I hope everyone had as good a Christmas Day as I did. Good food, plenty of booze and great company – what more could you ask for? I also managed to get some lovely presents. Vally bought me something I’ve wanted for ages – an alarm clock from Voco, which features the voice of Stephen Fry and provides a lovely, gentle way to wake up in the morning. I tried it out today, of course. I have to play with my toys.

Today I may be having a wander around the shops before indulging in more nice food and drink. It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it.

Last Friday Vally and I met up after work and went to the Natural History Museum for a mooch around and a glass of wine, after which we found a restaurant and had a bite to eat.

On Saturday I bought a webcam (well, it was about time, really), did a bit of shopping and spent some time at Vally’s house. The evening was spent relaxing and being generally lazy.

On Sunday my old friend Ellison, who I hadn’t seen for seven or eight years, came down with her partner Patrick, who I liked very much, and we went out for a meal. We had intended to go to the Turkish restaurant on the High Street but it turned out, much to my embarrassment, to be closed. Fortunately Vally knew a good South Indian restaurant so we went there instead. As it turned out, it was more than good; the food really was superb. It takes a lot for me to have a starter, main course and dessert, but I just couldn’t resist. Especially since they had pistachio kulfi, one of my all-time favourites. And as for the pancakes we had to start, all I can say is, “wow!”

I always thought that for most people a dual monitor set-up was complete overkill, totally unnecessary. However, the other day I hooked up my monitor to my laptop so I could watch a DVD on it while lying in bed and discovered that, actually, it’s really handy to have that extra space. It’s great when I’m watching a film and want to surf the web or chat via instant messenger, or if I just want a larger browser area than is available on my laptop’s screen. I’m completely hooked and I freely admit that I was wrong. It’s only been a few days and already I’d find it unpleasant to go back to my old setup.

After much to-ing and fro-ing I’m pretty much moved in to my new flat. There are still one or two small items plus my motorbike to sort out and then there’s some putting away of stuff at the new place to do, but I’m more or less there. I shall be popping back to the old place on Sunday to finish cleaning and tidying, and then that’s basically it.

I have to say that it feels pretty good. I’m looking forward to getting back to work on Monday and, therefore, back to some semblance of a normal life.

Yesterday, accompanied by my friend Jenni who provided very helpful advice, I went to look at some flats. Originally I’d really wanted a separate bedroom but in the end I settled for a very nice and quite spacious studio flat as the location and the price were very good. Yes, there were some very beautiful places but they were in very inconvenient locations. Anyway, I handed over my deposit and this morning I dropped off all the paperwork that the letting agents require. I pick up the keys on July 4th, and I have to say I’m really looking forward to getting moved in and settled there.

I’ve come back today from a week’s holiday in Scotland (did you miss me?) with friends Steve and Jen. I’ve had a lovely time seeing all manner of castles and lochs (no sign of Nessie), but I really don’t think I need to go into detail. Suffice to say it was mostly fun, if a bit cold and wet at times. The places we stayed in were all very comfortable and, yes, I bought a bottle of decent whisky, which I shall enjoy at leisure.

This afternoon Jenny, Jenni and I decided to take a trip to Hampton Court. We piled into Jenni’s car and set off not long after midday. It took a while to get there thanks to the traffic but we weren’t in a great hurry. When we got there we had a very enjoyable wander around in the sunshine, taking in the kitchens and tapestries in particular, as Jenny wanted to see them, and managing to fit in sandwiches and scones as well. It really was a very lovely day out, as the photo above will testify, so we also took a stroll around the grounds, stopping off for a game of Pooh Sticks. Jenni had never played before so it seems only right that she won.

We avoided the maze, which was probably wise. I remember getting quite lost in there as a child and I had no great wish to repeat the experience. When we decided we’d had enough we headed home for a meal and a rest. It wasn’t the Sunday we’d initially planned but it was none the worse for that.

Yesterday I moved this site to a new hosting company, which meant that this morning I have been able to upgrade to the latest version of WordPress. At last! The relief is really quite amazing.

I was chatting with some people I met at a gig the other day and the subject of age came up. One of the other people said he reckoned he was easily the oldest person in the group and, when asked how old he was said he was 34. I’m 43. I love that man!

Back when I started this blog (in May 2000, I think) it was quite easy to see roughly how many people were reading it by simply looking at the site stats. In these days of RSS feeds and the like, though, it’s much more difficult. I know there aren’t as many people reading this as there used to be at one time, which is fine. I know it’s not that interesting. Besides, Facebook tends to be where links and other stuff are shared, at least for me and my friends.

As a result, I’ve been thinking about how this blog is used and what exactly it’s for. I haven’t come to any firm conclusions yet but I’d very much like to change the nature of what I post here. Facebook seems to me to be a better place for letting my friends know what I’ve been up to, so that type of post can probably go. I guess I’d like to reserve this space for when I have something a bit longer to write about, and which I feel might be of use or interest to the world at large. Expect, therefore, the frequency of posting to drop considerably.

If I know you and you’re not my friend on Facebook already, you’ll find a link to my profile in the sidebar.

Yesterday afternoon I re-dyed my hair. Not very interesting, except that I managed to get the dye all over the bath mat, prompting a remark this morning about the modern art I’ve created. Good job it was only a cheap mat and is easily replaceable. I’ll have a go at washing it but I don’t really hold out much hope. Maybe I should try flogging it as art – you never know.

As you know if you’re a regular reader of this blog, I’m suffering from insomnia at the moment. It was pointed out to me yesterday that I seem to have stopped reading. While the two aren’t directly connected, it occurs to me that getting stuck into a really good book might help me relax and sleep. Besides, I love reading more than almost anything.

I usually read fantasy, science fiction or humour, with occasional travel books but I’m willing to try anything suitably gripping, so if you have any recommendations I’d be very grateful for them.

I find myself off work today as my insomnia has really sunk its teeth into me. Yesterday was pretty bad; I found myself unable to concentrate at all. I thought that going out for a nice evening and being a little late home might help me relax and sleep but that certainly didn’t work, so today I’m trying to get some rest. I won’t actually sleep during the day as I’ve never been able to do that but I shall probably do a little light housework in between listening to music, watching DVDs and generally putting my feet up. All that followed by a reasonably early night will at least help me make it to the weekend, I hope.

Yesterday we spent the day with some friends, who very kindly took us to a beautiful country pub for lunch. There I was, dressed in black from head to foot, including my nice new full-length coat. There the pub cat was, almost entirely white. You can see where this is going, can’t you? Yes indeed, the cat decided that I was the most appealing person to sit on and, as a result, all my clothes got covered in cat hair. Most of it did brush off eventually but I suspect I’ll be black and white for some time, even after the application of sellotape.

However, it’d been ages since I had a cat sitting on my lap and it was totally worth it. I adore cats.

On Wednesday afternoon I ordered this rather nice coat. It arrived this morning. Now that’s what I call service! Oh, and it’s every bit as lovely as I’d hoped.

I’ve never been much of a one for snappy dressing. All my clothes have been bought for comfort and practicality (read: lots of pockets) rather than style and I’ve never really done much to take care of myself. Recently, however, I’ve discovered (better late than never) that I really enjoy wearing nice clothes and taking trouble over my appearance. I’ve spent a buttload of money on new clothes and even some on, for want of a better phrase, personal grooming. I’m taking time to trim and pluck. And you know what? I feel so much better about myself.

Yes, I still really don’t like a whole bunch of stuff about myself, but I’m doing the best I can with what I have and it’s good. I may even take the time to recommend some products when I’ve had some time to discover what I really like. In a manly, grrr!, kind of way, of course. 🙂