O tempora

O mores. And all the other stuff. I went and dug up the website of my old school, somewhere that I spent almost every day for seven years of my life, which is a longer period of time I've spent anywhere else except for the house I grew up in. Much has changed, it seems! Plenty of familliar names still on the list, and no doubt plenty of others still knocking about the joint that I remember and was educated by....by my, how the place and schooling has changed even in the paltry ten years since I left compulsory education!

Now school uniform is almost completely divorced from anything it used to be; no ties, for heaven's sake! Learning to wear a tie has proven incredibly useful (no sniggering at the back), but I suppose some poor kid was throttled or something, so now they've been disposed with. No more white shirts, and so we assume no more blue ones either; it's a great shock! Plus there seems to be a helluva lot more stuff going on than I ever used to be aware of, but then again that could be just what is plastered on the front for good publicity.

Still, times change and people with it, and I get an odd sort of smile to know that there is continuity, and that some of the little brats you see roaming around are being looked after by people I know looked after me quite well. The more revealing thing is that people of my own age are now the teachers; how was that possible? It does also beg an interesting question about whether the rest of us ever really grew up, since we havent had to assume authority in such a dominant way. I mean, I've been doing my teaching this past year and I'm well aware that there'll be little in the way of approbation from the wee'uns, so how the arse do people assume such a role? I'm far too comfortable in my little foxhole, perhaps......teaching is definitely not a career for me.

Anyhoos, it's been a nice day, not that I've seen much of it, and I have to consider what to go eat for dinner now that my stomach is making itself known to the rest of my body. And this despite the amount I ate for breakfast-lunch, two meals separated by barely an hour owing to the time I got up!

Another one of those eternal unanswered questions

Why do women wear silly shoes?

You cannot run for the train in silly shoes.

Crazy about them oats

I'm finally home, after an extended day at work! Was not meant to turn out this way, but never mind. Went in on the 0800 train, since running out in the rain to catch the earlier one did not appeal. As it is, I ended up with soaking feet - I need more shoes, and good ones, I wear mine away so quickly - but luckily had enough nous to take some spare socks with me, and wore labshoes home. I've also brought my stonking boots home too, so should not get wet feet tomorrow either; hooray!

Day has been a bit messed up, what with one thing and another. Work has progressed, though not in ways hoped for, and not to my own satisfaction. Hmmm. More phaffage to deal with tomorrow, but at least it has been all relaxed and not too stressy. Home late thanks to lift offered from Steve B (many thankyous), which meant having to stay until the traffic died down. This is of course infinitely preferable to getting wet feet a second time, hence I took up the offer, and also the offer of a trip across the road for snackage foodstuffs. Snackage of choice: raspberry flapjack, two big buggers for £1. I scoffed both of them, despite meaning to keep one for tomorrow, ah well. Such is life. I am now bloated enough not to want any dinner, but will have to go and make a sarnie or something in a little while! No pancakes tonight, no peppers either, will have to have something less filling....but I'm craving savoury......

End of the week tomorrow, I'm really looking forward to it. This weekend I have several jobs to do; clean worst of crap off bike and make sure it'll start alright for returning to garage on Monday for sprocket change; ring up utilities companies with readings for electricity and gas; check up on housing-in-Surrey situation, since I've not heard back from them still, despite previous assurances all was going through.

And a decent whack of meditation. Yes, I'm back on the cushion, so to speak, and it feels really good! Let's hope I can keep it up, because it's always easier to sit on your arse rather than sit....on your arse....if you get what I mean. Seasoned sitters probably get me, I'm sure to everyone else I sound like an absolute loon (but since when has that ever stopped me before? I've seen you all booking me into Broadmoor - I've got persecution mania as well as my other neuroses....). Ah well. It feels right. Just have to get bhavnaing that metta someday soon.

Lastly, I have to send big congratulations to the Unmoose on her engagement. And to think I was there at the very start of it all, that bloody hot summer of '03! Remember that I got to snog you twice in that play......

See y'all!

I am *very* worried

Take a look at this report. And to start with, let's get the funny bit out of the way. The WHO's director of HIV/AIDS is called De Cock. Ho ho!

What concerns me more is the message some people may take away from it. This clinical link between male circumcision and HIV infection rates is not indicative of the 'correctness' of circumcision, since a huge number of details are missing; and also the study has been conducted in Africa, where condoms may not be widely available or culturally shunned (imho, there is no excuse for this; it'd be like denying someone their malaria prophylactic tablets on the basis that they dont need to visit mosquito-ridden areas). I am greatly worried that the pro-circ lobby will latch onto this and advocate infant male circumcision (IMC) as a blanket measure. It may also reduce AIDS funding into vaccines and other treatments, if a 'simple surgical alternative' is seen to be better and more cost-effective. NO, I say.

I can also chip in my 2p on the religious circumcision issue; certainly in a modern industrialised society with a certain standard of hygiene and medical service, there is no cause to hack bits off newborns. The 'religious command' motivation doesnt wash; a deity that commands the mutilation of children immediately loses my credibilty; I'm hardly going to molest children, just because some nebulous force issues writ. But this is highly emotive; and I'm not going to get carried away......

Cheery posts later!

Well I never mk II

Another interesting tidbit for you: Irn-bru is an illegal substance in the United States, since it contains carcinogenic colouring agents.

That'd be another reason not to drink this vile stuff, then.

Well, I never

Apparently, beavers are used to provide milk for dairy produce.

Freaky. God forbid I should ever be associated with beaver milk.

Beautiful day

It is, outside, really really nice - in stark contrast to the same time last weekend. Crazy weather! It really feels like spring has sprung, today. I welcome the oncoming summer, and the longer days and evenings with it. Speaking of which, did you all remember to knock you clocks forward this morning? Important, huh? It's as if Parliament has decreed that now is British Summer Time, and the weather has conveniently subscribed to the same scale. A happy coincidence.

I've had a very lazy day, since in effect I woke up and got up quite late. Breakfast of banana pancakes - nice, but I think more bananas are required in future recipies, and the egg-white trick is not at all necessary but probably would make them even better - and coffee, and some washing up. That took care of the whole morning, and it being so pleasant outside, I've gone for a quit circuit of the abbey on foot. There are a lot of people out today, including the Jehovah's Witnesses who were knocking on the door of number 2.....took me ages to work out that's what was going on, they looked like sinister debt collectors or police officers till I figured that the plush book held by one of them must be a bible, what with the tassle-y bit! Seems odd that they are evangelising on a Sunday, what with it being the christian sabbath an' all.......but I left them well behind, to join the dog-walkers and dawdlers in the Abbey grounds.

I wont say I'll miss the place, because it isnt all that nice, but today it was a gift of green space. Sitting by the canal/river, I've been watching the ducks and swans (vicious buggers, chasing the ducks around, they were), and musing on many subjects to no conclusion. It's been very pleasant, and one extra thing would have made it entirely complete. And now I'm home, ready for the meatball-fest, and have escaped my extra dose of proselytics. Life is good, for the moment.

Just remember, this too will pass.....all composite things are subject to decay......pessimistic? Hopeful, in other circumstances. I like the sentiment. A breath of fresh air, good for the lungs, mind and spirit (:-)

It's the weekend!

Hooray, etc.

I'm really quite glad it's the weekend, and despite the fact that I've actually done nothing today apart from solve 3 sudoki and read a short book about psychology (take a look at the Milgram experiment, it's disturbing), but I've got all day tomorrow to do some cooking with. I've also done most of my laundry, so I'm in domestic normality for a change, instead of the mucked-up situation I normally live in (:-)

I am, though, looking forward to going back to work come Monday, because there are a very few things that I have to do, all of which I should achieve with ease. This is not always something that occurs! Doing this enzyme jobber with a mind to undergraduates has made me think of a whole ream of other possible things for them to do.....which could lead to me overloading myself with new work, but in this case I dont think so. At least I dont even have to worry about the aminoglycoside stuff anymore, because student is taking it over! Also, ruthenium stuff may be shelved - since it hasnt arrived - and I've not much else to do by way of things. I can retreat upstairs and type away with no concerns, since the downstairs office is now totally rammed full of people.

Other interesting news-stuffs: we've been continually visited by mystery workmen. The story about the back of my house falling off is old hat, but over the course of the past few weeks a) a tree has been chopped down; b) all the other so-called herbaceous border (aka the area of mud) has been denuded of plant-life and covered with little pebbles, thus guaranteeing it's immediate use as a kitty toilet, as I discovered today; c) the cracks in the cement-work have been filled in by someone. Most odd, since we werent expecting any of this to happen, and it is being achieved in a cobbler-and-elves type manner while we're all at work. It's quite a fun game, spot-the-difference with your own back yard! You might have thought the landlady would tell at least one of us that things were being done, but apparently not. This naturally means that we may have some malicious up-sprucers in the neighbourhood, but I doubt it. Strange, no? The cementing itself is rather pointless, since it's just filled in the cracks that have appeared in the wall - surely all that does is stop the drafts and not actually prevent the wall from collapsing? Certainly if it's the foundations that have gone haywire - and it certainly doesnt solve the problem of the wedged back-door. Nice that a certain amount of progress has been made though. But I doubt any more will occur, since this hurried patch-repair will be seen by said landlady as good enough for however long. I'm pretty sure that she'll not get new tenants in if the house ever empties completely; that big crack on the inside needs covering up for a start!

And so to evening, where I've been to the supermarket - all set for meatball/pasta prep tomorrow - and typed up this little entry. For the rest of the time, I shall have a soak in some moisturising oil (I've been very dry with the sudden cold snap recently), have lots to eat and tidy up some more. I may even dig out something else to read, perhaps even some chemical crap for a change!

Hello also to all the surfers from facebook who may be dropping by......feel free to post comments, y'all, I need a bit of interested feedback!

Feeling slightly more balanced now, thanks to the assistance of a cheese sandwich and much distraction. So we'll be forgetting about the other stuff for a good long while, or at least till the 2nd of April (:-)

Thanks also to P who has squashed my little flutterings of soppiness and turned me back into the hard-nosed type that I am (:-P I appreciate it really....I'm a (lot of) drama queen when I let myself, and things become totally disproportionate in my head. I no longer have perspective on anything, so it's useful to have a man with direct access to a 'reset' button. Thanks much, Diesel.....

Rest of evening to be devoted to taking up liquids and solving puzzles. I really am old before my time, huh?

*sob*

Jeez, but I'm the emotional type. Took bike in for service today, and they've told me my front brake pads are almost completely worn - that should not have been a surprise, but it was - and that my sprockets are also a bit bollocksed. Net result: bike is in good nick but needs some emergency treatment, which I'm going to have to get it. Equals lots of expense. *sob*

This is not including the fact that I'm going to have to get new tyres in the near future, and that they havent replaced the nut on my rear-left backside, which means I may have troubles with it in the future..... This is making me quite depressed, and it shouldn't, it really shouldn't. It's only a bloody vehicle! It's more the fact that this repair might be due to me not taking good enough care, or riding badly, which is the upsetting thing.

Taking a deep breath, I'm going to have to spend quite a whack of money getting up to scratch, which is going to be painful but hey ho, and maybe I really *will* have to think of it more as just a means of transport and use only when I need to go somewhere, rather than just riding for the sake of it, though this would be immense fun. I just cant afford to have to pay out huge maintenance bills all the time. I shall be looking for a course forthwith......

In the meantime, I need a hug, badly, from anyone right now! Jeez, I'm hopeless, 'aint I? Yes Jon-ster, you are. Deal with it.

Self-check

I'm glad I can take the opportunity to remind myself who I am every once in a while (:-). Looking at an ish-friend Tony's website (NOT for viewing except on your own home computer - I say ish-friend because we only met a couple of times, and havent really done the long discussion thing), it's reaffirmed a confidence in knowing myself, so I guess I can say 'thanks very much', and get back to the daily grind with a bit more of a smile!

Rememeber: Be kind whenever possible.

Also remember: It is always possible.

Touch but lightly

Another cooking tip for you all: when cooking your Kraut, careful when you whip the lid off, since boiling vinegar does tend to make the eyes sting a bit.

Been having a bit of a ponderous evening, since university alumni magazine arrived. Now I'm quite well aware that a major function of these publications is to cough up a bit of cash for the old school, and fair enough, but they do serve another purpose of letting people know what's going on with the uni. And reading it, it feels like I was never there, or only brushed the surface of the place and all that goes on. Certainly I never left any kind of mark (I'm no sgraffito). But it makes me realise how much I do that in my life. It's as if I'm almost entirely connected to the present, with no real sense of my own past or my own future, adrift in a permanent sea of now. Is this a good thing? Well, supposedly so, according to a lot of the Buddhist guff I've read, living in the present moment with mindfulness is halfway to enlightenment - but I'm not claiming that. It's a feeling of something being missing, I suppose.....maybe just another manisfestation of dukkha......

Still, it's reminded me how bad I am at keeping in contact with people, even people who are and have been very dear to me, as if the only way I can cope with not being around them often, day-to-day, is to cut them out of my present life enitrely. It's a depressing thought, huh? Still, I do sometimes think 'well, they dont bother in return, so screw 'em', but that's no way to start, is it?

Enough navel-gazing. Time for another bath to soak the dry hands, and then bed.

Evening

I'm feeling a little bit sleepy now, just hopped in-and-out of the bath for a quick shave, since the water refused to heat up properly this morning as it often does. I managed to get some decent temperature water out this evening though, and so am all smooth on top and about the cheeks. Freshly shaven is always a good feeling, though never quite the same as the first few times I did it - not least because now I dont hack chunks out of my noggin.

Pilaff-jobber for dinner has gone down very well, though the rice itself doesnt seem as tasty as usual; maybe not enough onions? It has been a while since I made one, maybe I'm out of practice.....or I forgot to put in any pepper. Hmmmm, maybe that's it. Still, more of it for lunch tomorrow, and not for another 2 days this time since I didnt make as much as has been known in the past.

Dunno what I'm going to do at work for the next week and a half whilst I cant use the chiral-GC, it kinda totally buggers me beacuse I cant do the very analysis that I need to - or at least not without wasting a *helluva* lot of time. So I guess that'll be me wasting a helluva lot of time then, huh? A probably doing it twice, which is an arse.

Anyhoo, I'm off for now! See y'all tomorrow......

Amusing little tidbit

Read in the Observer magazine today, interview with plastic surgeon Judy Evans by Claire Bayliss:

"A breast implant can fly pretty far if it pops out and you don't catch it. You can be pushing quite hard to get it in and it just goes 'plop'. Then you watch it flying through the air and think 'There goes £400'."

Made me laugh out loud.

Folk wisdom

There's a lot to be said about old proverbs and sayings, for much sense is contained therein (as well as a lot of old tripe, but nothing worse than the usual edition of the Daily Mail). Perhaps we should pay attention to them more often? Worth considering. It certainly would have helped me out this weekend to have heeded the old chestnut 'make hay while the sun shines', or in a more relevent phrasing to me 'go to the bloody supermarket on the day when it is not freaky weather, so that you dont get caught out in a hailstorm', which is what has just happened this morning.

Jeez, but it's mad at the moment! So noisily windy and rainy that it woke me up in the middle of last night, and it's scarily howling around the house-eaves at the moment, making me ever more paranoid that the back is gonna fall right off......at least it is now sunny, so I didnt get wet a second time on the way home, and I must pay anonymous thanks here to the anonymous benefactor who last night tied my bike cover to the pillion grab-handle, since it must have been flapping right loose. My bike was drenched, but at least still upright and since there's no battery in it, we hope the electrics are good! I think it will be a case of testing out the battery on Tuesday evening, removing it again, and then refitting again on Weds morning. There is of course no guarantee that it isnt going to be freaky again throughout the week, which is very inconveniently timed, but I guess that's life, eh? I do note that the forecast has radically changed, and snow is no longer due for the first part of the week (:-) Wait and see, wait and see.....

Welcome back to the country to Jane-r, I'll have to come visit you once I'm all moved down - or you can come escape from the smoke for a nice day in the country, shockingly close to your old place of living! You're very lucky I caught your blog comment, I dont often check back through the archives.......glad you're back safe though, honey, and I'll be wanting to see all the snaps and hear about Burning Man again - if you were there, of course! Ring me if you get a chance.......

The rest of the day will be spent in a) enjoyment of a newspaper, a cup of coffee and sudoku; b) curry in the evening and c) a lukewarm bath (since it never stays hot when the wind is this high!).......

On a final, topical, note; this is a good film that you all should watch. I dislike the new look of the imdb.....

Worms

I've just eaten a large quantity of pasta carbonara, something that is quite rich and I always eat a lot of pasta. But I'm still hungry. There's no bread in the house, so I may have to resort to some pancakes in a short while; I always seem to burst when I make them, but it'll mean using up another egg. I'm such a greedy-guts.

It's also flippin' mardy outside, and I'm in no mood to go to the shops now that it's late (and 'orrible). Weather reports are changing constantly, but the likelihood is cold weather for the rest of the coming week, to perhaps include snow on Monday. Knowing my luck, it'll come in thick and fast, or spend all day wednesday raining, so that my day with lovely triumph-ability will be a damp squib, and I wont be able to go jetting off for some fun (:-( I'm actually more concerned about getting my bike started and to the garage on time in the morning! Hopefully wont have to do the whole 'hot wet towels' thing just to get going......but I'm keeping my battery indoors till then, just in case. I cant do a lot else about it, really, so here's hoping that it wont turn into a farce......*fingers crossed*

Today: very little done. Havent gone to the theatre for either matinee or evening, like I thought I might. Havent done shopping. Have done the laundry and hoovering, but not put the laundry away. Eugh, I disgust myself sometimes......

Not much going on

Goodness, it's Friday night and I havent posted all week! Well, this is mostly because I have nothing to post about. Little is going on that I personally find either interesting or blog-worthy, so I've not typed anything.

Only interesting event is my bike failing to start on Weds morning, so I wrapped her back up and ran for the train. She started first press come evening, though, so I thought 'hey ho, just being a bit impatient' and left it at that. So it failed to start again on Thursday morning, and I had to run for the train again. Bugger. Once again, started first spark come evening. So I've recharged the battery on the basis that it's just to weak to spark up on a cold morning, which is very annoying; I dont want to have to be doing that every day come next winter! Perhaps it was just a little low anyways, I've not exactly been driving great distances, so discharge rate is probably high......anyhow, I'm getting my service next week (when I might get to play with a Triumph, I'm wetting myself at the prospect), so all should be well for the forseeable.

That's it really. Friday night will be spent in, as per, and I'm going to spend the weekend washing and cleaning various things, and finally doing some shopping so that next week I can bloody well do some decent cooking.

Just dawned on me that I'm not seeing P next weekend *sob*, which means hopefully the weather will be nice and I can cane it a bit on spanky serviced wheels (:-)

A weekend of trains

So, it's been a busy couple of days. I've not had much chance to blog! So here we go with the update.

Dad came to visit me on Thursday, dropping off my passport, many thanks Dad. It's so much better than my last one, a bit more of a close-up too, but at least I look very like myself. Same dour expression, mind, but apparently that's what you have to do these days. Beardage very much in evidence, so I'll be keeping it for the next ten years, then. Which reminds me, I need to trim it.....

Bit of an awkward evening though, I'm never sure what to talk about with Dad since the obvious topics will only bring up a few hurtful memories or bothersome present problems - lots of stuff going around him that I've handily divested myself from, which I suppose makes me a bit of a bastard. This isnt going to change in the mear future, though, so I'm just going to have to get used to it. He clearly isnt happy about me on the bike though, despite all my arguings of why it is more sensible; I think he thinks I've kinda betrayed him or Mum in some nebulous way, in that she would never have wanted to see me on the back of one, and never did since I only took up biking after she died. Well, that's a whole can of worms to open later.

Also on same evening I got a phone call from one of the letting agents, saying that I *could* go and view properties this weekend, so I've taken a rather unexpected trip south this weekend. Not that I mind, since any excuse to go and stay with P is a good one, but it does mean I've spent most of the past few days sat on a train. Smooth journey south, but they've been digging up the Brighton line this weekend which meant massive detours going to Surrey on saturday, and again a longer trip home than usual. But the plus side is, I may have found somewhere to live already, and have already asked to put in an offer. We'll see what happens with that, since it's actually for 3 weeks later than the place is available, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Here's hoping! Waxing lyrical will commence at a later date, when and if it's confirmed.

So, most of the weekend spent on trains, no doubt with me making many observations and failing to remember any of them for bloggage, but there you have it. Only memorable occasion was being a direct witness to a drunken bout of fisticuffs at Clapham Junction, and being very worried that some people were going to push each other under a train. Drunk people in public, not good. Not that I'm totally innocent of that, having squatted in Leicester Square for half an hour in the rain in the middle of the day one time, but at least I was quiet and didnt disturb anyone else!

It's now time for bed, and perhaps more and bigger bloggage tomorrow. But then, I'm always promising that, so dont count on it (:-)

Dont know where the time is going

Time flies, huh? So it seems, dont know where this week is going.....down the crapper as usual, no doubt.

What news? Little, and I havent got a pretentious waffle for you today, so it'll be a bit of a bitty list.

Dodgy guts going on. Obviously I'm munching the wrong stuff, or in the wrong order. Most unpleasant, but hey ho.

Welcome back to the Unmoose who joins us again in blogdom, albeit under a new name. And before she panics, that's a link to her old defunct blog - so your aura of mystery will be preserved!

Hands have taken a bit of a dive (in terms of skin health), but this could be partly due to my efficiency in pouring petrol all over them at work. Klutz that I am.

Have now obtained my new passport, only took me slightly over a year to sort out, never mind. I now have my scraggy little beardage on my record for the next ten years. Still, at least I will no longer get Dutch security services laughing in my face. Process of acquisition involved a bit of a meal with my father, I have now spent the last 2 days overdosing on cashew nuts after a drought of many months. Woohoo!

Friend who is not this person going into hospital for a rather personal operation, best of get well soon wishes in his direction. Also discovered from him today that another mutual friend has buggered off to South America. No doubt he'll bump into my other friend who is not this person and it'll be a freaky little circle. Or maybe not. In fact, are you back in the country, Jane-r?

Work proceeds much as normal, despite the fact I'm supposed to be finishing up and moving onto other and better things; I'm mostly pottering, though should have something more to do next week, curses.

Jetting off south this weekend on a mission to look at houses and perhaps find a suitable one that's perfect. Wish me luck!

That's enough for now. See y'all later.....

Another quickie?

Well, I promised you a blog and here it is. Maybe it'll be long, maybe it wont; we'll have to just see, no?

Rewind your clocks back to last week. A bit of a pants week, all told, but I've forgotten most of it now. The noteworthy event happened on Friday, so I'll go straight for it.

Friday morning was spent finishing up some stuff or other, I cant quite remember what now, it doesnt matter. Friday lunchtime was then kept for lunch at the pub, and along I went and had some gammon and eggs, which played merry hell with my digestive system - and continue to do so. More interesting is that the gammon was salty. Exceedingly salty. I know this is in the nature of the beast, but normally cuts of such stuff are desalted before cooking, or desalt themselves whilst cooking. Not in this case. Usually this would not be any sort of problem, but for some reason, this excess amount of salt managed to get me completely bollocksed.

I really cant explain it, but I totally felt as if I was in that first state of euphoria you get whilst becoming drunk, before things start to get a little messy. And *no*, before you all start pointing out the obvious, I didn't have an alcoliholicky drink with my meal, just some Coke of the brown, liquid variety. I was rather spaced out, everything kinda slowed up and I had to drink an extra few litres of liquid and sit down for a while before starting to feel normal again. Moral of the story, people: stay away from the white cyrstalline stuff, it'll rip you to your tits in no time! Plus it was not very fun. I'm rehydrating now, back on the caffeine wagon (no brown stuff after lunch) and generally getting over my episode!

Really quite sad, huh? The highlight of the week being a hit of salt. But at least the weekend was good, even if I turned into Mr Moody (apparently - but it's true) and got a bit upset with many things, but P is stalwart as ever. *hugs* tiger, and thanks for listening. Not much done, but then sometimes that is nice. I really get used to the 'not doing things' kind of life, which doesnt really help when I have many things to organise myself with! I'm just naturally wary of doing anything at all. Ah well.

Today I've been mostly cranking out experimental details into computerised format and typing aforementioned into rational text. That is about it, really, and tomorrow holds a bit more of the same. Have questions I need to ask, and spend my time making phone calls to lots of people too, worse luck. There's a big list and I'd just want to do it all at once, but life doesnt work like that *sigh*. Wish there was a magic 'click' to make it all organised. Never mind, I'll muddle through, as per. I always do, somehow or other.

This is becoming ever-such a little bit maudlin, huh? Well, no apologies, but I'll leave it there and ask anyone I know to drop me a line to make me smile a little (:-)......and I'll get back to you all too! Invite yourselves over for dinner, so I can make use of this space whilst I still have it!

Quickie

Just a quick 'un to register my presence again. There will be plenty to blog about tomorrow evening, but right now I just want to phone my man to say goodnight, and then read all about strudel. And fret over all the domestic tasks that I have to perform.

But, in a special mention, credit goes once again to P for putting up with me (:-)

Only about a month till Leeds down-time - it's gonna fly by, I just know!