Journal Entries
Not homeless, but still phoneless
Posted Jul 4, 2000
I miss the Forum & Firkin. I miss Joanna's donut stall. I wish I could update my pages more regularly, do some ACEing, and generally spend more time on h2g2.
Unfortunately, British Telecom are refusing to install a phone at my new home in Bradford until I pay the rather large bill I ran up at my old home in London.
Understandable, but frustrating. 
So for now I'm snatching magic minutes here courtesy of Bradford Central Library, where you can get free 'Net access, but only in 30-minute chunks. Abnormal service will be resumed as soon as possible... 
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Latest reply: Jul 4, 2000
Homeless no more!
Posted May 26, 2000
Hooray! I have a home to call my own! 
Several weeks of severe anxiety came to a close today when I signed the papers and got the keys for my new home in the centre of Bradford!
Within the next fortnight I hope to have my new phone account up and running, and to be able to take a full part in h2g2 once again. (This posting, like all my recent Journal Entries, comes to you from a public library).
And after today's astonishing football news about my beloved Bradford City FC qualifying for the Intertoto Cup, I now expect that in six weeks or so I'll be heading out of my front door and taking a short walk up the road to see my team play in a European competition !
Can life get any better? 
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Latest reply: May 26, 2000
Things look up
Posted May 22, 2000
Suddenly, the future looks brighter.
This morning I went to see a brilliant flat right in the centre of Bradford which, subject to paperwork, should hopefully soon be my new home. It'd be amazingly convenient for just about everything, and the rent is a real bargain.
It's also within walking distance of my spiritual home at Valley Parade, home of Bradford City FC. And I've already bought my BCFC season ticket for the 2000-01 camapign!
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Latest reply: May 22, 2000
Turning North
Posted May 19, 2000
I've made up my mind.
I'm going to come home to the North, ending a 15-year exile in London. I just can't afford to live in London any more, and in any case life down there has been a bit lonely lately while I've been working from home. The attractions of being near my family and old friends, plus the lower cost of living and gentler pace of life, easily outweigh the advantages afforded by life in the capital.
So I'm now looking for a new home in the Bradford area. Once I've got it, I'll turn my attention to the other vital things in life - like booking my Bradford City FC season ticket for next season's Premiership campaign...
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Latest reply: May 19, 2000
Some hope dashed.
Posted May 17, 2000
It now looks as though I won't be going to Walthamstow after all, because I couldn't meet the amazingly stringent financial conditions demanded by the letting agency. An offer of three months' rent in advance plus a guarantee from my family to cover any payments I couldn't make was not deemed to be sufficient. It seems that these days it's extremely difficult to find rented accomodation in London unless you can provide proof of a rock-solid regular income - and being a freelance writer, I can't do so.
So, what to do? For now I remain in exile at my parents' place in Shipley, West Yorkshire, and this posting comes to you courtesy of Bradford Central Library. Should I stay up north, or continue attempting to return to London? I haven't yet made up my mind.
I'll keep updating this Journal with any fresh developments.
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Latest reply: May 17, 2000
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