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( Home → Diary )

In this section you'll read about what's going on in my life - I'll try to make my life sound interesting even though it isn't - and hopefully I won't upset too many people with what I write.  Anyway, too bad if I do!

More personal thoughts and feelings can be found in my Musings section.

 

 

19/12/08 Have been ill with a bug or cold for the last few days, and so have been at home sitting around feeling lousy.  At least I'm not passing on my germs to my colleagues, which is more than can be said who gave the cold to me in the first place!  The time at home has given me a chance to reflect on what an odd year this has been.  From a work perspective, it has been one of the best years ever.  But from a personal perspective, it could hardly have been worse, with the loss of my father and my car crash earlier in the year.  Life can be very strange.
15/12/08 Right at this precise moment, I am suffering from terminal boredom!  My evenings seem to consist of the same boring stuff day after day, and one resolution I must make for the New Year is to try and get some variation into my routine.  With the economic situation at the moment, a trip across the Atlantic is out of the question, and I can't even by an engine management upgrade for the car, which is one of my aspirations.  Perhaps I should change my outlook on life and consider myself fortunate for what I have got.  Thanks also to David for your guestbook comment, I tried to reply but your email address bounced!
12/12/08 Well, Christmas is getting ever closer, and I haven't given any thought yet to presents or cards!  Never mind, I don't think any of us in my family are too bothered about celebrating Xmas this year.  In fact, last time we all met up, I think none of could remember a worse year than the one we've just had.  At work, I got quite annoyed with one of my colleagues today, though of course I can't show it.  I just wish that sometimes they would show some more initiative and do things for themselves, instead of wanting their hands held while they do simple tasks!
05/12/08 The end of another very satisfactory week.  Had to facilitate a meeting yesterday, and the feedback I've had on that has all been very positive.  Feedback was good on the project that was causing me so much grief a few weeks ago, too.  The weather here has been cool but bright, so very pleasant as long long as you are wrapped up warm!  Christmas is less than three weeks away now, so I guess I'd better think about getting cards sent and presents bought!
28/11/08 The end of a very satisfactory week.  The Sellafield work is going very nicely, and I have nearly finished the first major phase of that work.  That's good, as it means I can now concentrate on all the other stuff that needs to be done before Christmas!  One thing I must say is, thanks to Brian for your very kind Guestbook entry.  Since you didn't leave your email address I can't write to thank you, but if you read this I did appreciate very much your comment, and you're right, the love of science and cars is a natural combination!
26/11/08 Thought that I'd write a mid-week diary entry for the first time in a while, since I'm feeling good and things are going well at work right now.  That can change in the blink of an eye, of course, so you have to make the best of the good times!  We went to collect my father's ashes at the weekend, and he's now home again - we think that he would like to be scattered somewhere on Exmoor, so that is what we will do.  Finally, from the dead to the living - happy birthday to my buddy Tyler and I hope you have good celebrations mate!
21/11/08 Luckily, this week has proved to be much easier than the previous couple of weeks, though there is a sign that things are going to get busy again soon.  Still, I shouldn't grumble, as these are prestigious projects that I work on, and it is flattering to think that me and my colleagues are considered the best in the business to do the work.  In the end I didn't make it to London, as a meeting was arranged for today, before I could book the day off!  The weather is due to turn cold this weekend, so I suppose this is a sign that winter is on the way.  The nights are drawing in too.
14/11/08 An extremely arduous week this week, but one with a happy ending, as I managed to achieve all the things I was expected to achieve.  On Monday, work finished at 10 pm and then commended again Tuesday on 4:30 am.  Report delivered at 4 pm.  Then off to Sellafield for Wednesday and Thursday, with a really nice hotel stay and then a successful meeting.  Finally, today involved a meeting in Gloucester, which went as well as it could have done.  I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend!  Things should be easier from now on, and I hope to take some leave in the next week or so, and hopefully to have a few days in London to relax for a while - work permitting.
07/11/08 A very busy and arduous week.  I gloriously failed to get a report submitted on time today, and indeed have had to ask for an extension on that.  Plus I have to go to Sellafield next week to report progress on a project that hasn't progressed since the last progress meeting!  I also sold my Vectra this week, and went through the formalities of taking ownership of my father's Audi.  I have to do some work this weekend, but I am determined that nothing will get in the way of a nice relaxing Sunday.
03/11/08 A pleasant weekend, though the weather was rather gloomy.  Rob and Wendy came to visit on Sunday, and we all had a very pleasant Sunday lunch at a carvery in Moreton-in-Marsh.  The only sour note was the news that Wendy's father collapsed this weekend - with a suspected heart attack.  Hopefully he will pull through, as he was still alive and kicking in hospital earlier today.  I'm feeling rather unwell today, so am at home rather than at work, which is not good as I have loads to do this week!
31/10/08 Halloween today, and not a single trick-or-treater called this year.  Still, Halloween isn't a big deal in this country, so I'm not entirely surprised.  A satisfying week at work this week, with me getting loads achieved.  Having young David to help me on the computational side has been very good too - I think David is showing great promise in his first few months in our line of consultancy.  The weather here has been very chilly, though it is supposed to turn warm and wet over the weekend. 
26/10/08 A pleasant weekend, but the weather forecast is that it is going to turn very cold this week, so I'm glad that I have my winter clothes ready and waiting!  Completed a few more pages for this website.  Have been pondering the future of this website.  How much longer should I keep it running for?  Does it really serve any purpose in the grand scheme of things?  I will continue to ponder. 
24/10/08 Another busy week this week, with all the signs that things are going to get busier still in the next couple of weeks or so.  Decided this week to buy my father's car, which means that my Vectra will be on its way to a new home.  It's funny really, but I will have driven that Vectra for less time than it took to choose it.  Maybe I need to be more decisive when buying cars!  Have had a nagging headache all week too, which has been annoying, and if it doesn't get better in the next few days or so then I will have to think about seeing the doctor. 
17/10/08 The end of a busy, but very satisfying week.  I made good progress on my two most important projects, and should have plenty to report in the progress meetings being held early next week.  The weather here at the moment is beautiful autumnal weather, with sunshine and blue skies, but a slight chill in the air.  In fact, I had to scrape ice off the car this morning, for the first time since last winter!
13/10/08 Well, the holiday on Exmoor went very well indeed, even though it rained non-stop for the first few days.  The weather gradually improved, and the last few days were perfect autumnal weather.  I managed to take plenty of photos and videos, which I must admit I haven't really looked at yet.  Getting back to work today, I was faced with the prospect of trying to finish a report before the close of play today, which I failed to achieve due to numerous interruptions from colleagues.  Hopefully things will ease up during the week, and I can get in touch properly with my various penpals and friends.
02/10/08 Another very busy week this week, one that started off with me spending a couple of days in the Lake District for a business meeting.  Needless to say, the weather did not co-operate, as it rained non-stop while I was there!  I did manage to get out and take a few photos though, and the food and hotels were both very good indeed.  Now, this Friday, we are off for a family holiday to Exmoor, and guess what - the weather forecast is lousy once again!  I have to do some work while I am down there, which won't seem quite so bad if the raining is sheeting down outside!
26/09/08 First things first - today is my mother's 72nd birthday, so happy birthday mum!  This week has been a very busy and rather stressful week, but one with a happy ending, I'm pleased to say.  We had some important visitors who wanted a progress report on an important project that we are doing, and I'm pleased to say that they went home happy.  I have two days in the Lake District early next week, with a meeting in the middle, so I will be doing my best to make something good of that.  Hopefully the weather will stay nice!  Then we're off to Exmoor for a week next from next Friday - even more reason to hope that the weather stays fine for a while!
17/09/08 The theme of the last few days, and for the weeks that are coming up, is lots of hard work.  We have some very important visitors coming next week, to see how much progress we are making on an important project at Sellafield.  Plus we are starting two new projects relating to the LLWR (what the former Drigg radioactive waste repository used to be called in Cumbria).  I have a holiday coming up in early October, to Exmoor.  We were thinking of postponing after my father's death, but I think we are just about decided to go ahead with it.  I still haven't booked a Washington holiday yet, but am thinking hard about when is best to go.
12/09/08 Life is getting back to some normality now, after the sad events of the last few weeks.  I bought some insurance yesterday, and will be driving my father's car for the next month or so, while mine has a "rest"!  Returning to work on Monday was not too bad, but my goodness I have some work to do over the next few weeks or so!  Luckily it's all interesting stuff, and so that will make it slightly easier.  On a sadder note, yesterday was the anniversary of 9/11.  hard to believe that all those terrible events happened seven years ago.  Finally, I would just like to apologise to all my online friends who are still waiting to hear from me.  I have had no time over the last week or so for writing emails, but I will do my best to catch up in the next week or so.
02/09/08 The last few days have been very hard, though we're now over the worst of it and are slowly coming to terms with the loss of my father.  He is being cremated on Friday, which will be the next big test for us all.  Luckily my brother and I are maintaining our sense of humour in this difficult time, which is important as you can't stay depressed and sad all the time.  If you did, you would just go slowly mad.  I would also like to thank my online friends who took the time and trouble to get in touch and pass on their sympathies and condolences.  Be assured that I won't forget this simple kindness in my hour of need.
27/08/08 Dad, we lost you today, and I think we are still coming to terms with our loss.  You were a good and kind man, who would always help others if they needed help.  I don't know how the Shipston Link bus service functioned without you.  I will always value how you were so willing to help me in looking after my house, and I doubt my garden will ever look so good again in the future!  I'm sure you're looking down on us now - I'm just so glad that you passed on while doing something you enjoyed so much, taking our lovely Tess for her walk.  Love, Martin. (I knew writing this would bring on the tears)
26/08/08 First day back at work for me today after the long weekend, and quite a trying one, I have to say.  I started on a job that I should never have agreed to do in the first place - me and my big mouth!  I feel rather tired now, though that might have more to do with the fact that I have been taking it very easy for the last three weeks or so, and this has been the first full day that I have worked in that time!  Things will get easier, I'm sure.
22/08/08 A good day for England as we managed to beat South Africa in a one-day cricket game!  It's rather ironic that our captain was born in South Africa, but he does his best for England and that's the important thing.  Earlier this week I decided to resubmit my profile to the Penpalworld website, and I already have some nice new friends to talk to, which is good.  I also decided that I want a long weekend in Washington and a long weekend in London before the year ends.  The only trouble is, wanting and getting are not always consistent with each other! 
20/08/08 The cool weather continues here in the UK, and I'm guessing that we have now seen the end of summer for this year.  My boss has been on holiday for the last few weeks, and so I have been taking the opportunity to take a few days off while he's away.  Monday is a holiday in the UK, and so I will be taking Friday off to make it a long weekend.  Otherwise, not an awful lot to report from my part of England!
15/08/08 Did my first fuel consumption test on the new car today, and found it was giving a very pleasing 28 MPG, which is not at all bad for a car of that size and power.  Noticeable this week has been a distinct cooling in the weather here in the UK.  In fact, it's been so cool for the last few nights that I have needed extra blankets on my bed.  Looks like autumn might be on the way!  Also noticeable is how my guestbook entries come in fits and starts - before this week I hadn't had one for two months, and I've had three this week.  A bit like London buses - you wait forever for one, and then three come at once!
10/08/08 Had a pleasant weekend, including seeing two sets of family members that I don't see all that often.  First up, my aunt and uncle were in the country (from Hong Kong), and they came up to visit on Saturday.  It was great to see them again, and congratulations to my mother for preparing such a nice lunch.  Then my brother came to visit, and needless to say, Saturday night degenerated into a rather boozy affair, with plenty of laughs along the way!  Good weekend.
06/08/08 Day off today, so that I can get to know my new car!  Being bright white, I noticed that it did turn a few heads while driving it home yesterday.  I think I'll go for a run to the Uffington White Horse, and get some exercise into the bargain.  Finally, my thanks to everyone who sent me cards, presents and phone greetings for my birthday - it's very much appreciated!
01/08/08 So, the big day has come, and very nearly gone.  It all passed off very quietly and without fuss, and - surprise surprise - I don't feel any differently today than I did yesterday, when I was still in my 30s!  I bought my birthday present today too, an almost new Vectra that was destined at one time to be a police car, and which I got at a rock-bottom price.  Should be a fun car to drive, as it has a V6 turbo engine, up-rated suspension and brakes, and also a reinforced roof, for that little bit of extra protection!
30/07/08 Tomorrow is my final day of being a thirty-something, as Friday is my 40th birthday.  It's funny, but earlier in the year I had a bit of a "mid-life crisis", worrying that I was approaching my 40th birthday and thinking of all the things that I have failed to achieve in my 40 years on planet earth.  But my views on that have all changed - rather than worrying about turning 40, I am now positively looking forward to it, and all the challenges and exciting things that life will hold for me.  I think my brain will still continue to think in the way that it did when I was 16, and physically I feel great, so what is there to worry about?
25/07/08 Summer has certainly now arrived in the south of England, and I have finally had to relent and bring a fan down into the living room!  A good week at work - we lost one of the work proposals that I mentioned in the previous entry, but we got two of the others, so not such a bad week.  Plus I got lots of lovely modelling work, and have developed a mathematical model of contamination at Sellafield that should be ready to run next week.  Now all I have to do is decide whether to have a new car or a holiday!
18/07/08 A busy but satisfying week this week, as I had lots of work proposals to write, and hopefully we will win one or two of them!  The weather hasn't really improved very much, and it is raining even now as I'm typing this.  Plus it's quite humid as well, so not very comfortable conditions at the moment.  I am still thinking hard about a new car, though my trip to Washington may have to be placed on hold if I do go ahead and get one.  I should think myself lucky that I am in a position to have such a choice to make.  Many people don't have the luxury of being able to choose between such things.
14/07/08 Had a nice weekend, and for about the first time in a week, we say some sunshine!  I had a day out at Snowshill Manor on Sunday, which was very pleasant except for two things.  First I got stung by something, which has left a nice red swelling on my left arm, and second, I managed to delete all of the photos that I took, when I was about half way around!  Luckily I managed to take them all again in the second half of the visit.  I'm also thinking (again) about new cars and the thought of getting a new one for myself.  As my friend Sharon would say, I'm impossible to keep up with as I change my mind so often!!
07/07/08 Well I'm pleased to say that my mood has lightened somewhat over the weekend, even though it's rained non-stop for the last three days!  I dealt in a satisfactory manner with the person who called into question my integrity (see previous entry), and I expect no more trouble of that kind.  Have been thinking this evening about another trip to Washington DC within the next couple of months or so, and have been checking out some of the things I might do and see when I'm there.  Mount Vernon will have to be top of the list!  I'll be going alone, but that isn't a problem - a nice hotel with a nice bar will mean no shortage of people to talk to in the evenings.
03/07/08 Today has been one of the unhappiest days that I can remember in my 15 years as a consultant.  I have had to cancel my trip to Las Vegas, owing to other more pressing commitments, and the response from the various personnel involved have been extremely disappointing.  Some of them have clearly never worked as a consultant, and they don't appreciate the pressures that can arise from time to time.  (Without being immodest, I am very good at my job and so am usually in considerable demand to work on projects).  Some of the responses have called into question my professional integrity, and I consider that absolutely unacceptable.  My response will have to be robust, as I am NOT prepared to be spoken to or treated in this manner.  I thank goodness that my boss understands the issues and is with me on this.
29/06/08 A nice quiet weekend, which is just how I like them!  I've just about decided that I want to spend another week looking around in Washington DC, and I think that is likely to be my next holiday visit to the USA.  In the mean time, I have been preparing for my trip to Las Vegas, though I'm not quite sure how one prepares for the desert temperatures that are to be found there.  I also intend to spend another few days in London this year, and also a few days in the Lake District.  That lot should keep me nicely occupied to the end of the year!
27/06/08 A pretty good week this week, starting off with a day out at Blenheim Palace on Monday.  That really is a lovely place and well worth the admission fee.  The rest of the week has been spent preparing an assessment model for our Sellafield contaminated land studies, and also preparing some advance questions for State of Nevada's meeting with DOE on July 7th. I am attending this meeting in my role as an expert consultant for the State of Nevada.  I understand the temperature in Las Vegas is currently around 42 degrees Celsius, so I think time spent outside taking photos might be somewhat limited!
20/06/08 A pleasant enough couple of days in the Lake District, but the weather wasn't very co-operative on the first day of the trip.  That was a shame as I set off early with a view to doing some sightseeing, but had to give up because of the heavy rain and winds (in the middle of June!).  I'm going to Blenheim Palace on Monday for a look around, and hopefully the weather will be a bit better for that.  No plans for the weekend, but I do need to sort out my work priorities for the next couple of weeks, so that everyone is happy when I go to Las Vegas in July.
15/06/08 A nice quiet weekend to get over the stresses of last week.  With Lithuania and training course out of the way, I have now had a chance to complete my new web pages on London and Yorkshire, and these are now up and running in the London and Photos section of the site.  I'm off to the Lake District for a meeting this week, so hopefully the weather will hold up for that!
12/06/08 Well I'm back from Lithuania and have got my training course successfully out of the way.  The trip to Lithuania was great - Vilnius is a lovely city and the weather was beautiful.  Plus I managed to find some time to take some photos too!  The meeting went very well too.  The only downside was that I missed my connecting flight on the way back, and had to get on a later flight.  On the plus side, I got some great aerial photos of London from the plane window.  The last two days have been training staff at Serco, and that has gone very well.  I feel quite tired now, and I'm sure I will sleep very well tonight!
06/06/08 The last couple of days have been rather stressful, I must say.  I fly out to Lithuania on Sunday, and when I get back to work on Wednesday I have to give a three-day training course at work!  It has seemed at times as though I have been fighting a losing battle to get everything done on time, but I seem to have managed it and so I can relax for a day before going to Vilnius - armed with my camera, of course!  I have made some progress on my new web pages, but it will be a while before they are ready to go online.
02/06/08 Got back from London on Saturday and overall had a very good time.  The weather was largely cooperative and the hotel was very nice.  I treated myself to a posh dinner at the hotel on Friday night and had one of the best red wines that I have ever tasted - though bearing in mind what it cost, it needed to be good!  Got to see lots of sights, though with hindsight it would have been better to see fewer sights and spend more time at them.  I've now got material for about 21 new web pages on London, and I'm acquiring quite a backlog of website work to do, as I also have material for another 14 web pages on Yorkshire.  I'd better knuckle down and get working!
27/05/08 I'm off for three days in London tomorrow, and am busy making my preparations.  The weather forecast is mixed, so I am preparing some indoor activities for when the glorious English weather lets me down (see previous diary entry!).  My aim is to visit some new places that I haven't yet been to see, and in the course of this I will get more material for the website.
26/05/08 Today is a holiday in the UK, just as it is in other parts of the world.  Needless to say, the weather has been absolutely atrocious, just as it was for the last public holiday at the start of the month.  The last two days (at least in the south) have seen heavy rain and winds, and this has prevented anybody from doing anything on their days off.  Sometimes I wonder why I stay in this country.  Surely life would be better in another part of the world where the sun shines when it's supposed to!
18/05/08 First of all, happy birthday to Sharon!  I hope you have a great day and are spoiled rotten by the family!  Next, I was very annoyed to find that the slugs have been merrily eating my tomato plants, which were only planted a few days ago!  They have destroyed one plant and have just about eaten through the stem of a second plant.  That leaves just one plant intact.  Needless to say I will be getting some slug poison tomorrow, and if I catch any others around the plants this evening, I will further my scientific knowledge by checking to see if slugs catch fire or not.  Slugs be warned!
16/05/08 Well, summer has now definitely gone - the warm weather of earlier in the week has turned into cold rain!  It's supposed to last for another week or so, and then we are back to sunshine once again, which is timely for my trip to London.  Two other pieces of good news - the Lithuania meeting has been postponed to 9th and 10th of June, so I can go after all.  In addition, it is almost certain that I will get a trip to Las Vegas in early July.  There is a certain irony there, because a friend of mine who currently lives in Las Vegas should have emigrated to England by that time!  Sara should also be happily married by now, so congratulations to Sara and Chris for that.
10/05/08 Well summer is definitely here as the temperatures here in England hit 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) in Didcot today.  I've decided that I won't be able to make the Lithuania trip in a couple of weeks' time, as I can't squeeze everything in before going to London.  I've also decided that I'm going to get a new car in the next week or so, almost certainly another V6 -engine Vectra.  Not good on the fuel economy or CO2 emissions, but they're good to drive, and that helps make up for the running costs!
08/05/08 Hey - two diary entries in two days!  Life must be good!  I booked a few days in London today for the end of May, and it will be nice to see the capitol city again and take in the sights.  That same week I have the chance to go and see Vilnius in Lithuania, which I am finding hard to resist.  I'm told that Vilnius is a very beautiful city.  I expect I will end up saying "yes please" to the chance to go there!
07/05/08 It looks as though summer is nearly upon us, as the weather has been very pleasant so far this week, with temperatures in the low 70's and lots of sunshine.  Tuesday was my first day back at work after the holiday, and I was delighted to find that not much was waiting for me when I got back - I was expecting some crisis or another to have taken place!  I am now thinking about my next little holiday, which will be a few days in London, within the next month or so.  This is the trouble with holidays and travelling - the more you do it, the more you want to do it.
02/05/08 Got back from our holiday in Yorkshire today, and as ever, it is so sad to be back home again after a lovely week away.  The weather was really nice for us, in spite of the (useless) weather forecasts here telling us that it would be wet and windy up in Yorkshire for the days that we were up there.  I managed to take close on 1,000 photos, and as you might guess, there will be a few new web pages to come!  Highlights of the holiday included seeing Whitby, Castle Howard, Scarborough and York (where of course I spent three happy years at the university).
24/04/08 At last I'm ready for my holiday in Yorkshire!  I've managed to get all of my work done, and I'm all set to go.  The weather here in England has been gorgeous over the last few days, though it has been a bit rainy today.  Never mind, as long as I get more sunshine than rain next week, then I will be happy!  My camera batteries are nicely charged up, and so I anticipate taking loads of photos, and getting a few new web pages produced!  A work opportunity appeared this week that might see me spending some time over the next few months in the Lake District, and needless to say - if it happens - I will take the opportunity to take a good look around and get some Lake District web pages onto the website.  I also have my Astra back after the collision with the deer, though whether I will hold on to it or trade it in is something that I am still pondering.
18/04/08 This time next Friday I will be in the village of Flaxton in Yorkshire, starting my (much anticipated) holiday.  I hope the weather is better than it is in Didcot right now.  Have made good progress this week on the work I mentioned in the previous diary entry, and was also asked this week if I would like to be considered to do some more work along these lines, which would mean me spending more time in Cumbria.  That appeals to me very much, and so I said yes, I would like to be considered.  The only disappointing thing about this week is that I still don't have my Astra back after hitting a deer a few weeks ago.
12/04/08 Just two weeks now until I go away on holiday to Yorkshire, and I can't wait!  It's a pity I have quite a lot of work to do before then.  Indeed, the managing director of our part of Serco reminded me and a colleague of the importance of this particular line of work, and the fact that everyone's reputation is tarnished if we fail.  So, no pressure there then!!  The weather is quite gorgeous at the moment, typical spring weather in the UK, and hopefully it will hold for the holiday.
06/04/08 Woke up this morning to the most incredible sight - about four inches of snow had fallen overnight!  It didn't last long because the heat of the day soon melted it away, but this is the largest accumulation that central / southern England has seen for a long time, and in April, too!  I had fun this morning going out and taking some photos, and I wasn't the only one.  I met lots of people out with their cameras, recording an event that may not be seen in this part of England for some time to come.
04/04/08 Got back from the lake District a little earlier today, after a fairly satisfying trip.  The weather was lovely and I was able to take a few photos, which was good, though I managed to hurt me knee in the process of walking down one of the hills, and it is still a little sore now.  I should point out that I was actually there on business, which went fairly well, though as one recent correspondent pointed out, I do seem to be in a bit of a rut at work right now.  Still, as I am very fond of telling other people, life could be far worse!
31/03/08 Had the news today that my Astra is going to be repaired (i.e. is not a write-off) following my collision with the deer last week.  It's going to take them about two weeks to do the repairs, so I will be keeping hold of the Caddy for a bit longer!  It gets its ultimate test tomorrow, as I'm taking it up to Cumbria on business for three days.  It's a very comfortable car, so it should be a pleasure to drive all that distance.  I was supposed to be in Las Vegas at the end of this week, but if the weather is as gorgeous up there as it has been for the last few days here, then I will probably forget all about Las Vegas!
28/03/08 The major event of this week was me hitting an adult dear as I travelled back to Didcot on Monday afternoon.  You wouldn't think such a collision could cause so much damage - it was enough to nicely crumple the bonnet of my Astra, and was also enough to trigger the airbags.  I'm now awaiting a decision on whether the car is repairable, or whether it will be written off by the insurers.  On a positive note, I have a courtesy car - a Cadillac BLS, which is not what you would expect to get here in England!  It's a nice car, and is very easy to drive, but the very soft suspension shows off its American roots.
19/03/08 Attended a meeting yesterday that demonstrated that the next few months are going to be very tough at work.  It's all good stuff, but I wish they would give us more time to get stuff done!  Never mind, it's Easter in a couple of days and that means a couple of days off.  It's a gorgeous day here today, but the weather forecast is for bad weather this weekend.  Oh joy!
13/03/08 Worked from home today to wait in for the lady who comes to inspect my house.  It's now 4 pm in the afternoon and still no sign of her.  The oven on the cooker went "bang" last night, so the most urgent matter for the estate agent lady is to get me a new cooker!  Congratulations are in order - to Sara and Christian, for their upcoming wedding.  It just goes to show that online relationships can blossom into something very special, if the chemistry is there.
09/03/08 My parents' part of the Cotswolds was headline news in the UK this weekend, but for all the wrong reasons.  The A429 road from Moreton to Stow was scene of a car accident that resulted in seven deaths.  When I drove past this morning on my way to the shops, there was a pile of flowers at the scene of the crash.  Very sad news indeed.
07/03/08 A mixed week for me this week.  Sleeping has been a bit hit and miss, but on the whole I feel better than I did last week.  On the down side, I have had to turn down a trip to Las Vegas for Yucca Mountain work, as I am committed to doing something else in early April.  Not happy about that - especially as the invite came one day after I had already made the other commitment!  Oh well, that's life.  A colleague of mine at work paid me a lovely compliment yesterday - while I was talking to her she interrupted and said "oh you have the most gorgeous brown eyes!".  Put a smile on my face, that's for sure!
29/02/08 The end of a rather unsatisfactory week.  For the last couple of weeks or so, I have been suffering from insomnia - in particular being unable to get to sleep in the first place - and this Thursday and Friday it really caught up with me.  I ended up having to have these two days off because I was sufficiently tired that I would not be able to work properly.  So it's cost me two days' leave - thus far.  Hopefully we'll see an improvement next week!
27/02/08 An interesting day today, which started off with an earthquake in the central regions of England, and which apparently was felt all over the country.  I slept through it of course, and felt and heard nothing!  Work today was not great.  I arrived in intending to do one thing, and instead had to spend most of the day working on revisions to a report.  To be honest, it's stuff like this that really makes me wonder if being a consultant in a "sensitive" industry like the nuclear industry is really what I want to do with my life.
22/02/08 Had the day off today and had planned to go to Bath for a visit and to take some photos, but the weather was not cooperative, and so I didn't bother.  I just lounged around the house instead.  Also happy birthday to my father, who is 69 today.  Thanks to Sharon for sending me some great photos of the recent eclipse of the moon, as seen from Iowa!
19/02/08 Had a very pleasant weekend, with a continuation of our fine weather.  I took my parents for lunch on Sunday, which was very nice - if a touch expensive!  Have been having a very interesting exchange with Connie over the last day or so about life after death, and what happens to us when we finally die.  Whatever the actual answer is, one thing is for certain - we will all find out one day!
15/02/08 Had a pretty good week at work, and made lots of progress on a fairly important report that needs to be done in the not-too-distant future.  Checked my work emails earlier, and was reminded that I was supposed to collect some CDs from a customer earlier this week - oops, forgot all about that!  Will have to go and collect them first thing Monday.  Am taking my parents out for lunch this Sunday, which should be nice - if they remembered to book a table at the restaurant ...  Prompted by my friend Sharon, I have decided that the next addition to this website will be a section on my favourite recipes.  So keep watching, and that will appear soon.
11/02/08 This weekend saw the most gorgeous weekend of the year so far!  Beautiful sunshine and blue skies - a bit cold in the evenings, but a perfect temperature during the day.  The daffodils and other flowers are starting to come out, which tells us that spring must be on the way!
08/02/08 After a few nights without getting too much sleep, I was really pleased to sleep solidly from 10 pm through to 7:30 am this morning.  Plus, we had the most beautiful early spring weather today that you could possibly imagine.  The feel-good factor induced by nice weather makes living worth while!  I just hope it lasts through the weekend!  The other thing of interest that happened this week is that we got news that we have voted that our latest pay offer at work is not good enough - so it looks as though strike action may be on the way!
06/02/08 Important meeting yesterday to see the various nuclear regulatory bodies in the UK, which meant an early start to get to the north of England - but luckily an early finish to the meeting too!  So I got home from the north of England at a reasonable hour.  The meeting went very well, which is nice, and I think we made a reasonably good impression.
01/02/08 Luckily I'm now back to full fitness, and was rather touched by how many of my colleagues at work asked how I was when I went back in on Wednesday.  Managed to catch up pretty well on the work that I missed over the first two days of the week, and so I finished the week quite happy.  Missed an important meeting on Tuesday, but apparently that went fine in my absence.  In fact it probably went better for me not being there!  The next big event is a day out on Tuesday for another important meeting, which unfortunately means a 5 am start, but at least we'll get back the same day.
29/01/08 Following the gorgeous weekend, I've managed to be ill for the last couple of days, and so have been at home rather than work.  Guess there'll be a whole load of things for me to do when I go back in tomorrow.  I can't wait.
27/01/08 The most notable thing about this weekend has been the absolutely gorgeous weather that we had.  Reasonable warm and lots of lovely blue skies.  It works wonders for improving the moods of people, including me!  First job for tomorrow at work is to find out what is happening with an important meeting that is supposed to be happening on Tuesday afternoon - so far there has been no agenda and no confirmation that we're even having the meeting.  Fabulous organisation at work here!
25/01/08 A very eventful week this week at work, including two days up in Sellafield.  For those that don't know, Sellafield is a nuclear site, and getting onto these sites causes a lot of fuss and bother.  Unfortunately my boss got taken ill on the first night, and I had the pleasure of driving back down to Didcot in his new car!  Luckily Dave is a good passenger!  The meeting went fine, though it was left to me and another colleague to do the presentation that we had prepared.  Had a strange phone call this morning from an American woman who seemed to want to help me market this website.  Talking of which, I have decided to alter it again, so Sunday evening will see a slightly altered version of the menu bar on the left.
20/01/08 Regular readers will note that this is a backdated diary entry - have been too busy over the last few days to enter anything.  Actually, that's not quite true - I just forgot for most of the time!  This weekend was nice and quiet, as usual, though it will make a change for us to see some sunshine in southern and central England.
13/01/08 Had fun this morning helping my father move an old sofa out of my parents' living room and into the garage.  We thought it was going to be hard - then we started and thought it was going to be easy - and then demolished a light fitting while being too casual about the moving job!  I'm hopeful that this week will be more interesting at work than it was last week.  Maybe it was just the shock of my first full week at work that got to me, so I will be optimistic when I go in tomorrow morning that things will be better.  A bit of sunshine would help a lot, too ...
07/01/08 A strange day at work today - I can't quite put my finger on it, but it was as though nothing really happened, and I didn't achieve anything at all.  I guess it's because some people are still out for their Christmas holidays and the rest of us are kind of easing our way into the new year.  One thing's for sure - I don't think this feeling will last.  Or at least I hope not.  There's nothing worse than being bored at work.  I also hope the weather improves in the next few days or so.  Patchy rain was the order of the day today, the type where you can't predict what will be happening in 10 minutes time.  Anyway, I'm rambling, so it must be nearly time for bed!
03/01/08 Since I had today off from work, I decided to do some work on my website.  I have added a new sections with some jokes and other funny stuff in it (none of it my own work, I hasten to add!), and have put all my photographic stuff into a single section.  It all looks much tidier to me, now.  Tomorrow will be my first day back at work after the holidays.  I wonder what emergencies will be awaiting me when I get in at about 8 am tomorrow!
01/01/08 First of all, a very happy New Year to everyone who reads this diary!  My own Xmas was mixed.  It was very nice to be away from work and to have some relaxation time.  However, the British weather did not play ball, and so my week's holiday in Yorkshire was not quite as splendid as it might have been.  Not to worry, taking a holiday in the middle of December is not the best idea if you are looking for sunshine and balmy conditions.  Have you made any resolutions for the New Year?  I'm still pondering mine.  Giving up smoking is one that always passes through my mind, but somehow never seems to be put into practice.  Maybe one year I will be able to summon up enough willpower to do it!
20/12/07 I have to say, this has been one of the worst weeks that I can remember in recent times.  Not only am I in the midst of quite a nasty cold at the moment, but it looks like I won't be finishing my 2007 work this week.  This means I will have to go into work on Christmas Eve, and that means I lose three days of the Yorkshire holiday.  I could probably thrash through the work and get it done by the end of tomorrow, but feeling under the weather means that I don't have the energy to do so, and so at the moment, the best option seems to be to take it easy and get stuff done on Monday.
14/12/07 The end of a week that has been, in some ways, rather unsatisfactory.  For one thing, we have failed in our attempts to complete a piece of work by Monday (or we will fail, even though Monday is still a few days away).  Second, we had an annoyed subcontractor who threatened to stop working for us if he didn't get paid quickly!  Fair point, since he had been waiting months to be paid.  I'm glad Christmas is just a few days away - though I will have to think about buying presents soon!
07/12/07 Very busy week this week, and there could be more of the same next week.  Had a very peculiar dream last night.  I dreamt I was back at the house where I grew up, and there was to be a road race that would start at our house.  I of course decided I was going to film it, but as all the nice cars arrived, I found that someone or something was blocking my view through the camera, so I never got any shots of the nice cars.  Then the dream switched to me watching an interview of a man with a balloon for a head, with eyes, ears and nose stuck onto the balloon!  the funny thing was, Mr Balloon-Head was saying amusing things, and I was laughing in my sleep!  Very bizarre.
03/12/07 Not the greatest of days today, and I'm expecting some fireworks tomorrow!  At least I managed to avoid any encounters with the police, which made a nice change.  One of my colleagues at work told me that he had been stopped for something similar, which suggests one of two things.  Either not using lights is more common than I might have thought, or all scientists are equally absent-minded!  Had a fleeting thought about putting a profile back onto some penpal websites, but will leave that for another time, I think.
30/11/07 An interesting week with plenty of highs, and just a few lows along the way.  The highs include getting plenty of work done, and also managing to figure out how to put embedded content onto my website.  watch out for more of the same!  The major low point of the week was being stopped by the police for not having my lights on!  You have to see the funny side of these things, but I do get concerned by how forgetful I am becoming these days!
23/11/07 As usual, I'm glad that the week is over and I have two days in which to relax.  I believe that we have my brother Rob coming to visit this weekend, and I also think he took his driving test this week, so I should find out how he got on.  If he drives down, I must remember to park somewhere well out of the way!  (Sorry Rob!).  Looks like I might be quite busy next week - to my annoyance I was dragged into a meeting this morning, with no warning, and then the boss was looking  to me to volunteer to help prepare a work proposal related to it.  I owe Dave quite a lot, so I will do what I can to help.
21/11/07 A sorry day for English football, as we lost 3-2 to Croatia in our final qualifier for the European Championships next year.  So we're out of the tournament.  The problem is that this country doesn't breed fighters any more.  Children grow up pampered by a nanny state that discourages them from taking any risks, and as a result they don't know how to fight and scrap any more.  The first of this new breed are now starting to show up in the England football team.  Not to mention the fact that the England players are paid phenomenal sums of money by their club sides, and I wonder if they really care about playing for the national team.  Never mind, there are worse things going on in the world, and life will go on here in England!
18/11/07 A pleasant weekend, in spite of the awful weather.  On Saturday evening, we went to a concert in Shipston to see the Ynysowen male voice choir.  I didn't think it would be my scene, but it turned out to be very good indeed.  Another interesting aspect of the weekend was that I finally got to try out the windscreen wipers on my Astra.  Funny how men get excited by such things as using the windscreen wipers on their new car.  It's my brother Rob's birthday tomorrow, so happy birthday Rob!
15/11/07 The end of a rather odd day.  I didn't seem to work too hard today, but I did get plenty of stuff done.  I am starting to lose patience with the Serco financial system though.  It seems the system is incapable of paying invoices to people who have done work for us, and I am on the verge of wanting to make a formal complaint to the people who run it.  One of our nicer contractors is starting to get pissed off about an invoice that has not been paid yet - after four months - and it seems that I am powerless to do anything about it!  The "financial system" reigns supreme, and if "it" doesn't want to pay - for whatever reason - then I seem to be stuck with that decision!
11/11/07 Remembrance Sunday today, a time of course to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can all be free.  Apart from that, the weekend was a chance for me to recover form what was quite a busy and hectic week last week.  I have no idea if this week will be any better, but I will keep my fingers crossed for an easier time than the end of last week!. 
05/11/07 Guy Fawkes day today, so lots of fireworks going off all over the place this evening.  It seems that winter is slowly making its appearance now, as the last few days here in England have been quite cool, with fog and frost in the early morning.  Still, the days brighten up nicely and make you want to be outside, rather than inside working. 
31/10/07 Got my new car today, and she's an absolute beauty!  I was slightly sorry to see the back of the Vectra, after all it had been a very good car for three years.  But getting the Astra has made up for that.  On another note, I had only one lot of kids call round tonight for Halloween.  Surprising, and the significance of Halloween seems to be diminishing in this country. 
28/10/07 An interesting day today, as the NFL played a "regular" game at Wembley Stadium here in England.  The game was between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Giants, and I watched part of it.  "Grid-iron" would be a good and enjoyable game for us Brits, if it were just a bit more continuous, without all the annoying breaks between plays! 
26/10/07 The end of a very busy, but satisfying week.  Going back to the start of the week, commiserations to the England rugby team.  You did your best in the world cup final, but lost out on a bad refereeing decision and probably were beaten by the better side.  Never mind, we'll win it next time around!  Next, lots of hard work for me this week, but I pushed on some of the projects that needed it, so I'm happy about that.  Finally, I bought a new car this afternoon, a Vauxhall Astra diesel that drove beautifully, and I got a good deal for it too.  (Tip:  the best time to buy a car is at the end of the month, when the salespeople have end-of-month targets to meet).  I think that Astra and I will have a very happy few years together.
20/10/07 A very big day today, England play South Africa in the rugby world cup final.  It's a miracle we got there in some ways, after being beaten so heavily (by South Africa) in our first game, but we made it and now we play the Boks again.  Just so long as we give it our best shot at winning, that's what counts.  On other matters, the weather is just gorgeous here in England at the moment, perfect autumnal conditions with blue skies and lots of sunshine, but cool.   Makes me want to go on holiday, maybe to the Lake District for a few days.
18/10/07 Not much to report for this week, except to say that I have more work to do now than I thought would be the case at the start of the week, owing to a colleague of mine becoming indisposed.  Also, happy birthday to Marion!  I hope you get lots of nice cards and presents, sweetie!
16/10/07 A few weeks ago we had the sadness of Marion's mother passing away.  Well now we have some good news to celebrate.  Congratulations to Melanie for becoming a mother, and of course congratulations to Connie for becoming a grandmother!
12/10/07 Wow, just exactly how much time has elapsed between this and the last diary entry?  Ages.  The major thing that has happened in the last three weeks was my trip to Washington DC, for two days of meetings and two days of sightseeing.  The meeting days went very well, and my presentation was very well received by the Nevada lawyers and the other scientists who were there.  Friday morning was interesting as I got to attend a Congressional briefing, which was fascinating as the Nevada representatives asked questions of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff.  The sightseeing was very good too, and in a day and a half I think I managed to cover most of the sights of interest - though my feet have only just recovered after all that walking!  I think the highlight of the visit was seeing Arlington Cemetery - a very moving place to visit and a testament to the bad side of war.  Strolling the Mall on Saturday afternoon was cool too, though perhaps "cool" is the wrong word as it was very hot and humid - but worth it!
21/09/07 Time for me to start planning for my trip to Washington in a few days time.  I will basically have two free days looking around the Capital city, and  I will do what I did when I went to London a few months back, namely try and do a rapid tour of everything, rather than see just a few things in detail.  On another matter, good luck to England in the rugby this weekend - if we lose the game on Saturday then we are out of the rugby world cup ...
14/09/07 The end of a fairly satisfying week, albeit a somewhat busy one.  It does finally seem as though I'll soon be getting rid of a report that has been causing me considerable headaches for the last few months or so, which is good.  I still haven't finished my new musing about embarrassing moments, so I will try to do that this weekend.  The problem is trying to find 10 genuinely embarrassing things that have happened to me in the last 39 years.  Perhaps I'll include a few of my brother's worst moments, to spice things up a bit!
11/09/07 A sad anniversary today, of course, and my sympathy goes out to all those who were influenced and affected by what happened six years ago from today.  Not too much happening right now, except that I am tired since I didn't sleep well last night.  I'm working on a new musing, all about my most embarrassing moments in life, and do check out my music videos page, since all the videos can be downloaded once again.
07/09/07 The end of quite a busy week for me, especially towards the end, so I'm very glad that the weekend is now here.  Number one priority this weekend, of course, is to get a book on Washington DC!  Otherwise, not much else to report, except that the weather here in Didcot has been quite hot and steamy over the last few days.  Maybe summer has finally arrived!
04/09/07 Very little to report from here, hence the lack of diary entries over the last couple of weeks or so.  I have been doing some "soul-searching" in the last few days or so, in order to convince myself that I have a much better life than I think I do.  I decided to come up with some "rules" to adhere to, in order to try and get myself out of the rut that I described in the entries below.  Some good news is that I am going to be in Washington DC from October 2nd to October 6th.  I have to attend a meeting on the 3rd and 4th, but will be staying over to do a couple of days of sightseeing.  On the negative side, sympathy to Marion, whose mother died last Thursday, and also to Sara, whose house (along with others) suffered a serious fire last week.
20/08/07 A much easier day for me today, though it did start off badly as I had to submit a work proposal by 12 pm,. and that came as a shock first thing on a Monday morning.  The other "shock" is that the weather is so cool right now that I am sitting here wearing a sweater - on 20th August!  August is usually the hot month in the UK, and a few months ago some idiot connected with weather forecasting said that we were going to have a very hot summer this year.  Weather forecasting seems to be something that the authorities find very difficult in this country.
17/08/07 A very busy Thursday and Friday for me, as I had to get a report finished by the end of today, which I'm very pleased to say I was able to manage - though I feel as though I am about to collapse right now!  Still, my boss was very helpful with a problem that arose at work earlier in the week, so I owed it to him to help him out before he went on holiday.  I intend to relax and do absolutely nothing this weekend, except perhaps I might reflect on a job well done over the last couple of days.
13/08/07 Wow, nearly a week without a diary entry - just goes to show that there isn't much going on right now.  Had a chat with my boss today about my work and where I'm going with my future.  As ever, Dave was helpful and concerned, which is one of the reasons why he is such a good manager.  I was thinking about resigning and going for something completely different, but I'll see what he and I can come up with between us.  This Saturday was the start of the football season here in the UK, and I had a few bets, just to make life more interesting.
07/08/07 I had a lovely weekend - my parents and I went to an old favourite restaurant for Sunday lunch, and it was just as good as it ever was.  What was even more surprising is that the price has barely changed - still less than £14 for a three-course meal.  We were blessed with a lovely sunny day and Winslow was just as nice as it was when my parents lived there.  Finally for this entry, a big thank you to Connie, Sharon, Sara and Gwen for the birthday cards, and a special thank you to Marion for the lovely birthday presents that you sent!  I think I will make myself "photo of the week" to show off my presents!
03/08/07 At last the weekend is here, and we still have some lovely sunshine here in England.  The big thing for me this weekend will be my "birthday lunch", this Sunday.  We're going to a restaurant called The Bell in Winslow, which certainly serves the best food that I have ever tasted, and hopefully has not changed too much in the 10 years since I was last there!  Winslow is the place where my parents lived before thy moved to Shipston.  Some more news on my upcoming trip to Washington DC - it looks as though this will be in October.  There was some talk that it might have been held in Las Vegas, but it has been confirmed as Washington.  I don't' care where it is - a trip is a trip and anywhere will do!
01/08/07 Happy birthday to me!  Just one year away from the big 40 now, though I have to say I don't feel like it.  I fell no different from when I was 16, at least mentally.  When I was 16, being 40 seemed very old indeed and a very long way away.  Now it's just one year away, it doesn't feel that old at all.
31/07/07 Got lots of work done today, which is good as tomorrow is my birthday and I don't intend to work too hard tomorrow!  A few new features to the website too, including a guestbook and a quiz (or rather, some brain teasers to keep you amused).  More sunshine today, in fact the weather could not have been better if you had got down on your knees and prayed for good weather.
30/07/07 A very rare sight in Oxfordshire today, namely some sunshine!  It doesn't feel like summer though, it feels rather autumnal, as though it were a sunny day in mid-October, rather than the end of July.  The other good thing is that I managed to finish off a report that has been on my desk for about six weeks now, so that's a relief - it means I can get on with all the other things that have built up in the mean time!  I intend this evening to finish off some new features for the website, including a guestbook, a new tunes page and a quiz.
26/07/07 Finally, it seems that the flood conditions are getting slightly better, as the waters start to recede and give people some relief.  We're still nowhere near summer though.  Here in England, the temperature should be in the high 70's and early 80's, but it feels right now like an autumn or early spring evening.  I even had to wear a sweater last night, it was that cold!  Cider is keeping me warm this evening, so no need for jumpers or anything like that, even though it is a cool evening this evening.  New musing put online, too.
23/07/07 The floods and conditions in the UK seem to be getting worse.  River surges tend to come a while after the rain has fallen, and national TV crews are in the town of Abingdon at the moment, which is about 5 miles away from Didcot and which is expected to be suffering soon because of the Thames overflowing.  Supermarkets in the worst-affected areas are running out of bottled water, as the water supplies in the affected areas are cut off.  The power is out in some areas too, and some areas can't be reached except by helicopter.  Looters are stealing from abandoned cars and houses.  I hope those who feel they have to do that sort of thing die a painful death.
22/07/07 The news here is still dominated by the severe flooding that has afflicted the UK, including where my parents live.  Didcot (or at least my part) has got away relatively unscathed.  It seems that there is no relief in sight, at least for the time being.  Views are mixed on whether we will get some summer weather in the near future.  The "experts" thought we might get some relief from the rain in August, but now they are not so sure.  Still, forecasting the weather is a difficult job and I don't envy that work.
20/07/07 About the most interesting thing today has been the appalling weather that we have had.  It rained all day, and it was so hard when I was driving home that the traffic very nearly ground to a total halt.  The whole country was given a severe weather warning, and for once they got it right!  Otherwise, not much to report.  I still haven't finished my report at work, which is rather annoying, though it won't take much longer - hopefully!
18/07/07 Had the afternoon off today so as to take a breather from report writing.  Have been doing this for about four weeks now, and it can get very tedious.  The solution for me is to "mix it up" a bit, and work at different times and during the evenings.  In that way, I can build up leave and then take it when I feel I need it.  Otherwise, not much happening here right now.  The sun is shining for the first time in a long time, and I now feel much better after being laid low on Monday.
13/07/07 So far, nothing terrible has happened to me on this Friday 13th!  In fact I've had a rather nice day, as I took this afternoon off through "time off in lieu", and went for a guided tour of the Diamond Light facility (a synchrotron) that has recently been built at the Harwell site.  It kind of reminded me of how much fund doing fundamental science can be, though as a colleague reminded me, there are different sorts of political tensions in jobs like that, and not to under-estimate the style of working that we have at Serco.  He's right, too.
12/07/07 Not too much to report this week, as I've spent much of it writing a report that is supposed to be delivered this Friday, but I won't make it as it needs more work.  Luckily they're cool about it at work.  One good thing is that the weather in England has turned into something like what we expect from summer, with some sunshine and reasonably warm temperatures.
09/07/07 Hmm, it has been quite a while since we last had a new diary entry!  The last week or so has seen some adventures when travelling to London last Tuesday in the midst of the terrorist threats here in the UK, and also the difficulty of getting my Vectra repaired in a reasonable time!  The upside of being without my Vectra for a few days is that I was given - for free - a nice rental car that was absolutely brand new and that I enjoyed driving for a few days.  I have the Vectra back now and that's a relief, as the Corsa rental car was a bit underpowered.  The fun in London stemmed from the fact that they kept suspending and then re-opening lines on the tube, because a number of suspect packages were found at various locations.  Never mind, I made it there and back, safe and sound!  Also added a new Musing entry today, too.
01/07/07 Well the last few days of this week have been good and bad in equal measure.  First the good.  It looks virtually certain that I will be getting a business trip to Washington DC in the not-too-distant future, for a week.  I will stay on for a few days of course to look around properly and take photos.  Now for the bad - my Vectra failed its MOT on Thursday and I might be looking at an expensive repair bill.  It might just be getting close to the time to think about replacing it, before it gets too unreliable and expensive!  Plus the weather is still totally appalling here in England right now.  Surely summer can't be too far away?
27/06/07 Had the afternoon off today to get the new version of my website up and running.  OK, well it's not totally new, but there about 40 new pages on London and North Carolina, and also a new menu layout on the left.  I will probably have to make up a bit of time this week with work commitments, but it is worth it to make some progress on the website.  Added a new Musing too, since those have been languishing for a bit.
26/06/07 I'm delighted to say that my new web pages are very nearly done, and I hope to have them online in the next day or two.  At long last, the rain seems to have stopped in my part of England, though other parts have suffered severe flooding.  Otherwise, not much happening here right now.  But that's not necessarily a bad thing - no news is good news, as some people say.
24/06/07 Well the trip to Manchester wasn't the best trip that I've ever been on, the hotel wasn't up to much (though it was cheap) and I think I might have been located in a not-very-good part of town.  It's been raining non-stop for the last few days here, and it is supposed to do so for the next few days.  I like things cool, but i can do without the rain!
19/06/07 Just time for a quick diary entry as there is a big thunderstorm approaching, and the thunder is shaking the house already!  I discovered to my annoyance that I have to go to Manchester for a meeting on Thursday, which means travelling on Wednesday afternoon.  It's an important meeting - the aim is to identify how the UK regulations on radioactive waste disposal should be updated - but irritating nonetheless.  On the up side, I might get some nice photos of Manchester.  It's been some years since I was last in Manchester, so it will be nice to be back for a day.
17/06/07 Well I ended up going to London on Thursday and Friday, and had a fantastic time!  The weather forecast was lousy, but in fact the weather wasn't too bad at all, and certainly no rain.  This was in stark contrast to the rest of England, which suffered flooding and all sorts during the last couple of days.  It was a bit humid in London, which made walking around hard work.  I got to see loads of sights, and have a ton of photos of various different parts of London, from the Tower through to Bond Street and Regents Park.  It was a memorable two days and a real change to be in the hustle and bustle of the city, rather than the peace and quiet of the countryside.  I could get to like the city, but I was amused that the receptionist in the hotel told me that she would prefer to live in the countryside rather than London!  I intend to put up some new web pages of the sights in London, in the next week or two.
12/06/07 Hmm, the weather forecast for London is very variable for Thursday and Friday, so I am in two minds about whether to postpone the trip or not.  The BBC website forecast for Friday has changed overnight - from rain all day to sunny all day - so I'm not sure the weather authorities have any idea at all about what the weather will be like!  I might just chance it and go anyway, I think.  If it rains then I'll get a bit wet.  Big deal.
10/06/07 I booked my two-day stay in London earlier this evening, and yesterday I prepared a list of places to visit.  I'm really looking forward to this visit, and it will be so nice to see some more of my capital city.  I'm a country boy at heart, but seeing the city for a few days is exciting too.  Was also pleased to see that my father is looking much better now, after his heart troubles over the last few weeks.  Coming off morphine has been the best thing to happen to him, and I hope he continues to make good progress.
08/06/07 The end of the week at last, and I'm pleased to say that I got a report finished by lunch time today, so that I was able to "toil" this afternoon.  Have decided that I need another trip to London to take some more photos, and have Friday next week set aside for this.  I really feel that I should spend more time in my own capital city!  Had a strange thought at work today, which was about how depressing it would be to spend an entire lifetime working in the consultancy business.  It left me wondering if the urge for a career change is looming on the horizon.
06/06/07 Did I say last time that warm weather has arrived?  Well, it's been and gone and it's really quite cold here right now.  Plenty of work for me this week, preparing safety case documentation for a radioactive waste repository in the south of England.  Had a minor accident last night - tried to switch off my CD player with my foot and accidentally ended up pushing the on-off switch inside the player itself.  Yes, that's about as exciting as it gets here right now!
03/06/07 Wow, so we're into June and summer is just a couple of weeks away.  Warm weather has finally arrived here in the UK, and with it so have the barbecues and other evening activities for families.  I'm pleased to say that my father was looking much better this weekend, though he did forget to put the potatoes on to cook today and got told off by my mother for it!  Not much happening for me this weekend, though my hayfever has now arrived and I am sneezing away merrily as a result.
31/05/07 Well the weather has relented slightly here in England, but I'm still wearing a jumper to keep out the cold!  Making good progress with my first major task at work since returning from holiday, good enough in fact to be able to "toil" this afternoon and do some website work.  I'm thinking about having another day out in London, to add some more photos to that section of the website.  Finally, I have come to the decision that I need to buy an electric mower, as my front garden is like a jungle and I think I will give myself a hernia if I try and push my manual mower through all that grass ... 
30/05/07 Very miserable day today as the weather seems determined to keep things cold and damp here in Didcot.  Sad day today, as I learned that our business administrator, Sally, is moving onto new pastures in July.  I'll miss her as she was one of the nicer people in the department, and I wrote and told her so, which she seemed to appreciate.  Good luck to you too, Marion, should you ever read this in the future.
26/05/07 Long weekend this weekend, as Monday is a holiday in the UK.  The weather has turned full circle now and it is cold and raining as I'm typing this - just like a winter's day.  I'm up visiting my parents, but will probably return back to Didcot early tomorrow.  I loved every second of my holiday in NC, but in some ways it is rather nice to be back home and among my familiar surroundings.  The one thing I do miss is the friendliness of the North Carolinians - Brits have the ability to look through you, as though you're not there, but Americans don't seem to have that feature in the personalities.
24/05/07 First day back at work after the holiday, and no major issues, emergencies or crises to deal with.  I also was informed that I am being awarded quite a nice pay rise, which was good.  It did occur to me, while I was sitting there, that it felt as though I had never been away.  However, I have lots of lovely photos and snippets of video to remind me that the opposite is true.  I couldn't help noticing that the weather in the UK - hot and humid - is much less pleasant than the cool but sunny weather that we had during the holiday.
21/05/07 Well today is the day to come home, and so after saying goodbye to Connie I went through security at Asheville and waited for the 2:30 pm flight - which eventually took off at 3:30 pm.  Luckily (or so I thought when I got to Atlanta) the flight back to Gatwick was also delayed.  That flight eventually took off at 7:30 pm.  So I got back to England (without sleeping on the plane) at about 8:30 pm.  At Gatwick train station I met an interesting lady who was a journalist for various national publications - and since she was a fellow smoker we were able to pass the time waiting for the train.  It turned out that she lived in the town where I was born - small world.  I eventually got back to Moreton-in-Marsh train station at about 1:00 pm UK time, and so the holiday was well and truly over.  And I was knackered!  I was delighted that Connie took the time to call to see that I got back home OK.
19/05/07 I decided that after a number of leisurely days, what I really needed was some exercise, so I took the hike to Bridal Veil Falls.  This is only a 4.5-mile round hike, but there a few gradients and the day was hot.  Still, it was worth the effort as the falls are breathtaking and I got some great photos.  Was amused to see that my coffee cup had the helpful advice "be careful - this may be hot" written on the side of it.
18/05/07 Today was the first day that I began to realise that my holiday is coming to an end, as my mind started to wander onto what would be waiting for me when I got back to work.  Also this was the last full day with Connie, so we repeated what we did on Wednesday, i.e. a nice walk followed by a leisurely lunch.  More beer and music in the evening!
16/05/07 Very pleasant day today as Connie and I went for a walk in the Dupont State Forest and then on to Hendersonville for lunch.  We went back to our old-style diner, and the waitress there was trying out her English accent again.  I think part of the reason she's so glad to see us is that we have been quite good tippers on the previous occasions that we've been there!  Nice evening of beer and music for me, once Connie had gone home.
15/05/07 I decided that today was the day for me to have a dip in the hotel pool, and was gratified to discover that I could still swim!  Connie commandeered my camera and took lots of photos of me in the pool - to my embarrassment!  Later on I had a sit by the pool and watched (discretely!) two teenagers do everything except have full-on sex while they larked around in the pool.
13/05/07 No Connie today, so I did a tour of waterfalls and other notable local sites, and took loads of photos.
12/05/07 Graduation day, and a very early start to get to the college on time.  Luckily the ceremony doesn't last for too long, and we are away in time for lunch.  I noted that the ceremony was very formal - including singing of the national anthem - and I couldn't help contrasting this with the nature of graduation ceremonies in the UK.  Sometimes these are "let's get it over and done with" in style, whereas here the day is arranged so that the students have something to remember and be proud of.
11/05/07 Tomorrow is Connie's graduation day from college, and I am going to attend with her, since none of her family can be bothered to attend and watch.  Today there is a rehearsal scheduled, and luckily the organisers realise that it is hot and humid so they keep the rehearsal as short as possible.  Connie and I had dinner at Applebee's restaurant, which is kind of our own personal celebration of her graduation after three years in college.
09/05/07 Two of the last three days have been spent in Connie's company, and those have included days out to Hendersonville and Waynesville.  In Hendersonville we have found a nice old-style diner with friendly service and food that is OK, without being anything to write home about.  The waitress who served us spotted my English accent and found that very cute - taking the opportunity to practice her English accent on me!  It's a good job the rental car has satellite navigation, otherwise me might never have got to Waynesville!
06/05/07 Spent most of the first weekend without Connie, and so took the opportunity to get out and take some photos of the various local sites, such as the mountains and waterfalls.
04/05/07 Was up bright and early for the flight to Atlanta  - and thence to Asheville - this morning.  To my surprise, the security at Gatwick didn't seem to be any worse than it has been before, though flying to the USA always entails extra checks.  The flights themselves were uneventful.  I was sat next to a girl on the flight to Atlanta who was also going to visit someone she'd met online, and was just as excited as I was.  The flight to Asheville was fun, as it always is with the good-natured North Carolinians on board.  Connie was there to meet me, which was nice.
03/05/07 The first day of my major holiday of the year, to see Connie in North Carolina.  I stayed in a hotel in London prior to flying the next day, and needless to say the train to the hotel and Gatwick Airport was running 30 minutes late.  I frequently tell people that public transport in the UK is fine - except when I choose to use it.  Managed to spend £51 on dinner at the hotel this evening, which was almost enough to make me feel ill when I saw the bill.  Never mind, it's only one a year.

So I lied in that last entry - the diary is back!

16/03/07 Well folks, this is the last ever diary entry - unless I decide to resurrect it again in the future - but I will put a link to this page as it stands now for those who find the historical aspects of my life interesting.  At this point in time, I have come back from trips to Romania and Belgium, and am going back to Romania next week and to Brussels the week after.  In the mean time, look out for some new London web pages, to appear in the next few days.  Some new photo pages coming, too.
12/03/07 I'm back from my trip to Belgium, and now I have my trip to Romania to look forward to on the 14th and 15th.  The trip to Belgium was good - Brussels is a nice and very European city - and I also had a really good Sunday afternoon as I spent a few hours walking around London and photographing some of the sights.  I think there will be a new section on this website coming soon!  It was a beautiful afternoon and one that will stick in my memory for a while to come.  Also got, on the way back from Belgium, some cool videos of the Eurostar train running at full speed too (nearly 190 mph).  I hope the trip to Romania is as pleasant!
07/03/07 Well, I should be sitting here contemplating a very successful trip to Romania.  Instead, I'm wondering if the meeting will be held next week instead, as it got postponed and the next dates they're considering now are the 14th and 15th.  I hope the meeting is actually held - even though some people don't fancy going to Eastern Europe, I was rather looking forward to my excursion out to Romania.  Never mind, if it doesn't happen it will be disappointing, but no big deal.
04/03/07 Interesting weekend as we had a lunar eclipse on Saturday night and I got some good photos!  Chatted with my brother Rob on the phone and I was reminded of the BBC comedy "Keeping Up Appearances", with Hyacinth Bucket and Onslow, which was filmed very close to where we grew up (Kenilworth).  One episode on TV this week was filmed at the Chesford Grange hotel, and Rob reminded me that he once got barred from there - along with others - for fighting!  So if or when you see that episode, think of me and my family!  LOL
28/02/07 Wasn't very well today, so decided to have the day off.  I learned that I may well be going to Romania early next week, so there is plenty of travelling coming up in the next few months.  It's a bit like the British buses - you wait ages for one to come along (I haven't been anywhere for 18 months) and then all of a sudden all the buses come at once.  That's Romania, Belgium and North Carolina, all coming up in quick succession!
26/02/07 Gee, is it really two weeks since I last wrote a diary entry?  Probably because there isn't much going on over here right now - or at least nothing of any great interest.  Plenty of hard work has been the order of the day, and if we win a work proposal that we submitted a few days ago, then I will be spending lots of time in Romania over the next 12 months or so.  Lots of travelling in prospect for the next few months - quite apart from going to NC in May, I will be spending a fair amount of time in Belgium on business, too.  I'm also trying to ponder how to expand this website, and am not having much luck coming up with ideas.  If you have any, do drop me a line!
14/02/07 The week is building up to a bit of a crescendo as I have some proposal preparation work to finish by the end of Friday, which is going to keep me out of mischief for a while.  Ned to make a doctor's appointment tomorrow though - I think my ears need to be syringed as my hearing is deteriorating rapidly!  I don't think it's old age ... Finally, noting the date, happy Valentine's Day to all of my buddies, and I hope you all got loads of cards!