I could see that I was always going to be a month behind if I kept writing chronologically and I'm sure you're much more interested in what I'm doing right now! On Tuesday 27 July at 5.15pm I am in Bristol library using their free but highly-contested internet service. There seem to be about 40 terminals which can be booked for up to two hours in a day. I have discovered that arriving 10 minutes after the hour often achieves immediate access as bookings automatically cancel then and if someone hasn't shown up voila!
It makes me realise just how much and how little can be fitted into an hour on-line. A few emails can kill it, and a blog just chews it up. I need to take a deep breath and try and work out how to make my own computer work on wireless. Yes, I'm sure it is a doddle, but it just isn't happening for me. The computer itself doesn't help. When I first tried it told me that I needed to consult the manual for the set-up instructions. As if I brought it with me. So I talked to the nice man in a small repair shop and he said it should just be a matter of moving a switch to the right position - how right he was! Why do I need a manual for that?! But although I can log into the server I can't open anything, so that's my next question.
And the reason I haven't asked it is that for the last 10 days I have been ill! It started with a mild virus the day before I left London, progressed to the need for a day in bed the day after I arrived in Bristol, seemed to go away so I walked between Clifton and the Centre (of Bristol - that's what they call the bus station down by the floating harbour) a couple of times, talked to an agency, joined the library and thought I was set, but no. I developed a debilitating cough which finally sent me to the doctor on Saturday. Actually I was directed to a walk-in medical service as apparently it takes days to register and then see a doctor (I didn't get an answer to what happened if it was urgent!) which is staffed by nurses who can prescribe a reasonably wide range of drugs. The one I saw was lovely and told me very reassuringly that I really was quite sick - which, surprisingly enough, was a huge relief because I had lost my ability to monitor my own condition. I'm now on my fourth day of antibiotics and feeling a lot better. Sleeping through the night has made a huge difference and I don't have to worry about my room mates at the hostel wishing I would just die rather than keeping them awake with my hacking!
It's been the low point of my time away so far, not least because the need to make money is increasingly urgent and until I can hold a conversation (audible voice, no coughing) I can't front for interviews. But it has also been isolating in that I haven't felt able to chat to people I meet as I don't want to inflict my disease on them.
