Ho hum; I just spent four days sat in a hotel conference room in Slough with five other lads. To disabuse you of the glories of PC games journalism, there's no quicker way than to point to the horrors of four days of young lives poured into a computer, producing nothing, relaxing in no way, but both compulsive and entertaining. For me games are a guilty pleasure, something not helped by my job; it seems expected that when I review a game, I do it in my own time, which I see as just unreasonable. I'm quite happy to work overtime occasionally, as my contract states, but that would institute it as part of my (already limited) free time.

Anyway, I got back into the office, and the atmosphere was poison. Alec had nicely warned me that bad stuff had been happening, but the place just felt like a fight had just finished and that I'd better keep shtumm unless I wanted to kick off a new one myself.

Moreover, I'd forgotten it was the bank holiday, and I've failed to organise anything, again. I'm terrified now, as I realised last weekend that I've lost touch with some of my favourite people from home and from university, and others I've been downright rude to. If any of you are reading, I apologise; get in touch. I'll *try* and do the same.