I won't unscrew my elbows, I'm not stopping

A trying day. I'd arranged for Milton Bradshaw, our new Reference Librarian, to have some meetings with me and a couple of suppliers. Yesterday he told me he couldn't make this morning's as T.Aldous has decided that it was more important that he accompany him on an Imperial Tour of the Provinces. Unfortunately, I couldn't reach our guest in time: havng spent all day driving up from the south coast he didn't pick up his voicemail until he was at his hotel.

Despite everything we sort of got two meetings after all. Leastways, Milton managed to have a half hour's chat with the rep before T.Aldous appeared at the doorway tapping his watch ("sorry to interrupt but it's important that we go soon.") This afternoon's rep turned up on time, which is more than Milton was allowed to do. He arrived in a rush a few minutes late with a butty in his mouth.

"You definitely get a tour when you're on tour with T.Aldous, dont you? I told him I needed to be back by two and he finally let me go at five to. Then I got stuck at the roadworks round the back of the abattoir."

I thought he'd done damned well to get back at all. The staff bookies missed out on making a killing: none of us would have staked money on his escaping.