29th March

It feels a bit surreal going back to normal after catching up with Keith. Especially since I had a bit of a feverish sleep with some weird dreams. These have been strange as meeting Keith has stirred up some very old memories and surfaced things/people I haven't thought about for a long time.

We meet with Essex County Council to discuss their move into the building. Their move into the building is the direct cause fo the refurbishment work we're doing. We had agreed to rent the 2nd floor to them but knew that we had to improve the office accommodation. As a result the decision was taken to uplift the whole building. Renting the spce to them I a twofold benefit: we get an income and we get a chance to share services as offered to the public so we are both more cost effective. Bonus!

Afterwards I meet with Steve, the architect and our Building Control officer. All works done in the building must be signed off by the BC officer. We have a particular problem with the main staircase and whether the proposals for fireproofing are adequate. The building was signed off in the 80's but the work we are doing now may mean that we have to uplift those standards to present day. We manage to make an agreement on what is acceptable without costing a fortune. Thank God! My budget is well-stretched at this point.