Well, all around is chaos and crates as the packing progresses. Everything I want to take with me is now safely stowed and it is only just after 11. All I have left to do is to disconnect the Zip Drive from my PC as I'm moving that myself. OK, so I have overflowed from my permitted three crates into one of Matt's but there you go, such is life. And he only needed one anyway. Nothing else to do now except sit and wait it out.

Finished Dragon Prince last night and was suprised by how much of what I can remember from the series as a whole actually
happened in the first book. But I have resisted temptation to dive straight in to book 2. Instead I have picked up British Modern -
Graphic Design Between The Wars by Steven Heller and Louise Fili which won't take all that long to read as it is mostly
reproductions of posters and products but very interesting all the same. And if I ever get round to it likely to be liberally scanned for
wallpaper use...

Yoiks, another week and a bit passed with no spare time to say a few words. So here are the edited highlihghts (complete with
slow-motion action replays and learned commentary from the pundits back in the studio).

Monday and Thursday last week I did a bit of surreptitious bus surveying. We have been getting rumours that one of the bus companies who works for us under contract is "on the fiddle" so to speak and I was dispatched in pursuit of evidence. Which meant getting the bus from Felixstowe as far as Martlesham then walking on to the Park & Ride site to finish the trip in to the office. Arriving a bit later than usual but being able to claim the travelling time as worked hours for a change. Two trips each way (plus another two on Monday when Joan and I took the same service to Woodbridge for lunch) and nothing suspicious noted. One slight potential for fraud with a "regular" customer having her ticket issued as soon as the driver saw her at the stop rather than when she boarded (and confusion when she wanted a single rather than return on one of the days and thus the pre-issued ticket had to be cancelled and a new one sold) but nothing I could book them for. Although I have booked one of the drivers for using a handheld mobile phone, which is illegal these days never mind against our contract conditions. On the whole, not much learned. If I get the job as applied for I may well end up doing a bit more surveying, but that would be on an announced basis rather than making furtive notes.

I did quite enjoy the extra bus trips (damn, I'm NOT going to get an anorak) and it was nice to try the option as another alternative for getting to work if everything else went pear-shaped one day, but I'm still glad we can afford a car.

Tuesday saw my induction tour of Endeavour House. Even less impressed with the personal space available now I've seen it in the flesh but we don't really have a choice. Also not impressed with the design of desk - they have separate side table/return things which are nicely shaped to be reversible and thus fit at either end of a desk. But that has left them with a nice notch you can trap fingers in.

Most of the rest of the building we looked at seemed OK, but there was a hell of a lot still to do considering people started to move in yesterday. I am prepared to be pleasantly surprised next week, but am not expecting to be. Yes, the place is nice and airy (at the moment with no people moving around) but the cabinets are all grey steel and look really drab and it all seems a bit "wrong" somehow. Plus none of the furniture in the breakout areas or meeting rooms was in place yet so we still don't know what that will be like (And they reckon the only source of cold water will be the taps, rather than water coolers which I am not best pleased with). And having sat at my desk all I can see if I look out of the window (without turning round and making it rather obvious) is the black corrugated steel of the Ipswich Town west stand. Absolutely marvellous. In theory if I get this job I might have to move desk, but neither of the two spots allocated to the vacancies are any better in terms of view. I shall just have to start memorising nice images and close my eyes for a rest from the screen instead. We also managed to have an argument with the project manager about putting in the bus stop for the shuttle bus and Park & Ride that started yesterday. I think they managed to get it sorted in time but he was dead set against it for a while.

Wednesday I was off for the day with Joan. Went to see Kirstie to get my teeth scraped then spent the afternoon sorting out the floor in the bathroom. The floorboards had been showing through and marking/ridging up the carpet so I stuck down hardboard on top (but under the carpet) to smooth it all out. Feels much better under foot now.

Friday started horribly early when Helen phoned at 2.15 ish to tell us Bhupen's Mum had died. Not sure why that couldn't wait for a more realistic time but there you go, that's Sisters for you. Neither of us really slept for the rest of the night which left me feeling a bit zombie-like when I arrived here. And that was not too helpful as we had a full day of project management training. Yes, more of it. With the same trainer who did the two (or was it three?) day course last year and the MS Project course I've been on as well. So at least she had a rough idea of what we already knew, or ought to know. Again it was more useful information on a highly complex topic that left us all feeling dazed. In fact when I got home the first thing Joan said was that I looked exhausted. But we still found the energy to go along to see Bhupen so I could offer my condolences (Joan had been down there with them most of the day). Not a good situation really, and further complicated by the dog who - frankly - is on his last legs.

So Saturday after they left for Northampton and Sunday until a friend came to take the dog for the rest of the week we basically spent at Helen's, dog sitting. Took him out for a few walks (between the rain showers) but otherwise just lazed around their house feeling vaguely uncomfortable about being there without them. I popped home at regular intervals to feed Tawny but otherwise we were pretty inactive. Having finished and thoroughly enjoyed The Piranha Club I decided I would watch the race again (especially as we had little else to do) and I also watched the qualifying on Saturday. They've tinkered with the rules again and I'm not sure if the latest qualifying system makes it any fairer. I will have to go look at some dedicated F1 websites to get a fuller understanding of the intricacies I think. Needless to say Schumacher started first and stayed there to the end other than during the pit stop business but I did at least stay awake the whole time.

All told it was quiet a relief when the friend did turn up at 4.30 (she'd been away for the weekend) and we could go home to collapse. Except of course we had to go out again to see Mum as it was Mother's Day.

So I was quiet glad to be off again on Monday to catch up on a bit more of the rest we hadn't had over the weekend. We had a nice ride up to Woodbridge and a very tasty lunch as well as doing a bit of shopping, getting very cold having been fooled by the sun in Felixstowe but avoiding the pretty heavy downpours that still keep coming.

And now back at work catching up, tidying up and almost ready to start packing up for the move. The new Park & Ride leaflets finally turned up today, three days after the route changed but pretty good considering the time they were given to turn them around. Looking at the building closely on the way in has not made me any keener to get down there next week - and also I notice they still have loads of work to do. So it looks like we will be working on a building site for a good couple of weeks at least. As soon as my phone rings I will be heading up to Martlesham P&R to have another go at sorting out the stop announcement timings. Fun galore.

Have followed the F1 book with a re-read of Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince. First of a series of 6 which I initially encountered during my first year at College and have re-read once (I think) in the interim. During the revision phase for the end of
year one exams I got through a huge number of books as I was keeping my brain going by alternating between text books, lecture notes and fiction. It must have worked as I passed, but I seemed to be heading in to town every couple of days to buy something else to read. And this one was being pushed in one of the two independent bookshops I used to visit (one called Clulows, the other I can't recall the name of any more) so I thought I'd give it a go. More in-depth on the charachters than some Fantasy I've read in the past (I'm sure I've seen the series described as mixing fantasy with soap-opera) and I'm enjoying re-discovering it all. Books 2 and 3 followed at the right time to be used as revision aids for the second and third years at College, and number 4 was also published in annual sequence. Then something odd happened over here and 5 and 6 were delayed. And delayed. And I ended up buying them on American import from Red Lion books in Colchester after not being able to wait any longer. Similarly book 3 of her latest series has also been delayed for a few years now, but this is because she hasn't written it yet - according to her website she was in a car accident and doesn't feel like finishing the story yet. So I have books 1 & 2 sat on the shelf unread waiting for the final chapter to arrive before I make a start on them...

What a week (well, OK 5 days) this has been. Saddened but not at all surprised by the trains being blown up in Madrid. I was wondering if something like this was due to come along soon, and looks like I was right. I know I shouldn't be relieved that it happened in Spain rather than over here, but can't help feeling it. Of course the natural result was for people to start demanding airport-style luggage checks on all rail passengers. Like that will ever happen, we have maybe 15 to 20 international airports in the UK, and over 2,000 railway stations. Many of which are unstaffed and with no building more substantial than a shelter on a platform. So even if the will was found the money would never be available to resolve the issue. Such a mixed up and depressing world we live in some days.

I've been just as busy as ever at work, meeting sales reps, sorting out timetables and the usual. Sonic back on Thursday after another week off. Turns out the baby has some gland or other not functioning properly, but they know how to manage the situation now. Good news, even if it does mean she'll be on one tablet or another for life.

Charles had a meeting at the new place and took a camera with him. So now we have all had a better look at Endeavour House the feelings of dread and foreboding are closing in more and more. It really does look cramped and industrially drab (lots of grey steel cabinets all over the place), and there are several flaws in the layout as well. Still, the decision has been made and we are moving whether we like it or not. I am down there on Tuesday morning for a proper induction so will take my own camera as well as trying to get a proper feel for the place.

Finished Science of Discworld II today. Enjoyed it thoroughly and think I grasped all the science bits. Will probably need to be read again to make proper sense of it though. Have now started The Piranha Club by Timothy Collings which is all about the power struggles at the top in Formula One over the last few years (but also looking back to the '60s). Looking good so far. Oh, and we watched Finding Nemo today which was brilliant, although the disc is faulty so that will have to go back tomorrow.

And Joan is now off at the bingo so I will have another few minutes on the exercise bike she just bought...

So we have had cloud, bright sunshine, rain (at near horizontal angles) and even a few flakes of snow so far today. And it is absolutely perishingly cold outside to add further insult to injury. Typical Suffolk spring really. I don't know why I still get surprised by things like that after all these years.

Joan having to put up with Marion today for the first time in ages, and it seems she is in a bad mood already. Great. I wish I could sort the situation out for her.

Things are fairly quiet in here today. I think the reality of the upcoming move has finally reached everybody and those who are not keen have at least now become resigned to the change, rather than complaining about it all the time. For my part I am still mostly looking forward to it, even if I have the same concerns as most over lack of space (personal and for storage) and just the general change situation. We had another big stack of information come round yesterday telling us all about various aspects of life in the new building and it will definitely be a culture change for most of us. I'm not sure how well the new rules will be enforced though, or indeed how long it will take for people to start demanding changes. I think the biggest change for us will be the mixing up of how we sit at the moment and the further integration around us of the education transport team. Who are currently in a different building. But it turns out they are moving in a few weeks after us so we will have time to ease in to the first change before the second. Of course there is still the possibility that I will be changing jobs at the same time anyway. If I ever get round to looking at the information properly and making my mind up about applying.

At the end of the day, so long as I still have a job I'm not too fussed right now over what it is. Over in the rest of the transportation part of the division/directorate/whatever we are called this week they are going through a re-organisation and some of them are (once again) having to re-apply for their own jobs. Another fun County Council hobby that one.

In more interesting news, I finished the inventions book last night. Fascinating stuff some of it. And because they were presented in strict chronological order I spent a fair amount of time thinking "oooh, did that only get invented then?" and "I thought they were older than that" and so forth. Plus despite never having thought of myself as being particularly patriotic, I did feel quite good at times realising which bits were British ideas writ large. Or indeed Suffolk ones, if you want to go to that level of detail.

Have now started The Science of Discworld II: The Globe by Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen. Like the first one it mixes a Discworld short story with explanations of how the real world works. Fun and informative all at once. Of course it will probably leave me wanting to read up more on the topics covered, but then that's no bad thing really.

While out this lunch time I managed to convince myself to buy the second Legends fantasy anothology as edited by Robert Silverberg for only a fiver in hardback. I was going to wait for the paperback as with the first one, although slightly concerned that they might not do it as well the second time around. Mainly because of the tales collected I only wanted to read some (which fit in with series I've read in the past or want to try) and not the whole lot. Last time they split the paperback edition over two books, and luckily all the bits I wanted ended up in the same one. Here there is more I want so decided not to take the risk. That's my excuseand I'm sticking with it. So, new bits from Otherland, Pern and stuff for me to enjoy sometime later in the year (might only be next week, might be several months. I have far too many books still sitting on the shelves begging to be read). Of course having just had hardbacks for the last few books I've read I'm enjoying the lightness of a paperback just now!

And finally, I have also finally got round to sticking the collected works of The Police in the car, having meant to since reading Sting's book. It has served to remind me just what a damn fine band they were. Also the first band I can remember actively wanting an album by. Not exactly sure when I first got my own music playing equipment in the bedroom. I remember an old valve radio which was fixed underneath the bench I had under the windows, and this was superseeded by some form of amplifier (can't recall what though) plus cassette deck and a Garrard turntable some time in the mid to late '70s (and let's face it, probably late as I was still only 8 come 1979). Although certainly I was well versed in the art of keeping records clean before moving up to secondary school in September 1982- we used to be played in to assembly at primary school by two "lucky" pupils drawn from the oldest class manning a creaky old record player with a very carefully chosen selection of vinyl. And sometimes younger kids were allowed to do the honours as a treat, which I was at least once in pre final year days so that will have been in 1980/81 time. During which shift I was so appalled by the state of the records available I obtained a spare "EMItex" cleaning cloth from home to sort the mess out.

Anyway, the kit was probably classed as a birthday present - I know the three albums that accompanied it were as I can recall unwrapping them. A K-Tel compilation called Music Explosion (two tracks on which I can recall were Seasons In The Sun from Terry Jacks and Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas), David Essex - Rock On and a classical compilation Rock Gently With Beethoven, Bach & Brahms. Must have made a big impression given that I can stil recall them despite no longer having them (although I have a sneaky feeling they are all round at Ma & Pa's somewhere). So from that point on I started building up my music collection. Slowly. And mainly with unofficial soundtrack albums as re-worked by king of the disco remake Geoff Love. But "real" music intruded as well and I have a vivid recollection of first seeing the sleeve of third Police album Zenyatta Mondatta and knowing I wanted it on a trip to London. We were at a street market somewhere (possibly Camden, but I'm not sure) and it was hanging up on a record stall. The bright orange with blue triangle on screamed at me from across a couple of intervening stalls and the image has kept in my head ever since. I don't know if I had the other two albums by then or if they entered my life later. I knew the singles from them as we always listened to the charts on a Sunday afternoon and there were a couple of documentaries about them shown on the telly that I would kill to see again, but...

Suffice it to say that The Police were the first proper band I listened to properly and knew stuff about. And still in my top ten.

I think that's all for today.

Just when I thought Suffolk was a nice sleepy place to live where nothing ever happened, this occurred (from the BBC news):

Armed robbers hit late night bus

A bus driver has been robbed at gunpoint near Ipswich.

Two men wearing balaclavas stopped the First Eastern Counties bus at a bus stop in The Street, Martlesham, just before 2300 GMT on Sunday. They threatened the driver with a gun before stealing a quantity of cash and other items.

Suffolk Police are appealing for witnesses who may have seen the men escape in a dark-coloured estate vehicle which headed towards Ipswich. The male bus driver was uninjured, but shaken by the incident.

In a blinding twist of stupidity though, they managed to hold up the only bus route in Suffolk where all the vehicles are fitted with cctv cameras recording, assault screens for the drivers and other security measures. Plus they chose Sunday night when they are half-empty and have hardly any cash on board. Just can't help some people can you!

So, I hear thousands screaming, how was the weekend? The answer is - pretty quiet. Joan working both Saturday and Sunday so I was pretty much left to my own devices and the ironing. Did spend Saturday afternoon round at Richard's for a change, but mostly installing, trying, rejecting and uninstalling games on his new PC so not actually all that much in the way of fun.

Yesterday I thought I would give Formula One another try with the start of the new season. I really wanted to be gripped and enthralled by it all like I used to be, but sadly it was not to be. The latest set of rule changes has left some of the cars looking pretty wild compared to when I last looked at them, but I was still asleep by the end of the tenth lap. And I really do mean asleep, not just bored. Whatever happened to proper racing? All that seems to happen now is a fight for position at the start then trawling round the laps in order with the only real position changes coming from pit stops. Not what I want to see. Plus they are still not showing the action in widescreen yet. Dull, dull, dull and tedious.

Been to a meeting with Anglia Railways this morning concerning bus movements during the forthcoming Ipswich rail tunnel closure. Time sure has moved on quickly since I first got involved last year. I think we are now sorted on what will be running when from where and by whom. (Could I have got another W in that last sentence?) Nothing particularly exciting from that other than having been in another building in Ipswich for the first time. Thrills galore.

Called in at Argos on the way back to pick up some Stotties and pease pudding - Jacqui has been up home to the North East for the weekend and brought them back for us. Joan will be overjoyed. Mind you, she has Weight Watchers tonight so better not scoff the lot as soon as we get home...

Still feeling annoyed by the marketing team. And not actually helped by the Manager coming along trying to butter me up for another project. And now my PC has been playing up again and refusing to print without 27 re-starts and so forth. Grrrrrr. Oh well, I'm sure I'll be happier tomorrow (and no, a big dose of chocolate didn't improve my mood either).

Joan has been to the dentist, again, and still has infection problems with her tooth. He has drilled up and released a load of nastiness then packed the hole with antiseptic stuff. Lovely. Will have to remember not to breathe when kissing her tonight.

Finished Holy Fire on the bus home last night. Good stuff. Not sure if I understood it all, but I definitely enjoyed it. Mind you
I'm not sure I want to have understood some of the medical stuff. A bit gruesome in places. Have now started Inventing the 20th Century - 100 Inventions that shaped the modern world by Stephen van Dulken which does exactly what it says on the
tin...

Funny how it only takes one small thing to get one's back up. Today started off fine, Joan off and I managed to get out of the house early enough to make using Martlesham Park & Ride practical (in fact got my earliest arrival time at the office so far this week out of it), no complaining emails to find on arrival and all well in the world. Then Ian comes along and asks if I can add the new shuttle bus stops to my P&R leaflets (we are funding a town centre shuttle thingy as part of the move to Endeavour House as councillors don't think people can walk the 200 metres or so to the current nearest bus routes). He then shows me the draft shuttle map. Which is blatantly derived from my P&R publicity. It would have been nice to be asked if they could use it, or at least to be told that they were using it. I'm not normally a bitter person, but this has just wound me up.

Today's word from the forgotten English calendar is "Niggle" which I use all the time. But of course these days it means small, irritation or suchlike whereas the 1895 definition quoted is "Small, fine or cramped handwriting; a scribble, a scrawl" so I guess I can see how the meaning has mutated over the last 100 years.

Today's odd thing - we have just had a new member of staff turn up. Didn't even know we were looking for one. I think he is actually from a consultant here to help with database wrangling, rather than a direct employee, but we shall see.

This is bizarre. Or totally expected. I have sneakily installed the BBC radio player software to the work PC and am typing this listening to a repeat of last Sunday's "Freak Zone" from BBC Radio 6. One of the stations only available through digital radio/satellite/the web. I would listen to it at home through the dish if I ever remembered to. We are not in a digital coverage zone yet in Felixstowe so not worth buying a proper digital radio (ideally I'd like a pocket one that could travel around with me, and indeed use at work as the quality via the web is pretty appalling). Anyway, the show in question is usually hosted by Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden but as he is off on tour at the moment Paul Morley of Words And Music fame. And he is talking just like the book was written. Which is, as stated, either bizarre or expected. However, I am prepared to put up with that and the low quality as he played some of the stuff mentioned in the book I'd not encountered before. Which is great.

So we are both back at work. Not too bad for me. Yesterday mainly spent catching up on loads of emails and sorting out staff discount and new stops for Park & Ride linked to the office move. Not so good for Joan but she is plodding on and only has to get to the end of next week before she is off again anyway. She did speak to someone high up in personnel about the whole situation which hopefully will help in the long term, but left her feeling sick when having to do it.

Oh, and we watched the film version of Chicago on Sunday night. Very glossy and fun.

I think if we ever get to the stage of winning big on the lottery (yeah, like that's ever going to happen) and can give up work we will have to change a few things about how we spend all the free time compared to a holiday from work spent at home. Like giving me some time to get on here to start with. I'll be honest, I didn't want this blog to be just the simple record of what we've been up to it seems to have become. I was hoping to get a bit more in depth on some topics, writing about books and music and films in much the way I do about the computer experience over at Way Of The Rodent, trying my hand at bits of short fiction and stuff, then sticking them up here for all to see. As it stands I never seem to have the time, and when you think there ought to be a chance - on holiday - there is even less to play around with. So, should we ever get to the state of "permanent holiday" I think we'll have to be more regimented in doing a bit of everything.

So, what did I do with a week then?

Monday was of course the Charter Mark seminar. Got there in time despite the train's brakes being stuck on for a while just into London. I think we stand a pretty good chance of keeping the award if I am given the time and backing to do the work that will be required. I know the previous director was dead keen on all the gongs and plaques on the wall etc, we shall have to see where our priorities lie under the new system. They have combined a lot of the old criteria into fewer sections now, but added a new one about impacting on the wider community. Like I say, I think we should be OK but we shall have to wait and see.

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in a big spring clean of the house. OK, it needed doing and the place looks lovely again (although the dustmen were probably less than happy with the amount of junk we threw out) but I could have used a few minutes of fun in there...

Thursday Joan had to go to the dentist in the morning for a filling. Not fun. Especially as a bit of x-ray investigation turned up an infection up in her jaw as well. So she is now on anti-biotics for that to add to the excitement. We then had lunch with Mum & Dad round at the White Horse and finished off by taking Tawny to the vet for her annual booster injection. She enjoyed that about as much as Joan had liked the morning. And they have decided her teeth are in a state so we have to take her back in a couple of weeks to be knocked out and cleaned up. Which will no doubt cost an absolute fortune. She is worth it, but we could use not having the expense.

Friday we went into Ipswich, did a bit of shopping (even finding some top notch Old Navy gear in one of the cheap shops, which was a welcome surprise) and met Jacqui from Ipswich Argos for lunch. A good day really. Then yesterday we spent food shopping, doing final tidying and cooking for Mum, Dad and Richard coming along for dinner. That went very well too (and another 15 out of 10 to Joan for her culinary wizardry).

The only film we have managed to watch all week is the second Tomb Raider - The Cradle Of Life. As with the first, not much of a plot more a stringing together of action sequences in exotic locations, but fun all the same. I treat them more as extensions of the games rather than "proper" films and just enjoy the ride. Never have been one who needed deep plots and motivations from every piece of entertainment.

Have now finished Words And Music and enjoyed it in the main. Still not sure what he was banging on about half the time, and yes it is a tad pretentious in places, but I am more fired up to go listening to lots of music after reading it than I ave been for a while. Am now in to Holy Fire by Bruce Sterling. Set about 100 years from now when politics has turned largely in to a way of keeping old people alive longer and full of lots of medical details. Enjoying it so far.

So now Joan has gone back to work today (but only for 2 weeks, then she is off for another 2) and I have to go back tomorrow. Not particularly looking forward to it - I always hate not knowing what might have occurred while I've been off. All I know is that Sonic probably won't be around much - their baby has finally come along but is not in the best of health. They know what isn't wrong with her yet, but not what is and how long it will take to sort out, so he is expecting the first of many trips down to Great Ormond Street childrens hospital sometime in the week.

Mind you, we only have four weeks now to the move to Endeavour House, so I expect more clearing out and packing to start soon...

OK, time has done the flying thing again. Tuesday was good and bad together. For me it was pretty good as mr dentist fella was happy with my teeth and just wants to see me again this time next year. Woo. OK, so I will still have to keep seeing Kirstie every three months or so at £20 a shot but that's still better than losing the damn things. For Joan it was not so good - she went in to the Doctor raring to go back to work and he said no. So she won't be back until after our holidays now. The way Marion took the news (i.e. a total lack of concern and being a bit rude about it all) didn't help matters either and that made Joan feel worse again. Things have eased over the last couple of days, but she is still fretting over it. One day things will go well in one attempt.

So, what else has happened for me? The timetable books did indeed turn up on Wednesday (early in the day for a change, and with a ramp and pallet truck to help with the unloading) and I did spend Thursday and Friday out in the van with Matt delivering them. We made really good time and managed to do some of run 2 on Thursday. Which made for an early finish on Friday to start my holiday. Nice.

And then yesterday I turned 33. Don't feel any different, to borrow an old cliche. Everyone spent far too much on me, but there you go. We also did some shopping, watched a film (American Pie 3 - The Wedding which was just as funny as the first two despite lacking some of the original cast) and went to Mum & Dad's for dinner. Another good evening including playing games of the wooden block stacking thing (a generic Jenga) they bought me for a laugh. And we did indeed laugh.

Today we have visited the market and now Joan is off to Bingo. Hopefully with the success she had last time. Tomorrow I have a hideously early start for a Charter Mark seminar in Hammersmith before a jaunt around London then real hols for the rest of the week...

Well, Joan is appearing a lot better from the outside and claims to be feeling that way too. Unless the Doctor has other ideas tomorrow she is planning to go back to work for the rest of the week. Certainly she has got rid of the headache that made her go to see him in the first place and is much better rested again.

I've been busy as always at work with the usual stuff, but also pondering over a quandry as to what to do career-wise. Basically Sonic has mentioned that there is just no way he will be able to get my post upgraded to Senior status and suggested I go for one of the network planning vacancies instead. Still not sure if I want to do that job per se, but I do want the seniorness and the money would be nice. If nothing else it would relieve some of the pressure on Joan to stay with Argos just because we need her salary as well as mine to keep the house and stuff. I shall see what it entails and at the very least throw my hat into the arena.

So, what else have we been up to? Lots of relaxing and reading and watching films. Films first - The Recruit which I'd not heard of before (well, I had, but not for the usual reasons). Turned out to be a really rather good CIA spy thriller starring Al Pacino, Colin Farrel and very visible as extras Sheila, Stuart, Caroline and Chris. We heard all about their day of filming in Niagara on the Lake when it happened and it sounded like the usual hanging around in the cold and boredom you read about in the magazines punctuated with a few minutes of work. And the sequence they appear in gets repeated a couple of times in the accompanying documentaries as well. Which was nice. Helen & Bhupen brought the dvd back when they were over there last summer and this is the first chance we've had to watch it.

We also watched XXX (or is it xXx?) which was rather an over the top spy thriller. Anything Bond can do they can do bigger, louder and faster. But just the sort of switch-off entertainment we needed. And one of those films where they look like they had fun making it too.

Books have also eaten up some of the time. Finished Big Chief ELizabeth and really enjoyed it. Was good to have some of the mysteries that had been bugging me over the Pocahontas issue cleared up in a concise form too. Then did the entirity of another of the Eric Thompson Magic Roundabout books - The Adventures of Dylan which was just as nostalgically silly as the other two (and still one more to go).

Now I am in the middle of the latest Q magazine special edition - they are doing a multi part series on the history of rock so I'm in the '60s at the moment. Haven't bought Q on a regular basis for years, but they have started doing these specials recently which have been worth buying and keeping.

But as I am only reading that one at home (I tend to only read magazines at home because they get too big to browse on the bus without getting in the way of whoever you end up sat next to) I also have another book on the go. Words And Music by Paul Morley. It purports to be a history of pop music but is proving to be a bit pretentious to say the least. Interesting so far certainly but I can't decide if it is brilliant or simply so far up it's own arse that it has come out the other end again. It is making me want to go and listen to lots of new and familiar stuff in equal measure so that has to be a plus point. Maybe more on that as I get further in.

Tomorrow is the last (oh please let it be the last) trip to Colchester to see if the tooth stuff all worked then in to the office late. Today I was at a meeting about possible things that might happen if we get the money in Sudbury (so a bit vague!) and then went up to Martlesham and for a look at a village that needs a bus service with Sonic instead of my usual 1 to 1 fare. Tomorrow as soon as I get to work I have a meeting about cross-operator ticketing followed by one on marketing for P&R. Then Wednesday the books will finally arrive and I get to spend the rest of the week out in the van before holiday time and birthday...

Well bloody hell, Joan went to the Doctor yesterday and he signed her off again. Only for a week this time, but that's not really the point. I wonder when someone at Argos will get the message and sort the situation out? I had the fun job of letting her area manager know but once again got no answer so left a message. Wonder if he will actually call back. I wish I could wave a magic wand of some sort to solve all her problems I really do. Its the same old reasons - Marion just doesn't do stuff leaving it all to Joan and Matt follows Marion's lead. Not a good situation to be stuck in.

Drives me up the wall but I don't know what else I can do.

Anyway, been a busy few days. Sunday we had a good expedition up to ASDA to shop for a change. I wonder what that says about us that we can spend all day wandering round DIY, Electrical and Food shops and enjoy it. Must be getting old finally. It was worth the extra driving over a normal supermarket trip though as we got stacks of bargains!

Monday I was in London for an ATCO meeting. Much better turn-out than the last one in Norwich. Not quite as interesting though as it was more presentations than discussion. Now all I have to do is get the minutes written up without my notebook wandering off. Worst part of the day was definitely the train travel (which is annoying as I usually enjoy letting someone else do the driving). On the way in we were sat with Barry the rail officer who filled the trip with his usual inane banter and "fascinating" facts about the world we were passing. Not too bad, but irritating. On the way home the heating wasn't working and I felt quite ill by the time we reached Ipswich. So much that I was a dead loss for the rest of the night, not really tahwing out until we went to bed.

Yesterday was another day in the office with nothing to commend it, but today did at least start off differently. Coca Cola are launching a new brand of water and were doing some promotional give-aways up at London Road Park & Ride. They had led me to expect a reasonable amount of action, branded vans, girls in short skirts etc but all we got was a chap and a lass in fleeces giving bottles away. Oh well, it was something unusual if not spectacular.

Bookwise have now started Big Chief Elizabeth by Giles Milton which relates the very early colonial attempts at America. Fascinating stuff and very well written again.

Must stop asking where the time has gone. Seriously lazy that's all I can say. Anyway, been an up and down kind of a week. Managed to get loads done at work, but at the same time don't feel like I've managed anything. Nothing really to write home about - just finishing off little jobs and tinkering with the details. Small mindless stuff that gets things done.

Mind you, better than doing nothing I suppose. And it helps bring the money in, which is always useful as I've had to go out for a new exhaust this morning. Bloody cars...

Finished with the Conan-Doyle book while I was waiting for the thing to be fitted. I enjoyed The Lost World and its sort of sequel The Poison Belt despite the over the top Victorian stuffiness and overt racism. But gave up on the collection of "medical" tales at the end of the book as they seem to be largely plotless and not actually all that interesting. Oh well, on to something new...

Well the snow all went by bed time Thursday and now we are back to rain again. I'm fairly sure it has sent down a drop or two every damn day so far this year and now we are into month two there is no sign of it letting up. I'm getting pretty fed up of driving in the rain and trudging from the bus stop in the rain and not going out at lunchtimes because of the rain... Who do I go to for a refund on 2004 so far? To make matters worse the drains in our street seem to be clogged at the moment and we are developing a nice lake all along our side of the road - especially bad for us as it is flowing neatly up our dropped kerb and approaching the drive. Must have a snout around here to see who is to blame (or at least if anyone can get it sorted out before we need a boat to get the milk in).

Friday's training course on Construction and Design regulations was so enthralling that we left at lunchtime. Basically it was more related to the bigger projects we get involved in as a council (new brodges and bypasses, that sort of thing) and didn't really have much relevance to us humble bus people. Plus they'd squeezed far too many people into the room it was being taught in so I reckon everyone else would have been pleased to see the back of us as well. So we gained an extra afternoon of real work and missed out on the chance to fall asleep across the road. And then it was the weekend...

Joan was off so we had the chance to do lots of exciting and adventurous things for a change. Except of course there was much rain falling from above. So we ended up pottering about the house and going as far as in to town (thrills galore, I got some new shoes). And up to Helen's to deliver Bhupen's birthday present (a couple of days late but (a) he didn't want a fuss on the actual day as his Mum was in hospital and (b) it only arrived in the post on Saturday). And round to Ma & Pa's for dinner on Saturday night. So nothing startling occurring it has to be said. But the house and garden are both a bit tidier, the ironing pile is lower and we had some nice sleep.

Still working my way through The Lost World, am finding it enjoyable but a struggle to maintain the motivation at times due to the heavy victorian style. I knew there was a reason I tned to read modern stuff most of the time!

Have also been continuing to find joy in having a cd player in the car - currently listening in chronological order to all my Gong and Daevid Allen stuff (well, all the bits I've got on shiny discs anyway) and loving every minute of it. Also had the fortuitous delivery of the cd I'd ordered at the same time as Bhupen's birthday. DA + Kramer - Who's Afraid which cunningly enough slots in exactly right in time order and is in the car today. I hadn't realised it would fit into sequence quite so well when I ordered it - I was just attempting to plug a gap in the list! And obviously it is great to hear some new stuff. Although of course being 12 years old it doesn't really qualify as new, and some of it isn't actually new to me at all being different versions of tracks I'd encountered on Gong Appreciation Society tapes in the past. Which reminds me I really must re-join that too.

Right, off to an Endeavour House technological partnership briefing now...

Still snowy... There was an extra load came fluttering down out of the sky during the evening and that was still wafting when we went to bed. Must have stopped sometime after that though and I've not seen any falling at all today. Which is nice. But the gritters have been working overtime - they've done five priority one runs in the last 48 hours at £15,000 a run according to my spies. Hopefully things will start warming up again from tomorrow - Joan has the weekend off so it would be nice to be able to get out of the house.

Oooooh, snow's come again. No more than we had back in December down this end of the county but quite a bit more the further west and north you go apparently. My only disruption was choosing to come in via Martlesham Park & Ride rather than London Road because I wanted to see what it looked like in the snow! So I took a few pictures and will get them up on the web sometime. But the journey in from there was grindingly slow, so I didn't arrive here until 9-07 instead of the usual 8-40 ish from the same time departure at London Road. Oh well, I'm several hours up on my Flexi-time so I guess one day won't kill me.

Yesterday's course on Influencing People/Non-Verbal Communication ws interesting, but I'm not sure how much of it will end up being useful. The big problem being it only really giving an overview and generalities. I guess I could look up some more in depth stuff if I find the need later in the year. We shall just have to see how it goes.

Not much else going on. Have now finished all the short stories in the Conan Doyle book and am about to embark on the first novella - The Lost World. Should be interesting to spot the differences made by the BBC when they dramatised it for Christmas a couple of years ago.

Oh crivens, where does the time go to? Things have just been really busy and hectic with lots going an and stuff. Plus when I might have had time spare to waffle on here I've been lazy or done something else instead. So I'm not going to attempt a day by day reconstruction of the time since last entry, merely list a few selected highlights and lowlights...

Return Of The King was magnificent. Although obviously condensed to fit a cinema-friendly running time (but still clocking in at 3 hrs 20 mins) so roll on the extended DVD. Mind you, Richard and I are still watching our way through the extra features from the first one, so there's plenty to keep LOTR fresh in my mind between now and then even without re-reading the books.

Workwise things have been plodding along pretty much as normal. We now know where we will be sitting in Endeavour House for definite. Can't say I'm overly thrilled with the layout - cramped desks, rows of four opposite another row of four rather than nice clusters, me in themiddle of a row so nowhere near a window - especially now I've seen the furniture samples. But there isn't actually anything we can do about it, so will just have to grit the teeth and get on with the new regime. Still busy throwing stuff away left right and centre. Every day sees another sackload carted off, but the piles around the office don't seem to be getting any smaller. Really not sure how we will squeeze everything in. But then as I'm sharing my space with Matt the trainee who only has about three folders so far I might be able to get away with sneaking in a bit more than my proper share.

Have also been on basic risk assessment training which was frustrating in the extreme. It didn't really clarify if SCC has a consistent policy or anything. This week I have another two courses - influencing people tomorrow and construction guidelines on Friday. Both a better option than sitting at the desk I'm sure!

Have also managed to polish off two books and start a third since I last wrote on here.

First the latest Discworld book from Terry Pratchett to hit paperback - Night Watch - which was up to the usual standard. Hard to find anything new to say about TP's stuff as it is so consistenly brilliant. I guess the main thing this one did was to set a time-reference for some of the earlier books in the series, as they now have a 30 year window in which they have to have taken place. Somedays I wish I could justify buying the hardbacks when they come out, as I do hate having to wait for the latest tales, but at least if he dropped dead tomorrow I would still have two more to read...

Next came The Book On The Book Shelf by Henry Petroski which was possibly the most interesting book I have ever read. Details both the history of how books developed from scrolls and how book shelves and library stacks came about. Absolutely fascinating stuff and makes me want to spend the week re-arranging all the shelves at home again. It has also reinforced the decision I made back in 1997 to stick a slip of paper with the date I finish it in the front of every book I read (well, of those I own anyway, not much point with loans!) so I would know how often I re-read things. The frequency of reads for a given book will of course always get longer and longer as the number of alternatives grows, but it still surprises me when I do re-read something to find how much time has elapsed. I wish I'd started it years before. And I am now in the process (which will take all year, for obvious reasons) of replacing all the old scraps in the books with the pages from this year's "page-a-day" calender. Which is on the subject of forgotten English so has loads more fascinating reading that I didn't want to end up just throwing away.

So now I am wading through a collection of short stories and novellas by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle entitled Tales of Mystery and Terror. Can't say I've noticed much of the latter as yet. Not properly read any of his stuff before so I thought it was time I gave it a go. Interesting, but I'm not sure I'm enjoying the Victorian style all that much. Might take a break before I reach the end
and return to them later.

And that's another week nearly over and done then. Still very quiet in the office (in fact possibly more so than over Christmas as they have turned the air blowers off again, so as well as not having cold currents blasting over us we can actually hear ourselves think once
more). Wednesday I was out in the van looking for new timetable outlets again, however not alone for a change. I took Matt the trainee with me as (a) we had to take down the Park & Ride christmas signs and (b) he needs to see a bit more about what we do around the county, where places are etc. Quite a good trip out all told, although we had a couple of places refuse to stock the books which annoyed me rather. Yesterday and today just general in the office stuff for the main - checking timetable proofs, writing letters - although this morning I managed to escape to a Car Parks meeting. About as fun as it sounds really!

We have re-watched the first two Lord Of The Rings films this week in readiness for seeing part three tomorrow. Cracking stuff, and am so pleased with the extended dvd versions, they really flesh the story out properly. Not sure now how much longer I can out off re-reading the whole thing...

And speaking of reading, I have just finished the Sting book. Again, very interesting (it must seem like I praise everything with the same selection of words, but really I can't recall the last book I didn't enjoy!) and good to get an insight into some of the stuff that went on pre-Police. I will be more than happy to read it again in the future and also a second volume should he choose to write one. It has also reminded me of his links with the extended Gong family and I really must listen to the music again now. Fiction next...

Here's what I wrote yesterday and then couldn't get to post:

Five days in to the New Year and finally I get round to talking about it. Why the wait? Well, because I wasn't sure whether I could be bothered to keep this going now that we have reached the heady times of 2004 (where are my personal jetpac, food pills and shimmery togas then? Still waiting...). But I think I will have a go at continuing the chronicle of me and the mrs and see where it takes us. Whether I'll be able to get online very often is still to be seen (especially when we move to Endeavour House sometime in the spring) but I'll do my best. Just need to not be so lazy at weekends/in the evenings... Of course the real reason for continuing is that I enjoy waffling, and haven't mentioned www.wayoftherodent.com yet where I waffle on about videogames in the company of a bunch of likeminded individuals. Go see for yourself sometime.

So, New Year celebrations. Went with something between a bang and a whimper - neither extreme but cosily in the middle. Mum cooked a variation on a Belgian dish we've seen on many a menu but never actually tried before - Waterzooi. Basically a rather tasty sauce with stips of vegetables and the meat on top. Very nice, will have to try the real thing when we next head over the water. Then we chatted, played a couple of games of Upwords (Joan and I generally thrashing the pants off Mum & Richard) before having a wee drinkie of Champagne when the bells struck 12. Didn't stay very long after that as yawns were creeping up on us all. Thinking back on it, I can't remember being away from home on New Year before with Joan other than 2001 when we were up north with Ernie. So that was a new experience for us anyway.

New Year's Day we took things pretty easy. Got up late and generally pottered about in the morning. Then Richard came along for the afternoon and we watched another Christmas DVD - Pirates Of The Carribean - The Curse Of The Black Pearl which was superb. An absolutely genius turn by Johnny Depp coupled with some real spectacle. And of course, pirates. Yarrrrrrr. In the evening Helen, Bhupen & Alexander came along for another sip of champers and then that was the end of the festivities proper.

Friday was back to work again, and nothing of note to report really. Finished off a few more loose ends, cleared out another bunch of old crap. That sort of stuff. And then the weekend...

Joan was working both days so I was pretty much on my own. Had a lazy morning on Saturday then with a bit of help from Richard put up a new hanging pan/utensil rack thing in the kitchen. Wasn't sure at first but it is growing on me now. Also spent a frustrating couple of hours trying to get through to vodafone as we both got new Mobiles and wanted our numbers transfered, loyalty bonuses etc. I think we are all sorted now, but if I ever have to deal with a call centre again I may well go mad. Press 1 for this, 2 for that etc. Fair does the brain in. Yesterday much of the same, but without the frustration, and now back to work for another week. Life just plods onwards.

Have also finally started a new book - Broken Music by Sting. Autobiographical effort taking him as far as the Police getting huge. Good so far, if a little high-faluting considering the background he is describing...

And now Blogger is down so I can't post this after all. Oh well, maybe tomorrow...

Tuesday for real now:

Feeling absolutely wiped out this morning. Joan couldn't sleep and was up and down as well as fidgeting when she was back in bed which meant I didn't sleep either. Add to that a touch of earache (seems to have lifted now) and I was not the best person to be around at 7am today. Oh well, made it in to work and getting on with stuff...