I was almost an hour late into work today thanks to phoning both the Job Centre and National Express. News there is good-bad. I'll be going to the Job Centre at 11:40 tomorrow to renew my claim; I probably won't be on New Deal anymore but it's alright; as long as I get six weeks' pay and spend only on bus tickets, I should just be able to get my stuff to Ireland.

The Autumn semester starts on Monday, September 26, so I'll have plenty of time to save up and get my stuff over there. I've arranged with Steve to work until Friday September 9.

That was the good news. The bad news comes from National Express - as I expected, the coach tickets to Cambridge aren't refundable. Brilliant. That's £70 down the drain that I'd honestly be better off having.

It's going to be close, this whole moving to Ireland business. Not only will getting there be tough, I'm going to have to be bloody cunning until my Student Finance comes through, since the application went in a few months late. I'll have to make full use of the university's facilities until I can buy all my own stuff.

Speaking of university, I'm heading back to Cowley - Jason's old school - today to interview Oxford graduate David Mannion, who not only graduated with a First, he also won the Mary Somerville award for his achievement (awarded to all who get a First) and came fifth out of his whole year. He'll be about Jason's age, actually - I wonder if they were in the same year at school...?