Tiger, tiger, burning bright . . .

. . . in the forests of the night.

Well, I don't know about tigers, but there is one very relieved Lion to have escaped the forest of paper that has been threatening to submerge me during the past few days - all to do with Lions.

It's been partly my own silly fault.  I am currently the treasurer of our club and the financial year ends on 30th June.  me being me, I consider that I should have the trustees' annual report and the financial statements completed on 1st July - all 14 pages of them!  That means me having to start a couple of weeks ahead of the year end, producing not just the Statement of Financial Activity, which used to be the income and expenditure account, and the balance sheet, but several spreadsheets to show the independent examiner just how I arrived at some of the figures.

There really is no good reason why these things have to be completed so promptly but I suspect it is simply a throwback to my banking career.  Then we would be required to work on balance day until we had completed everything and knew to the penny how much profit our branch had made that year. I carried this into my subsequent job where I insisted that our auditors came in on the first business day after the year end.  I had to have the accounts finished and audited ready to send copies to the board of directors no more than five weeks into the new financial year for them to be approved at the board meeting which was always scheduled to be held within two months of the year end.

Any way, it's good practice as it means that I have to keep on top of the accounts during the year. None of this frantic sorting of a shoe-box full of receipts after the year end!

And it's not been just the accounts.  All of a rush - after six years of cajoling, nagging and negotiating - the Housing Society solicitor advised that she is ready to exchange contracts and complete simultaneously the purchase of a plot of land owned by the Council and leased to us and on which we have built 30 flats.  She kindly sent me a bundle of documents, all of which had to be read and signed, usually by two people, and returned in good time for the transaction to take place next Wednesday!  Which in turn involved frantic telephone calls to the bank to make sure we could draw down the loan they have agreed to make - and we couldn't because there were still more forms they needed to have completed and questions to be answered by our solicitor. . .

It's a wonder I have any hair left!