Entry for January 21, 2007

I have just finished my tax return. This is a cause of joy.
My tax return is particularly horrible mostly because of the theatre company which needs a set of accounts prepared every year. Doing accounts for a theatre company is particularly difficult because the Inland Revenue will not accept entries such as -
"Three pints bought for a guy with a beard who works for the National Theatre who blagged some black paint for us at the Fringe."
Having said that, I suspect my accountants quite like having sets of accounts which include the following debits -
£10.98 - Sweeties for throwing into the audience
£2.99 - Material to cover the Bag of Terror
£10 - Hire of commode (Note - you have no idea how few sources of commode-hire there actually are. There cannot be a big demand).
The heavy, dark feeling which hangs over you when your horrible, horrible tax return is pending is thankfully matched by the joyous, happy unburdened feeling of joy, when you seal everything in an A4 envelope and send it in to the accountants. It's like that terrible feeling of foreboding that descends upon you when you realise you have made some dreadful cock-up at work; which is equally balanced by the fabulous feeling of relief when you realise that you haven't made the mistake at all.
At any event, it is lovely to be free of the piles of bank statements and bills and receipts for another year.