3BT: work, work, work

1. An old student of mine from London who recently returned for more French lessons via Skype never fails to make me laugh with his very British dry wit. "Well," he reponds when I apologise for the meanness of one particular exercise, "you've got to have your fun."

2. Someone buys my book. (I know, I know, but it'll be a while before the novelty wears off.)

3. My first English conversation class goes really well. I set them a pair exercise and they chat away. They're enthusiastic and have a good level of English and plenty to talk about.


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3BT: banks, lessons and a thank you

1. The bank unblocks my card; I won't have to wait days for a new PIN after all. It might not be poetic, but it is a relief.

2. Equally unpoetic: the owner of the restaurant says I can use a corner of his place for my English conversation classes. I'm looking forward to planning lessons around articles in Time Magazine. Not that teaching grammar isn't fun too, in its own way.

3. I work some Twitter back channels and get a message to one of my very favourite famous people in the world. I get a "thank you" back. (If you knew me, you would understand.)

3BT: sunshine, verbs and an old friend

1. I know I've said it before, but this weather... Amazing. Hard to believe it's almost October when it feels like June.

2. My student, who claims he doesn't remember anything after a three-month break, nevertheless recites  almost all his verb conjugations perfectly, and remembers there is no liaison after "et". Seriously, it's the little things.

3. An old, old friend whom I have not seen for years gets in touch to say she's going to be in Brussels.

3BT: a word, sunshine, and the floor

1. Somebody I have coffee with uses the word "lackadaisical" - one of my favourites, and I've only ever seen it in books.

2. I read my writing magazines in the sunshine.

3. I am tidying my flat, finding lots of Time Magazines I didn't know I had, and seeing the floor again.


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My book, a new(er) oboe, and learning

1. A twitter friend of mine reviews my book on his blog then spends all day tweeting that people should buy it.

2. I get to swap my old music school oboe for a newer one.

3. I start watching the History Channel DVDs I got for my birthday, and they're exactly what I wanted: fifteen minutes or so summing up the careers of each of the US Presidents.


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3BT: sun, food and Inevitable

1. The sun is shining and it feels like spring.

2. I feel well enough to eat proper food - instead of the plain pasta or bread I've been mostly surviving on for the last couple of weeks - and I eat both my meals in front of the West Wing, two of my favourite episodes.

3. I've been toying with the idea of adding some words to my novel, and I find as I type up some pages that I am still in love with m characters, and in particular with Brad.


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3BT: cute toddler, good food and loo roll

1. I spend almost all day with my big sister and her adorable little boy, who smiles and laughs and points at things enthusiastically, and even lets me hold him for a little while. Seriously - he is such a cutie. This, by the way, is the same toddler nephew who is soothed in the middle of the night by West Wing episodes, possibly because he heard a lot of it from the womb, or possibly because he has very discerning taste. 

2. There is melon with ham at the wedding.

3. The cheap loo roll I buy from the local supermarket appears to have mathematical equations on it. Ones with Greek letters. Ah, Belgium.