Catching up...

I realise it's been 10 days since my last post but there has been plenty going on.
Thursday 25th saw the departure of one of the most experienced members of my team at work and there is still a heavy shadow of doubt as to whether we will be able to replace her or not.
Friday 26th was my last day at work for 10 days, having decided to take a break to chill out before the real stress of increased workload and house-move kicks in.
Saturday 27th Little Sis and family arrived, so most of the day was spent clearing enough space to accommodate a family of four in one bedroom. Looks like I'm on the settee for a few days then. Although to be fair, it's a small price to pay seeing as they don't get to visit us very often. Since we saw them last, youngest is now walking so we also had to child-proof the house from three feet downwards!
Sunday 28th we all spent an enjoyable afternoon at Elsham Hall, a local country park. This was my treat for everyone, although before I get to sound too extravagant, I think the whole afternoon cost less than £30 for the 6 of us including refreshments!
Monday 29th didn't really go to plan due to conflicting weather reports. When we had finally decided on somewhere to go, the sky's blackened over and as soon as we cancelled any plans, the sun re-appeared again. However, we did round the day off nicely with an excellent Chinese meal courtesy of Chelmsford Chinese Takeaway. If you're in the Grimsby area, try them out - I've ever heard anything but good reviews.
Tuesday 30th I waved the family off around 1:00pm and in less than 10 minutes was sat at the bar in the Tap for some long overdue liquid replenishment.
Wednesday 31st was a very quiet day and a chance to catch up on some much-needed sleep, but during the evening something very strange occurred. It was a quiet evening at the Tap, half a dozen of the regulars sat at the bar when suddenly out of nowhere, sensible conversation broke out. It was quite a surreal experience to find ourselves talking about a number of serious topics (politics, religion, etc., all the typical no-go areas for pub conversation) with no attempts at cracking jokes or taking the mick out of each other. Fortunately before too long, the topic turned to Big Brother which brought the level crashing back down to gutter level. (Surely I'm not alone in my rationale for Orlaith being the last to leave the house?)
Thursday 1st September, just in case I was short of things to do during my remaining days off, I've decided to catch a cold (although so far, a much watered-down version of the dreaded man-flu)
Friday 2nd September, I took Mum out for tea after which we were entertained by the live music of Adrian Byron Burns. I've seen this guy play several times now but he never ceases to really impress me. A true style of his own and an undeniable skill with the guitar, he really is a must if you get the opportunity to see him on one of his extensive tours.
Saturday 3rd and here we are today, I'm still sleeping as though it were about to go out of fashion and guzzling Beechams by the mug full.
In fact while I'm catching up on events, I should note that it's now 79 days since my offer was accepted on the house and although contracts have now been signed, I'm still waiting for an exchange or completion date.
More impressively, I've just worked out that it's 245 days since my last cigarette and I still have no inclinations to start again. However, it's only been 15 hours since my last beer and there is a real temptation there to sneak out for a quick one.
Oh, and one last thing, I found out last night that I have a secret reader to this blog, but Dom asked me not to divulge my sources or to mention Kirsty's name.
Oops...