It's Friday night and it's all right

I'm amazed to be saying it, but I'm doing well for time for Tuesday. Editing a new newspaper? Pah! Piece of cake! There are only three more stories to write, a lot of laying out to do and the whole printing palaver, and then that's it for another month.

I'm pretty proud, I must say. This time last week, things were not looking so rosy. But I'm happy with the spread of stories, I'm happy with the comment pieces, I'm well on my way to being happy with the cover...

And Miracle-Gro (Gro Haram, my trusty Norwegian freelance copyeditor and proofreader) has proved to be speedy gonzales. We'll make the Tuesday 6 pm deadline no problem.

Touch wood...

Basically, it all came unstuck this week. People picked up their phones, they told me reasonably intelligent things and answered my emails. Everybody I talk to is really positive about the magazine, and interested in receiving a copy, which is really good for motivation. Paul reckons he can make the July sales target no problem, and has promised to sort me out with a raise!

Also, the car money arrived yesterday so all that is in motion. Probably still Linda no-car this weekend, but come Monday... I'll be cruisin. Perhaps better leave taking it home until after deadline. If anything were to happen to me (see Death in a tin can below) I'm not sure the deadline for the mag could be met with love nor money.

Only slight irk is that William (boss in London) spotted some libel-type things in one of my best stories. An African research organisation that has been found to have used project grants to subsidise salaries and operational costs etc (fair enough, they were going bankrupt, but the funders were pretty miffed)... I'm going to buy a book tomorrow on South African libel law and see how far I can push it. Shame, it's such a juicy story. But I don't want to be sued in my first issue.

Anyway, it's all under control. I can't believe I am feeling more relaxed this weekend than I was feeling last one. Bring on the football, and dinner and bar-hopping with Miracle-Gro tonight. I feel like celebrating.