Monday

Off the sofa (again) super-early to get to Earl's Court for 8.30. Not being a regular commuter I'm not good at the scrap for space on early-morning tube trains, but at Finsbury Park I throw my weight around a little and get a seat. Far too sleepy to read or play games on the iPhone I stare into space for the forty minutes and seventeen stops it takes to get from almost one end of the Piccadilly Line to almost the other end.

I'm first on our stand and start setting a few things up before the bosses and publishers arrive. The conversations that are bound to be repeated begin in earnest: how quiet the fair is, how many appointments everyone has lost, whether its worth being here at all. It's true that the place is eerily quiet - the raucous buzz of the two previous shows I've worked at is definitely absent and parts of the exhibition hall are completely deserted. Nevertheless, I start manning the stand anyway - which mostly involves fobbing off deluded self-published authors and photographers while guarding the books and preventing the fancy bookmarks from being stolen, occasionally interspersed with coffee runs and the chance to nip out for the odd cigarette. The place is hot and stuffy, and I hate wearing a shirt and tie - but overall things aren't too bad, it's just odd to hear everyone talking about the volcano. London Book Fair ruined by Volcano? It still sounds mad.

At 2pm I nip off for my big book pitch meeting with The Publisher. We grab a table and have a very nice chat - he is a retired sports journalist with loads of stories to tell - and run through my pitch. He gives me some encouraging words and suggests that he likes the idea, and asks me to submit some sample pages. All very exciting!

The afternoon drags and eventually I'm able to get out at 6.30, having spent 10 hours on my feet. Alex suggests a quick couple of pints at the Tollgate, the dubious-looking local Wetherspoon's I have until now avoided, so I agree and we sit and chat out the front for a while. It's nice hearing more stories about her time in France this past year and we have our usual surreal chuckles over language games and football-related nonsense. After a couple of pints I head home for an early-ish night and to try the third new cough-medicine brand so far.