So Gerard returned the annotated, proofread version of Three Into One Does Go. It was impressive. he found things that I, Jim the editor, and a few early readers hadn't. In particular, he found a typo in a poem I wrote... oh... forty years ago, and which I have used in various places over the years. Ouch.
   Quite a few of the things he spotted were actually caused by Word and InDesign not talking to each other properly, so to be fair I could never have seen them. But even so...
   And editors watch out: InDesign doesn't pick up what it really should from a Word import. Italics, for example. It seems just to ignore that.
   So that's the proofreading done. Cover next, and then an anxious wait until the book launch itself in April. Of which more anon.

I have to report that I managed to tear a tendon in my upper leg. To say it was painful is an understatement. For two months I was unable to stand, never mind walk, properly, and for some reason lying down made it worse. So I was sofa-bound for most of that time, day and night.
   On the plus side, I don't remember ever seeing so much of the Australian Open. But I don't recommend tearing a tendon as an excuse for staying up.
   All healed up now. But being extra careful.

So now the boot is on the other foot. The edits of Three Into One Does Go have at last been completed, and Sparsile have completed the typesetting. So now what purports to be the final version is out for proofreading (by Gerard Hill), one of the most experienced proofreaders in the CIEP.
   He's half way through as I type this and hasn't found an awful lot to mark up, thank goodness. But now I know what it's like to have your own material being scrutinised by someone specifically looking for typos. Eek.