Two things. One, never, never go with the chicken. Two, I want a secretary.

The first one I know. I�ve known for a long time. When going for lunch or dinner, or any meal you have not made yourself, unless it says �chicken fillet� or you can see said chicken fillet or schnitzel, do not order the chicken. Not in Indian or Chinese or sandwich form. (The one except being my favourite Thai take away place, because they are tried and tested.)

Because 9� times out of 10 you�ll end up with half inedible gristle and yucky bits and either wind up eating half a sandwich with the chicken scraped off, or being so put off you give up entirely.

Today I was in such a hurry at lunch that I broke the rule. I went downstairs to Upmarket Sandwich and, there being none of their fabulous roast beef and caramelised onion baguettes available, grabbed a chicken foccacia. Big mistake. Wound up scraping out the �chicken� and eating half a foccacia with some spinach leaves and tomato. Dammit.

Never, ever, go with the chicken.

Moving on to point two. I used to have a secretary. In fact even when I was a trainee I had a PA. I used to dictate into a little machine and have letters typed up for me. Ironically, the more senior I�ve become, the less personal assistance I have received. It�s happened for various reasons, but effectively I haven�t had an assistant for about three or four years.

Priscilla is there, but really she�s a mix between the Boss�s assistant and no-one�s assistant, unless I�m really desperate.

Over the past three or four months, the Boss and I have been trying to decide on staffing for next year. We change our mind as to what the mix should be at least every other week, if not more often. One of the options has been to get me a PA. I have waffled back and forth on this one � as we both have on all the possibilities.

But over the last two days I have made the decision that while in the past I may have needed an assistant and muddled through, now I both need and want an assistant.

I was out of the office most of the day yesterday and the stuff I had to some in at the end of the day and do could have been done by my PA during the day. Today I have done half a dozen things, and Howdy has done half a dozen more, that could have all gone to a PA, freeing us up to get on with other pressing work. And he/she could make me coffee and pick up my dry-cleaning.

Only kidding about the last part.

So that�s my new plan. Next year, a PA and a return to the dictaphone currently gathering dust in my desk drawer.

Of course, I�ll likely change my mind four or five times before the end of the year, but it�s nice to have certainty of decision-making for at least a few days.

And now, I must return to the work that my PA could be doing.