I don't believe this. They've gone to the bingo again. That's four times this week now. I just hope they win.

Bored now and want to be somewhere else. Wouldn't even object to being somewhere else working, so long as it wasn't here at the moment. Half the office is still not around, and half of what's left has either gone home or gone to meetings and all I've got is a couple of letters to write that I just can't be bothered with. No inspiration on how to saythe same thing in a nice way and stop them writing back. And it is so quiet. Normally all the noise and distractions get me down, but right now some of those would be welcome.

Strange old world.

Not sure what we will be doing tomorrow. The original plan was to go to Bury St. Edmunds for the day, but a BBQ at Helen's has also been mentioned for the afternoon. So, which will win? I can't see both happening, that's for sure.

Three sunny days in a row, must have been a mistake made somewhere in the weather planning bureau.

Had the consultation meeting with the assistant directors on the staffing review this morning. I think some new ground was covered rather than the usual circular arguments but I wouldn't like to state exactly what. And we do now have a deadline to try and get a new structure in place, vacancies filled etc. So, roll on September and let us see.

Just been up the town in the sun. Saw Joan & the sisters as they were having lunch before hitting the shops in a big way. Wonder what they will buy. I know I have to wait here until they want to go home though to save them the bus fare! I got the latest Terry Pratchett book to hit paperback (Thief of Time) which I will look forward to reading. Not just yet though, as I think the next fiction in line will be Harry Potter 3.

Watched Billy Elliot again last night. Just as brilliant on the second viewing, although some of the continual bad language does grate after a while. I know it adds to the realism to a point, but it begins to lose the impact when it gets that frequent.

Only a few hours to go until freedom kicks in for the weekend.

Now we have the hottest day of the year so far, I am of course back at work rather than enjoying the sun. I have managed to get out of the office twice though, which doesn't do much to compensate, but is a start.

Tuesday we did Ipswich. Lots of rummaging in the cheap shops and purchasing of cushion and duvet covers to go back to Canada. I do recall seing such products over there at what I thought were reasonable prices, so I'm not sure of the logic. I think perhaps Sheila is stuck in a timewarp taste-wise from when she went over the Atlantic. All I ended up with was a pair of trousers that I took back today as despite claiming to be the same size as all my others, I could only just do them up and certainly couldn't breathe. Hey ho. Then in the evening we went down the seafront to let her play on the fruit machines. Shopping and gambling, what a life! Joan and I tried out a rollercoaster simulator they've just got in. Quite fun, but actually leaves you more queasy than the real thing I think. Probably due to staring at a screen and not getting the actual rush of air.

Yesterday we went to Woodbridge again. Got some trousers that do fit! Also had a very nice lunch at the Bull. Need to go there more often! In the evening they tried the Bingo here in Ipswich (winnings = zero) so I called in to see m'poorly colleague Gary. Watched The Parole Officer, which was a hugely funny film. And I can't normally stand Steve Coogan either. Perhaps it was the character - not quite so naff as some of his others. It won't be an essential purchase, but if I ever see the DVD cheap I will probably grab a copy.

Finished The Shelters of Stone this morning with breakfast. Absolutely top book. Hope the next one doesn't take another 12 years, especially as there are several loose ends dangling now. Pretty much all the other 4 could have been the end of the series fairly satisfactorily but this one definitely needs more. I'm also looking forward to reading it again without being quite so desperate to find out what happens next, but able to savour each bit. Next up will be a non-fiction for sure, but have a stack of magazines to get through first.

Why does time have to pass so quickly? What ever happened to the weekend? Stay tuned for the answers to these questions, and more....!

Friday went in a real rush. I had to meet some people at Park & Ride in the morning, so spent most of the time trying to get stuff done before that, then in the afternoon I was leaving early to go to the dentist, so more rushing to finish things off. Third of the four hygenist visits, so not particularly fun. I did find out why they can't inject lower jaws though - all to do with nerve distribution and bone density. Then Sheila was back in Suffolk so we went along to Helen's for tea.

Saturday Joan was at work so I pottered about here for a while, did some Ironing, that sort of thing before heading up to Ipswich with Richard. Had to replace the joypad he got me for Christmas due to it breaking last week! Helen invited us up for dinner again, and after that the girls went to Bingo so I had a nice quiet evening.

Yesterday we did our own things in the morning - they went to the market, we went to Homebase and bought plants for the garden as well as doing some shopping. Had everyone over here for dinner and Shiela is now staying with us until the end of the week. A fun evening, even if I was feeling a little down for no apparent reason.

Today we have been into town and now they are Bingoing again. So time for me to put my feet up a little I reckon.