Somehow or other, I injured my right hand. Did I sleep on it? Bang it against something and not notice? I have no idea, but it's intensely painful to use my thumb and wrist. No sleight of hand.

I babied the hand for the whole weekend, but I still wanted to work. So I spent the weekend fortune telling. I have a spiral sketch pad, which I've been using to try out different signs to see what works. The winner is one I've been using for a while:

PALM £10

TAROT £20

Happy Fortunes

or your money back

This sign makes some people laugh and think positively about the prospect in a way they wouldn't without the happy fortunes guarantee. It has done a pretty good job of filtering for people who

1) are primarily interested in an "entertainment" reading

2) speak English

Twice, I've had people ask what if they have a problem and maybe it's not happy at all. My reply is "I'm mostly hoping to entertain today, but if you need real help, I will never turn away someone in need. A real fortune is $30 and there's no happy guarantee, but I'll do everything I can to help you." Both people took me up on that, and I did the best I could for them.

But generally, the Happy Fortunes thing helps to keep things light, and I prefer that.

Today, I printed up the sign, one copy in £ and one in €, and laminated them. That will let me ditch the extra weight and space of the sketch pad, which I will gift to one of the kids belonging to my London host family, who I've seen do a lot of drawing. One laminated A4 sheet, folded into a table tent, is pretty light and convenient.

My kit is getting smaller and lighter every week.