In a week when I'm already all-over-the-place in my bid to get ready to be all-over-the-planet there were some hiccups and needless obstacles which really needn't have been there.

For the last month or so I've been checking with one of the film distributors to ensure I got some of my agreed expenses back. Each step of the way I was assured it was all ok and when asked to submit all my bank details (again) I did so. After less and less direct contact I finally ran the distributors' accounts department only to find they had no record of my claim and had never had it. Given it's around 72 hrs before I head off and this COULD have been sorted last week, to say I was mildly frustrated is an understatement. Apparently there's a whole new structure to this distributor's billing system that I've never heard of before. Ain't communication gran?.

Right now I'm on the way to London for the Iron Man press event (the film's trailer looks great) though if I hadn't come down today (Wednesday) I would have had to pay £199 upfront for a train ticket to get me down in time tomorrow. How many journalists have that ready cash lying around - and multiples thereof if it's a busy month? Thankfully Paramount will cover the cost of the hotel room I've booked if I submit a claim, so I won't lose anything in the long-term, but it's a pity that it's more upfront outlay in a tight pre-holiday week and that the days when the distributors automatically pre-sorted and prepaid a hotel for you because of 10:00am or before start are slowly slipping away.

Now... blls to pay, deadlines to hit, flight stuff to sort.