Decisions

Well, the interview is over and I was pretty pleased with it. They had told me the interviewers in advance but there appeared to be a last minute substitution and I was actually interviewed by two people, not three, and I knew one of them. I was pleased with my answers and whilst I can now think of additional things that I could have added, I think it went as well as I could have hoped. I should find out by the end of the week – and I can tell you that I will be gutted if I don’t get it.

I felt really nervous all morning and managed to eat some of my lunch but wasn’t really that interested in eating, despite feeling hungry, but fortunately adrenaline kicked in and kept me going – and then I had a curry to look forward to in the evening. Although it turned out to be quite a long time in the pub and then not much time to actually eat the curry before having to head home.

Anyway, if you have British blood in you then you might be interested in finding out if it is tainted by crime. The Proceedings of the Old Bailey have been published on the internet and you can check if your ancestors were up to anything naughty and if so what gruesome punishment they were given.

Rather more of the moment than that though is a reminder that if you live in most parts of the UK then it’s time to vote for local councils and if you live in London you get to vote for the London Mayor. I was talking to someone yesterday who helped design the system of voting in London, where we get two votes for mayor (plus a range of other votes). Apparently they decided on the two vote system so that with your first vote you can vote with your heart and for the second with your head. So in other words vote for who you would ideally like to win with your first vote and then with your second vote make that for the person you think will actually get in (or that will tip the balance away from the person who you think will be the other major contender). Of course this only works if no-one gets 50% of the votes in the first round, as then it would be irrelevant who you voted for second. This voting business is complicated. As it said in one of the papers yesterday: go and vote because don’t bother complaining about the outcome on Friday if you didn’t.