Neil: "Two weeks"

Meself: "What? No, we're going the 15th"

"On the 8th"

"You're joking"

"Why...? Have you booked the wrong week off...?"

"..... Yes.... This is very bad. This is really bad!"

As indeed it is. It transpires that what I thought was the departure date for the Big Dubai Trip Part Two is, in fact, the return date. And the Big Rolling Grant Visit (which is pretty much the opposite of fun) therefore coincides EXACTLY with my holiday.

This would not be a problem if I wasn't supposed to be giving a talk to the visiting committee. But I am, so it is. It's the one time in two years when people actually do give a toss if you take your holidays. The Rolling Grant Panel Visit is pretty much the one thing you can't

Nadgers.

I'll have a crisis meeting (not often you hear that word used outside political circles) with the boss on Monday. Suspect the choice may be a stark one.