Wooo! I can eat again! Or in other words, I went to Colchester this morning and he took the stitches out/gunge off and there was no blood and my jaw didn't fall apart. Which gives me even greater confidence for the rest of the treatment now. OK, so I still can't brush that quarter of the mouth with anything other than a really ultra-soft brush for another four weeks (by which point I should be getting the stitches out from part two) but after that it should be back to normal there (so total normality by October then). And of course being back to normal feels particularly strange - amazing how quickly you can get used to having a load of junk in the mouth. Now I need to get used to it not being there again!

So, I was done with him by ten past nine and decided to come in to the office after all (despite having the day booked as Special Leave). And have managed to get some useful stuff done so it was woth the effort I think. Especially as one of those was the final, final, completely and utterly final check on the book covers and approval so they should be here next Thursday at last. Hooray. Had a few moments of feeling a bit funny, mainly when I let my tongue wander up to that corner of my mouth and notice the slight dent where I guess he did some of the work which doesn't feel quite the same as before but I expect I'll be OK if I finish early. I am taking it fairly easy whatever.

Yesterday was quite good if tiring (didn't get home until 7 pm after leaving at 6.15 am). Some interesting speakers and I think Mitchell's talk (with my maps and photos) went down well. Also had a bit of a chat with him and Sonic on the train so although no real insider information was released I reckon I picked up one or two hints as to where the group might be headed. The building we were in (the Institute of Electrical Engineers) was suitably impressive too - and strange to think that I've never been there before despite Dad having been a member since before I was born. Only real problem on the day was the heat in the horribly crowded trains but that's old rolling stock for you. Hopefully they will be able to introduce the new stuff they have sitting in sidings waiting for approval soon. It looks very swish.

Today they have announced a full England football match at Portman Road in August so we are going to try to get them to recommend Park & Ride as a way of travel and open up specially for the event. Should be an actual money-spinner for us if we do it right. We shall see.