October 13th: W.E. Day Three - Going Potty

Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter. Harry Potter.

Fed up of it yet? Then I repeat, book in an appointment to discuss with me about its genius because I frigging love Harry Potter! (Lucky really, seeing that it has become my life.)

More research, phone calls, image viewing and trivia scanning I was called back into the Assistant Editor’s office. (Ok, by called, I mean emailed, ‘cd yu cm in pls’ – decipher as you please.)

Hello! I beamed like a possessed Harry Potter fanatic. He looked shocked. Either I’d gone overboard with the enthusiasm, or ‘cd yu cm in pls’ means something completely different to what I’d translated.

“Right, I want you to go to Charring Cross and purchase any books that has some useful info for the Harry Potter trivia. (Wahoo! An outing!) I’m gonna give you my credit card (Wahoo! Credit Card!) and don’t mind you spending up to £50 / £70 (Wahoo! £50 / £70!).”

“You know I won’t come back” I said, jokingly.

He looked irritated.

Mental note to self: it is far too early on the placement to be making such ‘I’m going to steal all your money' jokes.

So I went off, for far longer than intended and massively failed. I blame a few things for this:

1) That Chancery Lane and Charring Cross Road are not the same place.

2) That no-one has written a book of Harry Potter FILM trivia (perhaps this could be my opening?)

3) That the Editorial Assistant gave me the wrong pin number. Or, it’s possible, cancelled the card after my seemingly less hilarious than I anticipated joke.

4) That a certainty that the Waterstone’s in Piccadily was bound to solve my book finding needs was wrong;

“Err – we can't help you, but have you tried Charring Cross?” - Yes. Yes I have.

Out of the accessible £50 to £70 book buying limit, I spent a grand total of £2.99. And that was so I didn’t come back empty handed. And I paid (to be fair I was offered the money back but felt – considering my colossal letdown – that I should take this one for the team).

When I finally got back to the office some three hours had gone by...Whoops....not really sure what the hell happened there...It certainly hadn't seemed that long...I blame the trains.

Sheepishly, I slid the Assistant Editor back his credit card (at which point he promptly phoned the bank and told them to remove the hold on it), smiled in the direction of my colleagues, realised no-one had even noticed I'd been gone, and settled back down at my desk for the remainder of the afternoon.

I spent it doing more research (and was given another top secret assignment which I shan’t tell you about as I know some of you are fellow journos waiting to pounce, so nah nah nah.) Being a massive geek, it turns out I actually quite enjoy research / secret assignments, so I was content, even if no-one was talking . But then they were quite busy I suppose. And the end of the week deadline is coming up. And I guess it's quite difficult to transcribe a dictaphone interview and talk at the same time. I'll let them off on this occasion.

Then the BEST thing? Five goodbyes when I left the office today. Five! Not one, two three, four, six, seven, eight, nine etc etc, but five. Lovely.

Conclusion: I am warming more to this new life, and maybe – and I mean more maybe than yesterday – would like to work for this publication.