Old News - Newsletter May 2005

I don’t feel like I’ve been up to much, but a glance at my calendar tells me otherwise! Maybe it is because my weeks are very quiet although the weekends have been packed with visits to people here and abroad ;-).

Around mid April I was sent on a course in London for the week, and as the company would not put me up in a hotel and it is a 2 hour commute each way, I managed to talk T and J into letting me stay, which was brilliant. I managed to catch up with lots of mates while I was there… a most successful week. Oh yes, and I learned some stuff during the day too ;-).

The weekend after that I went to stay with N and N who have bought a house in Wilstead, near Bedford (North of London), and have been doing an enormous amount of renovation. It’s huge and absolutely gorgeous, even though I had to sleep (partly) under the desk in the study as the guest room is undergoing work ;-).

And the weekend after that I took a day off and shot to Pretoria in SA for a long weekend. My mate M was getting married, and it was also an excuse to visit BestGirl and her family, and to catch up with anyone who could be bothered to read their email and meet up with me ;-) (Shame on the rest of you!). I landed in Jhb Friday morning, and then BestGirl and I went out for a girly day, lunching and shopping and non-stop talking. In the evening I took her family out to dinner to a very kid-friendly restaurant (they even had a bouncy castle!). BestGirl and S have two little girls, J is 3 and K is 9 Months, and they are very sweet. Kids love me, and I had J completely bewitched by the end of my stay!

On the Saturday BestGirl and I went out to dinner with my Granny, then changed at her house and went on to M and HJ’s wedding. That was excellent. M and HJ are both very into food and wine, and had chosen the correct wines to complement each course. M's belly-dancing class did a surprise show, and the groom pulled out a guitar and harmonica and serenaded his wife ;-). I had a bash at teaching a couple of people Jive, and it was a good party.

On the Sunday BestGirl had a bbq for anyone who wanted to pop over to see me, so several friends and family came around and the day flew. Then I was on my way back to the airport and the flight home which always feels twice as long as the flight out!

The past couple of weekends I have been at home, which makes a pleasant change! We’ve had some nice weather and I’ve been doing lots of gardening now that winter is finally over. I had a bbq on Sunday and actually managed to get slightly sunburnt, so summer is on its way!

On the subject of garden and home, the application to build my conservatory has been turned down, which is a great shame and a great relief, as I was going to have to borrow extra to pay for it and wasn’t sure I could manage the repayments and still have a life! Just got to stop myself spending the money I have “saved” now!

I still go Jive dancing most weeks, and last weekend K and I went for 5 hours of extra lessons, which was good fun. We are currently shopping around for costumes for the Jive 40’s Summer Ball that is coming up ;-). This weekend I will buying proper dancing shoes!

Work is going well, busy but not frantic, just the way I like it. I am up to my neck in documentation for a new project at the moment. Oh well.

Bloke-wise, I am still single and loving it. I have however recently somehow struck up a long-distance romance with Milord in Sydney, Australia - we met while diving in the Red Sea. Everyone usually swaps email addresses at the end of a diving week, and this just blossomed ;-). He is exceedingly far away though, so I have no idea where things are going, but it’s kinda fun! I can see the addiction of internet dating now…

K and I are off to Venice for a long weekend next weekend. We are very excited and can’t wait!