work is like, etc. etc. but you all know me: I fold like a deck of cards at the first sign of pressure! I feel like I've been doing this for a year, not four weeks! I tell you what is getting me through, though, above anything else...

...oh yes. Above re-watching Star Trek: Enterprise, being sent videos of the latest Have I Got News For You episodes, eating fish, drinking coffee and earning 952,567,328 points in Onslaught Mode in Star Trek: Encounters, the fact that it's December and it's Christmas in two weeks is just so brilliant! Trees are up in town, Fenwick's have a God-awful shop window display, charities are mugging shoppers on Northumberland Street, Starbucks have begun serving coffee in festive-decorated cardboard cups, every shop is playing "I Wish It Could Be Christmas (Every Day)" by Slade or Wizard or whoever, kids are screaming at their parents that they want this one, not that one, the House of Death (now with extra death) got it's first Christmas card (thanks, Mum), builders are wearing Santa hats, there are fifty million people in HMV and WHSmith and the temperature has dropped ten degrees in the past hour... and I love it!

So not as glum as you'd think, eh? I need to find an advent calendar and catch up on all the days of chocolate I've missed... anywho, one person I think who won't be affording presents this year is His Tonyness. You seen how much the Labour Party are in debt by? It's insane. And they've got some bloody cheek trying to encourage people to save more, in order to stop personal loans and massive family debt: talk about being hypocritical! Okay, so the Conservatives owe about the same, but A: they've got it secured against a building (according to Anne "Widdy" Widdecombe on Have I Got News For You... what a great show) and B: they're not in power! Sort it out, Prime Minister: I know you don't exactly get along with the guy who runs your finances, but this is ridiculous.

Freak tornado storms permitting, I'll be dashing about a lot more in coming days, so ladies and mentalmen can expect a further update soon enough. Oh, and before I go, congratulations Mum... you know what I'm talking about, right?

Peace out, madcap fans. I shall return...