yonmei

09:41 am: Expedition to Ikea
I need to go to Ikea. Not that I want to: just that I need freestanding bookshelves, and have been advised by joiner that my best bet for finding bookshelves to fit is to go to that monument of Swedish capitalism, the shrine of flatpack, Ikea.

To get there by bus from central Edinburgh: From Princes Street (near Waverley station) or North Bridge take bus numbers: 37, 37A, or X37 towards Penicuik. Get off at West Straiton Cottages, Straiton, which is on the A701. Buses run approximately every 15-20 minutes. Hours: Monday-Friday: 10am-10pm.

I've got Tai Chi tonight and Yoga on Thursday. Anyone want to come with me to the four-letter-word place some other evening this week? Convince me, if you can, that Ikea is a fun happy place to be?

Anyway, I need bookshelves.

I do need bookshelves. But Ikea are evil bastards who won't sell to you if you don't have a car (unless you live in Scandinavia) um, it seems the online catalogue was less clear than it might have been.... Ikea may still be evil bastards, but they do deliver. So, well, at least I should probably go look at Ikea bookshelves even if I end up shopping at Argos instead.

02:42 pm: Query for American friends...
Ought I to feel guilty that I'm persistently checking the US dollar exchange rate against the pound, and feeling positively gleeful the higher it goes? (Today, £1 buys $1.84. I haven't seen an exchange rate like that since the early 1980s.) At this rate, I'm going to have an exceedingly cheap holiday...