Busy day so far for a change. Finished off all the roadside preparation this morning and waved all those heading out off before settling in for a few minutes of quality internet-based skiving. Then headed out to Bury Road Park & Ride to be photographed with the new buses. That went OK but while I was there one of the buses they were using while we had the real ones broke down and chaos ensued. Glad I was on site to see how well they coped really.

Called in at Radio Suffolk on the way back to buy one of their new CDs produced to raise money for Children In Need. Full of jokes and stuff so should be a good laugh. And it was only a fiver. Took the opportunity presented by being up that end of town to pop in to the shop where I got another Lynx game a couple of weeks back, but they didn't have anything else in. Some cheap second hand Gamecube stuff though so I expect I'll go back there after I get mine next week.

Now things have gone a bit wrong at London Road Park & Ride. Some idiot car owner has driven into the exit blocker and had their petrol tank ripped open in the process. Splendid. They have had to get the fire brigade in to mop up and now the water company need to find where all the drains go to make sure none gets where it shouldn't. Fab.

Add to that people asking me to chase up complaints and answer questions that are nothing to do with me and things seem gloomy. Then throw in the fact that my phone number seems to have been used to replace the TraveLine for enquiries now that has closed and you can see that I'd much rather be at home today. Especially as Joan is off. If it wasn't for the availability of quality Egyptian Dance Music on the internet I'm sure I'd go mad.

OK, so it is technically American music, but by a chap of Egyptian descent who has lived there for a while in the past (and also Italy) but we don't need to get that specific do we? MP3.com sure is proving to be a wonderful place now I've started digging deeply into it. And I have always had a soft spot for some of the stranger sounds that come out of Arabia so adding them to a modern idiom works wonders for me. All I need now is time to get them on to Mini Disc for regular listening.

Also lookingon the brighter side, I have now obtained a blank CD to take with me to the Llamasoft joly thing in London on Saturday. The plan is to record a whole bunch of us shouting obscenities on Yak's laptop then work those in to a special customised version of Gridrunner available only to those in attendance. Should be a laugh. We are also going on the London Eye (and I'm going again on Wednesday with Joan!) and shopping for fluffy sheepies etc. Really looking forward to meeting some of the people in the flesh I communicate with daily. Pity some of the foreign correspondents can't get over, but that would be asking a lot really.

Hmm, just had another complaint in - seems one of our sponsored operators is refusing to accept notes as payment for any fare under £3. Surely that's not cricket! Better get the sponsored team on that one.

My books have arrived. And maps. All look lovely thank God after all the hassle. We even had a helpful driver to getthem off the lorry for a change. Weeeeee. Now just have hurty arms to worry about.

Tried the new fried chicken take-away in town last night. Tasted exactly like KFC. Not so much of a secret blend of herbs and spices eh, colonel?

Managed not to spend any money at lunchtime again, but the potential for spending has increased again. Especially as our payslips arrived today and we have had both raise and back pay. Most woo and yay worthy.

Less in the way of strange dreams last night I'm pleased to say.

Oooh, look at the time. Better go now to pick Joan up.

More rain. Getting a bit sick of it, and winter hasn't kicked in yet.

One of those regular back at Argos dreams last night. Ipswich this time, and they had once again called me in to sort out a serious mess in the stockroom. I did of course, and then refused the job when they offered it to me on a regular basis. But is this case the manager was my old Primary School headmaster Mr Thomas and the person I trained up for the job instead of me was Dr Carter from ER. All very odd.

Today we are mostly stciking timetables together in advance of the big roadside push later this week.

Another drab day waiting for other people to do things for me.

Weekend had its moments though. Joan off Saturday so we did lots of tidying and ordered a new carpet for the dining room. Not sure when I'll get time to paint it but that's another matter. We then had Alexander staying the night which was fun.

Sunday Joan back to work so I did loads of ironing (of course) complete with commentaries on Independence Day and Charlies Angels. Both quite interesting. Then last night round to Ma & Pa's dinner. Very tasty.

Wahay, nearly the weekend. Nothing else to say!

Drat, and double drat. Beaten again by the curse of intermittent posting. Still, I do have a work-related excuse for a change. We had a Business Plan away day at the Novotel in town. Not the most scintillating place to be, but the food was superb. Hot bacon rolls and cheesey croissants in the morning break, a 3 course lunch with choice of 4 main dishes (I had char-grilled prok with cinamon and apple) and cream scones in the afternoon. I was quite good and had no starter or dessert at lunch and avoided the scones entirely (well, they weren't done with proper cream!).

However, other than fat stomachs I'm not really sure what we acheived. Lots of discussion and buzzwords flying about, but how much of it will make the final cut I couldn't say. Will be interesting to read it though, and I have also volunteered for the working group to pull it together and try to get stuff implemented. Sucker for punishment, that's me.

Then haircuts and a relaxing evening.

Today it is all Park & Ride Christmas leaflets and calenders to keep me busy.

Another miserable rainy day. Although rain is not a strong enough word for some of the precipitation we have been witnessing.

Only real bit of excitement was that they shut the college across the road after a bomb scare, but didn't think about telling us. Surely if that goes bang then we would suffer? I could have used an afternoon off!

Oooh, and now we have thunder and lightning too.

Joan didn't get in to work until nearly eleven today due to another shutter failure. Hope they get it fixed at some point.

Oh, alright then. Maybe this week I'll get something written every day on the day. Don't go holding your breath though. So, back through the old time machine again to Thursday last week.

A day about which the work related part of my mind seems to be completely empty. Hmm. I must have done something constructive, but I'm blowed if I can recall what. I know they found the problem with the shutter at Argos though - instead of wiring it up properly on its own circuit, the fitter took a spur from the shop lighting rig. That operates on a timeswitch hence them not being able to open it until the lights came on at 0855. This has now been sorted and hopefully our days of late night visits to the shop will be over. Especially as Peter who lived closest has now moved up to Trimley which theoretically means we ought to be first on the list.

At home we had a bloke in as well. After 6 years in the house of thinking about it we now have individual thermostats fitted to all the radiators which should save us a bit of dosh on the heating bills. Plus we can finally use the fire properly in the lounge without the rest of the house going cold. Whoopee.

Friday was a Park & Ride themed day mainly. Some work on the accounts, some hanging around on street corners waiting for the buses to deliver them some posters and some wandering down to the post office to send cromalins off by Special Delivery. Our post people not being able to handle that sort of technical detail. I'm quite keen on any excuse to get out of the office, but it could have been a bit warmer.

Saturday Joan was at work again (she's off this Sat though, hoorah) so I did the usual music (lots of Wonder Stuff as I am doing some minidiscs for DTJ) and film (American Pie 2 plus one of the 4 commentaries) whilst ironing in the main. Also went round to Ma & Pa's as cousin Christian was up with his brood. Nice to see them again. Also loads more done on the extension since I was last there. I also surprised Joan by turning down an X-box even though the price has come down again. I'm just hoping that will lead to a cut for the cube as well soon.

Yesterday was another looking around at things to do in the house day. Went up to the big (OK, enormous) B&Q up by Bury Road Park & Ride and have now almost definitely decided we will be attempting laminate flooring in the lounge. I'm just not sure (a) what we will do with all the wires currently hidden under the carpet and (b) how to get around skirting boards. But as the answer to (a) may be to replace the skirting boards with hollow ones to run the wires through it might not be an issue. Also managed to squeeze in KFC for lunch. We know it ain't good for us but it does taste so nice.

In the evening Joan & Helen did the Bingo thing again (and lost again). There was also the watching of Panorama which was about the anti-depressant I'm taking at the moment. Seems likely it can actually cause some of the symptoms it is meant to be treating, which could explain a lot of the crap I went through last year when the dose was upped. Also the fact that when I tried to come off them earlier this year I had to go back on again. Am seeing the doctor on Friday to see what's what.

Today it is more P&R but no excuses to hang about on street corners. Did take a wander over to the Council Chamber at lunchtime as this week is stress-busting week and they were offering some sort of relaxation and information event. Turned out to be a waste of a walk really - just a few leaflets with nothing new in them and a couple of people doing Indian Head Massage with big queues. So I didn't bother sticking about.

Huzzah, shops in town have started reducing Gamecube software prices. Makes my imminent purchase all the more groovy.

Can't rely on technology can you? Argos finally gave in to the staff's requests in Felixstowe and Yesterday the men came to fit a proper security shutter at the entrance to stop people walking up to the door after hours, piddling through the letter box and setting the alarm off at stupid hours of the night. It looks very nice and seemed to be working fine when I picked Joan up last night. Today she had a doctor's appointment so wasn't rushing when the phone rang. Tracey couldn't get in and was coming up for our remote control. That didn't want to work either until nearly 9. Ha diddy ha ha.

Have also just had a thrilling meeting sorting out security aspects for the new Park & Ride at Martlesham. Should be as good as the other two.

Blinkin' 'orrible rainy wet gloomy miserable day. On the brighter side we have now seen every timetable and almost got the books finished. About bloody time too.

Picked up my Pix and also seen the ones taken digitally last friday. No good ones of me but I will stick a few up somewhere for people to look at sometime. Some surprises on my film too - I'd forgotten how long it has been in the camera. And Jessops did a pretty good job so I will use them for a while (they give a free film with every one they develop too).

Have also put a subscription form in the post for F1 Racing. They finally have a freebie worth getting - Murray Walker's new autobiography rather than a baseball cap or T shirt. Hopefully they won't have run out before mine is processed. Will work out cheaper for the magazine too even if I will miss out on the WH Smiths points.

Time to go now and sit outside Argos waiting for Joan.

OK, new week, new attempt to at least register my continued existence on here every single day. So, what has gone on since last time?

Thursday: Was generally dull and uninteresting. Just checking timetables and so forth. Managed not to buy anything at lunchtime followed by a quiet evening and all that.

Friday: Good and bad kind of day. Bad bit was that Joan woke up with a stinking bad head, feeling and being sick and generally not very well at all. Packed her off back to bed sharpish and then had to deliver some keys to Argos so they could carry on without her. All of which meant I got in to Ipswich with about 2 minutes to spare before leaving for Red Lodge and our way out day out thing.

Gary had obtained a small coach from Beestons to drive us all over in and it was very comfortable indeed. I lived up to expectations of all and sundry by sleeping for most of the trip there (a feat I repeated on the way home) - I even missed stopping to pick Ray up in Bury St. Edmunds so I must have needed a rest. After signing our lives away (well, some form of disclaimer anyway) and coffee for those who wanted it we were split into teams and sent off to our first task. My team also featured Ray, Christine and Barry. Yup, we had to suffer the Walrus from hell messing with our team's scores by being absolutely crap and useless at pretty much everything.

Anyway, our first thing to drive was the "not quite a tank" armoured personnel carrier with caterpillar tracks and stuff. Only a very short course for that one and very bumpy as the lack of rain meant the ground was solid as a rock. Despite the chap telling us it would be tricky, it was actually very simple and easy to drive. One pedal to make it go forwards and two levers controlling the brakes on the left and right side tracks, both of which were expected to need a lot of pulling but were actually quite "light". A bit of gentle but persistent and controlled pulling required to turn smoothly rather than in jerks and it was also incredibly noisy. I have now put tank or similar tracked vehicle on my Christmas list. That would really annoy the neighbours, but I'd have no trouble parking it.

After a swift break event two was the reverse steer Ereppi. A pick up thingy nobbled so that turning the wheel to the left made you go right and vice versa. Oh, and just to make life more interesting the driver was also blindfolded and relied on directions from a partner. That was therefore the only part of the day that was anything like a team-building exercise - which was the original intention behind having a day out. Ray and Barry went first and made a complete arse of it. Going round in circles, stopping for ages to try and work out what to do next, knocking over and missing out the gates and cones. Loads of time and loads of penalties added. Christine and I did a lot better - very quick and only a copule of knocked cones between us. Unfortunately our speed and efficiency didn't help us make up the defecit the other two had created in our scores.

That led us in to lunch and for some a go on the swings as well.

For the afternoon we started with the bit I had been looking forward to the least - the Quad Bikes. Again that was done in pairs so Ray & Barry went first. And returned within about 5 minutes as Baz was scared to go above a crawl. Christine and I therefore donned the helmets and gloves and mounted up. It took me about 5 seconds to decide they weren't as scary as I expected and another 5 to decide they were actually a lot of fun. Damn fast too. I ended up being out for about 45 of our 60 minutes as when we headed back to see if Barry was going to try again he wasn't, so I went out with Ray. I did make the mistake of sticking my foot out from time to time when cornering at speed (thinking I was on some sort of normal bike that might tip over) thus knocking it on the floor painfully and also ended up in a fence at one point leaving me with some hurty bruises and the bike with a cracked fairing. However, once I got the hang of steering by turning the handlebars rather than leaning over I had a damn good time. Got up to a lot of speed, got some air underneath me after some of the bumps, humps and jumps and got very dusty. I have now added quad bike to my Christmas List.

The final session was Range Rovers. As with the other 3 events, I've never experieced 4x4 off-roading before either. Luckily they had two so I was able to share one with Christine and avoid Bazza once more. This was also good fun - the "not falling over when driving along a very steep bank" and "going up hills you wouldn't want to walk up without a rope" abilities were just incredible. Trusting the vehicle to do things you would normally try to control yourself was quite a novel experience too. I have now put some sort of Jeepy thing on my Christmas List.

In all a very good time was had, even if our team did manage to come last overall thanks to Baz and his general prat-ness.

Home in time to find Joan up, but ready to go back to bed again. Which was where I sent her and had a fairly quiet evening followed by an early night.

Saturday: Ouch, aches in places I didn't even know I had places. Probably what comes from hanging on for dear life but with a big grin on yer face whilst trying to control the hot throbbing monster between your legs. Oooer Mrs.

Joan well enough to go back to work so I spent most of the day tidying in the study and ironing. Richard came along for lunch - we finished the Iron Maiden DVD - and study of job websites but found nothing. Then in the evening we went shopping and settled down for a nice (you guessed it) Chinese with Casualty and Silent Witness.

Sunday: another good day overall. Joan off so we started lazy then went out. The main aim was to try and locate some form of raised bed kit for the garden as we both fancy the idea of some. Nothing was forthcoming though so I guess I will end up getting some wood and building our own. Should be fun. We also managed a nice lunch at Fatty Arbuckles and looked at lots of carpets and furniture and got a stick-on shelf to use in the shower. I think we are looking at re-decorating the lounge sometime soon but having seen the cost of floor coverings this may well get put back a tad.

On the way home called in at the open day park & ride/remote display site for the Ipswich Transport Museum (didn't have time to go to the museum itself) to find Gary as achy as I was. Then home for a snooze before a light tea and part two of SW.

Today: at last!

More timetable checking and so forth. Have also put my film in to be developed (and had to find a new outlet for processing as the one I'm used to in Felixstowe has shut). Will see how the pix come out tomorrow and scan and post any good ones.

Stillreading the London book (well, it is very thick) and over the weekend listening has included:

Little Angels - Don't Prey For Me and Young Gods.
Apes, Pigs & Spacemen - Snapshot.
The Prodigy - The Fat Of The Land.
Trancient Dreams - Some MP3 Stuff.
Gong - You - Remix album (disc one).
The Levellers - Green Blade Rising. (Again).
Various - A free Disney CD that came with a paper yesterday (the only reason I bought the paper, so you could say it was free with the CD).

Right, time to go home now I think. Hopefully for a nice evening.

How strange, no furniture has been moved today. Not so strange was me getting sucked in to Out Of Time 2nd hand cd shop at lunchtime and getting some more Thunder. The first album Backstreet Symphony to replace my tape and also The Thrill Of It All which I've never had before. Bet you are glad you read that then!

Concluded last night that either Joan and I watch too much tv, or their aren't enough actors going around at the moment. We seemed to spend all evening saying - "wasn't she in Holby" or "He was in Casualty" or whatever. Very confusing when you are trying to appreciate them as someone else.

Joan is in Ipswich for a meeting today. Tracey brought her in but she will probably come home with me. Might stop for dinner on the way home if she finishes late enough.

Um, err, whoops. Maybe next week I'll manage to post every day again. Anyway, back in time we go. Weeeeeep, bleeeep, whooooosh, spong! There, through the time tunnel and out in the murky past of last Friday night.

Dinner at the White Horse was as tasty as ever. OK so I had the cottage pie which I've had before and Joan had the Chicken & Mushroom pie that she's had before but the menu isn't that varied so repetition is unavoidable. Mum & Richard then came back to our place for a game of very competetive Trivial Pursuit. I won! However, the stress and mental effort involved must have been too much for me as after getting up for a spot of breakfast on Saturday I decided to go back to bed for ½ an hour or so and ended up sleeping on until 12ish. Quite ridiculous and most unheard of for me. Still, I still feel refreshed today so it probably did me some good.

After a spot of tidying up and stuff we went out again in the evening. To Joan's boss and her bloke's house-warming bash. Very unexpected for it to happen and even more so for us to get an invite. He must be doing something right with her! Very nice house all told, if a bit bland in the decor and in need of major plumbing repairs in the bathroom. Still, those are the legacy of the former owners so we won't blame Tracey for them. They are sort of on the border between the villages of Kirton and Falkenham, just outside of Felixstowe. Not sure I'd want to live in the middle of nowhere like that myself (well, not within walking distance of the shops at least) but the peace and quiet must be nice sometimes. Mind you, compared to our old flat our house is vey quiet too. Nearly had to leave early as Tracey got an alarm call while we were there but in the end Peter dealt with it which saved everyone a lot of hassle. When we did finally wend our way home not only was it very foggy but the police were pretty active. We saw the helicopter hovering over various points between Felixstowe and Ipswich and saw several cars and a van on the move. Haven't seen anything in the news though.

Sunday saw Joan at work again so I once more confined myself to the study and ironed whilst coralling numerous internet-sourced tunes and herding them on to mini discs. Mainly some more Bassic but also some other stuff that was just floating rootless on my hard drive. I also got some reading in. Finished ...Shimmerism while I was waiting for Joan to come out of work on Friday night and can say I thoroughly enjoyed it. And not just because I'm in regular communication with the author either. Hopefully he will be able to get a sequel up and in print soon. Am now working my way through Peter Akroyd's Biography Of London (which sharp-brained readers may recall me mentioning when I bought it). I say working my way through, but it is not work at all being a wonderfully informative and easy read. Not the first book on our capital I have read but I've come across new things already. Just wish i had more spare time to spend wandering round London looking up some of the places and features mentioned.

The evening was occupied by the US Grand Prix. ITV have tapped in to Bernie Ecclestone's digital broadcasts so although we still have to suffer adverts and no widescreen the overall quality of the show was much better. Focus on the right moments of action, stacks more vantage points and cameras (some cracking on-car shots) and useful graphics too. Much better than what we were having to deal with. Of course if this becomes a permanent fixture I'm even less likely to pay £12 for the priviledge of the full package on Sky as this version was more than good enough. The most interested I've been in the middle of a race for years. And the end result was superb poetic justice too - Schumacher slowing down for a formation Ferrari finish and getting it a bit wrong so that Barrichello ended up taking the win. Classic cock-up! Makes up for the result in Austria though.

And so it was back to work for another week yesterday. Am now finishing up loose ends with the books to make sure they turn up on time and doing much the same with Park & Ride stuff for the gyratory. I guess that should keep me busy until November when I will have to find a new project of some description to keep me happy and busy. Of course I could always become a furniture mover as there seems to be a lot of that going on at the moment. 4 people have already shifted around this week and more will no doubt follow. We are supposed to be recruiting 4 new people soon and will have to squeeze them in as well as a possibel whole group move to make that possible around Christmas. I know we need a good clear out, but there must be an easier way!

Helping me start the week was one of those forgotten classics or "cd's I don't seem to have played for years that turn out to be much more superb than I remember them from before" to be more complicated than necessary. In other words, in the car has been Laughing On Judgement Day from Thunder which had me singing all the way in and out yesterday and in again today. What a damn classic that is. Good job I have no passengers really.

Oh, and I did pay the anticipated visit to the HMV sale yesterday too. As well as the superb new Wildhearts single I got the two System Of A Down albums (Toxicity is in the car now following the Thunder) and two more from Underworld - Dubnoheadwithmybassman and Second toughest in the Infants which I have on good authority are well worth the £2.99 and £4.99 I paid for them.

The sun was still shining come the time I'd finished scoffing my lunch so I went out for a wander. Made a fairly major decision while I was in Smiths and didn't buy Buses magazine. I will be giving that a miss from now on as a regular purchase as, quite frankly, I've lost interest and can't be bothered with it any more. I guess I will keep an eye on it for local articles but otherwise am happy to be reduced in my public transport consumption. Followed that up by resisting temptation in the HMV sale. But I'm going to have to go back there on Monday after we get paid. Hur, hur, hur.

Where did the last two days go? Oh yes, now I remember, working for a change! Big timetable changes happening on Monday and we have all been a bit heads down producing the material to go in 105 or so cases. We even had members of management cutting and pasting bits of paper on to card, which was a bit of a turnip for the books. And today I have got the job of staying in the office answering the phone while lots of other people are out doing the sticking stuff in cases bit. Much as I would have liked a day out of the office I can't say I'm too disappointed. With that many stops to visit it won't be much fun even though the sun is shining in defiance of normal roadside rules.

I have managed to get my Park & Ride leaflets and bus graphics ordered as well, but not much else. OK, perhaps a bit of MP3 downloading and listening to, but that's all. Today I recomend Dreamtime 909 to one and all. Roll on tomorrow when I can get some more comitted to minidisc.

Joan is doing a lot better now. Stil wearing the collar (although not as much) and taking the painkillers, but in better spirits if nothing else. Her back woman gave her a bit of acupuncture last night which seems to have helped. There's something else I've never experienced. I'll be prepared to give it a try sometime though as the thought of the needles doesn't scare me.

Other than being totally zonked out most nights, we did manage to give Charlie's Angels a spin on the DVD player. Much funnier than I remember it being the first time we watched it and we also took a quick look at some of the extras this time too. But mainly we've not been doing much this week. Tonight we are going round to the White Horse for dinner with Ma & Richard (Dad is away working) which should be nice. Always reliable for tasty food if nothing else.

In Car Entertainment over the last few days has been:

Renegade Soundwave - Howyoudoin?
Chumbawamba - Readymades
Papa Brittle - Obey, Consume, Marry, Reproduce
Eat Static - Abduction

Let's just say I am enjoying having the cd player in the car fully.

The what to listen to after Iron Maiden ends decision turned out to be extremely easy to make. After writing that lot I went in to town and got the new Levellers album - Green Blade Rising. What I've heard of it so far is superb and brought me in to the office with a big smile on my face rather than the usual resigned expression of mild boredom and disinterest. It also has the video for Come On and a screensaver on the disc so I think that will pay a visit to the PC at home before long. The only thing wrong with it so far is that the total running time is only a fraction over 37 minutes. Boo, want more! Which means I did need to choose another cd after all to help get me home so that ended up being Xentrix - Dilute To Taste a mix of studio and live tracks put out as a stop-gap between their second and third albums.

Last night was both fun and frustrating in equal measure. Joan survived the return to work physically, but was still freaked out as her boss was on the warpath. No, welcome back, hope you are feeling better, don't do too much lifting. Just straight into moans and complaints. Not a great way to start a week. Luckily she is off today and has also been able to speak to Jacqui at Ipswich and get a better perspective on things. She's going to a meeting with her on Thursday which should also help.

I was also frustrated after once again the BBC pulled off a program I wanted to watch, presumably because someone somewhere would object to it being broadcast at the moment due to it reflecting events in the news. Even though it was filmed months ago with no idea of what would happen in the real world. That was Waking The Dead of course. They still showed an old one though which was probably just as grizzly and likely to offend, just not linked to the news of the day. I wonder when we will get to see it.

Luckily, the new series of Never Mind The Buzzcocks started. Still the funniest music-related quiz show in the history of music-related quiz shows. And likely to get better and better now Bill Bailey has replaced Sean Hughes as a team captain.

Today has been slow so far - just waiting for corrections back from Pindar. I never got to the vinyl people last night so will definitely do that today. What I can do is give today's MP3.com recommendation - Trancient Dreams. Listening to their stuff now, very mellow and atmospheric.

Well, hey, since 0555 this morning it has been officially autumn. And naturally it is raining. Not that I can use that as an excuse for not putting anything up here over the weekend, but I guess it was worth a try. So, where was I?

Thursday night. That was it. We had nice haircuts mainly. And I also spoke to my old boss Colin on the phone for the first time since they moved back up north. And some things never change - when he was here you could guarantee that as soon as he left his desk his phone would ring, and wouldn't you know it - when I called him he was out. He did call back though, and thinks I should appeal against the senior/non-senior thing. Trouble is, who do I appeal too? The higher management and personnel made the decisions that we needed this structure and Gary should get the job, and the union argued against it in the consultation period and were overruled. So who is there left to turn to? Not that I'm a member of the union anyway but the point remains that they were no help.

Still, they are settling in pretty well and he sounds a lot more cheerful than he did down here. I expect we will go up to see them in the new year. It is just a pity that they are no longer a good stopping off point on the way to Newcastle for us.

Friday was the big day of getting rid of Geof stuff. Or rather, taking him out to lunch and then having his official leaving presentation. In the morning I was meant to be going to a car parks meeting but found a whole load of other stuff that needed sorting out and, err, I forgot all about it. Only remembered it yesterday! Oh well, probably wasn't vital that I attended.

Lunch happened at the Lord Nelson pub just down the road from here. We went there for our Christmas Dinner last year and I have been again since, so at least there were no food-related worries. And what I had was very tasty indeed. Geof was looking much better than when we saw him last. Amazing what removal of stress and a heart-bypass operation can do for you. His presentation was a bit odd though. Considering he has been here 24 years there was a very small turn-out. I know that he irritated a lot of people over the years, particularly with his timekeeping, but you'd think a few more might have made the effort. The assistant directors trotted out the usual platitudes and "humourous extracts" from his file. Can't recall any of them now so they can't have been that good. One of the councillors also said a bit and then that was that. The Director kept his trap shut, which again was a bit of an insult really but a relief in other ways for the rest of us. So now we really are embarking upon new, uncharted waters and other such cliched claptrap.

And then it was the weekend. On Saturday Joan was feeling almost human again so we went out for the day. Woodbridge was the first call where we did a bit of shopping and had a nice lunch. Not at the Bull for a change, but a cafe type place on the high street. Good food and good prices so we may well go there again some time. That was followed by a trip to Sainsburys to stock the house up. And then a relaxed evening.

I was a bit frustrated at not being in Oxford for the Retrovision Yakfest event, and am looking forward to reading reports of it on the Llamasoft forums later on today. Not sure I would have lasted the course for an all-night event anyway but it would have been nice to try. One day I will get to a meet-up.

Yesterday was also pretty busy. After scything the lawn it was round to Ma & Pa's for their "open morning" of the extension now it is nearly finished. Not that many people turned up but that wasn't our problem. And now they have the carpet down in one of the rooms and started putting stuff back in there it has made a real difference to the rest of the house. I bet they are pleased to be able to move a bit again now but I still think they would have been better encouraging Richard to move out. Not that he will I'm sure.

The afternon was filled with ironing and a cracking proggy on National Geographic tv about Koko the talking Gorilla. I've been reading about her for years so it was good to see a bit more. It even prompted us to sign up for her regular email newsletters too.

So back to today. The rain has stopped and I've been to a thrilling team meeting so far. Just waiting for timetables to come through then I will be leaving fairly early to sort out P&R liveries and stuff on the way home.

Music for pleasure: As well as reaching the Blaze Bayley years with Iron Maiden (The X Factor, Virtual XI) which means I will be on to the last album and return of Bruce Dickinson (Brave New World) on my way home tonight and then have to think about what to listen to tomorrow, I have been doing more pc - md type stuff. Another disc of Diffusion and also the latest MP3.com find - AnalogX. More good electronic stuff. Might have to look for some more later.

More timetable checking, leaflet designing (people like it!) and funky music really. Bentley Rhythm Ace to be precise, both their albums. Also been to the post office to post a map and that's all I have to say about today.

Spent large chunks of last night playing Shadows of the Empire and Mario 64 on the N64 so nothing much to say there either.

Got to go to a meeting in a minute about the Ipswich Nightbus. Something I have no knowledge or interest in, but that's life.

Hey hey, managed to get approval on my revised livery for the new P&R buses so if I can get this poxy computer to stay on for more than 20 minutes at a time without crashing I will get a bunch more printouts of the design and shop for quotes. Actually, now I think about it quotes aren't needed as I'm going to have to put up with adverts on the buses through the sponsorship deal, so will just get whoever does the adverts to do them to save multi-visits and cock-ups.

And we have also had the first batch of files back from Pindar for all the new services to check. Which means that apart from sitting around restarting this piece of junk I have actually been able to do some useful work today. I feel quite refreshed by that.

Joan much improved today but still staying off until next week. I had to take a message from her to the acting manager at Ipswich store today. Who also happens to be one of my old staff from Newmarket. Good to see her getting on I guess, but rather her than me. At some point every day I still find time to thank fate that I don't work for Argos any more. Mind you, she is probably earning more than me now as Ipswich is a big store in Argos terms. Plus she is claiming mileage from Newmarket and back every day while here.

Another vegging in front of the telly evening last night. Well, it was Holby and Waking The Dead so I guess we have an excuse. Still, hopefully Joan will be up to a resumption of our evening walks at some point if not the full bodybalance experience. Although that would be a complete restart from scratch if we did go back. Not much on tonight though.

We have finally got round to watching The Osbournes too. Been meaning to since they started showing it but events have conspired against us. Top quality "reality" tv (well, how real is the life of Ozzy for cripes sake??). I do enjoy his bewilderment.

Apart from the in-car Maiden (now on to A Real Live One but will be missing A Real Dead One as I only have it on minidisc) I have mainly been listening to stuff from the internet today. First two minidiscs full of Bassic which I found and recorded last year sometime. Really good ambient floaty trippy stuff that assisted my passage through proof checking and lunchtime. Now some bits by a chap calling himself Cruel Brittania. A bit like Diffusion - a mix of original dance stuff and unofficial remixes/cut 'n' paste jobbies. I do like the web some days, it provides me with sanity-preserving entertainment, wise words and some good games to play. What more could I ask for?

Oooh, just bit into a Kit Kat Chunky to find no biscuit in it, just lots of loverly choccie. Haven't had that happen for years. Mmmmmmm.