That awful sinking feeling ...

You know that sick, churning feeling deep in your body? When things start to fall apart.

I had it this morning when I turned up at the conferenve venue at 7.15 this morning, and wondered why there were no cups sitting out. Why no plates awaiting the hot breakfast that was booked for 7.30?

Quick look up the booking email ... there's my request for a 7.30 start with breakfast ... but I'd missed noticing that the booking confirmation had it down as 9.

Twenty five hungry people ... who wouldn't appreciate a workshop starting at 8 in the morning (with breakfast at 7.30 to bribe them in) and then turning up to discover a lack of hospitality.

But grace abounded, and the food was delivered at 7.45 before all but one delegate had arrived! All's well that starts well.

That's one impossible thing achieved before breakfast.

Yesterday's impossible task was the no show of the projector delivery. It turned up just after 10 - a full hour late - and a full hour after we had to make alternative emergency arrangements. (And handing out permanent markers and a flipchart wasn't really going to work for software demos!)

Update - the boiler in the venue's kitchen wasn't switched on, so the tea and coffee urns were filled with lukewarm water ...