It suddenly struck me that I have managed so far to post an entry for every day of the year. This is the longest I have maintained anything like this before, and I'm rather pleased that I have done it. Perhaps it is tedious in the extreme for others, but it has served me well, and given me a little focus where it was needed, without becoming a drag to have to think about it every day. I managed to focus my mind a little today, and managed to get quite a lot done...mainly in relation to my voluntary work, but it is a good thing that we are doing, and reflects well on what we do professionally as well. I still have the looming spectre of writing to contend with, but I will tackle that tomorrow I hope. A sessions and a rehearsal in the evening, and all went well, especially with my Thursday Group who are growing onto a proper little company of actors. Myself and eldest went to the pub after rehearsals, and it was good fun. I'm rather proud of her.
Friday, 30 September 2011
Wednesday 28th September
Felt a little annoyed with myself today in that I did not really get anything done, and left myself with some tight deadlines on Thursday. I have not been feeling brilliantly healthy for a while, and I think that is doen to lack of sleep and dehydration. I slip out of the habit of drinking enough water, so very quickly. I have been feeling lethargic and suffering from headaches, so need to sort myself out a little I feel. A few early nights wouldn't kill me either. On the plus side, I think we are experiencing something like optimism from Mrs Plug, who, if the truth be told, has been pretty miserable for a while now, The lack of work as a result of the last year has been frustrating, and probably a little humiliating, but she has accepted it now, and moved on. The ceramics are flying out at the moment, and she has booked herself a couple of sales slots at Exhibitions and Fairs over the next few months. I hope we can keep this momentum going and that she is able to fulfill her potential.
We finished Game of Thrones tonight, and it was excellent in every way. Shocking, unpredictable and gripping.
Tuesday 27th September
There is a small sense of relief when I wake up on a Tuesday, knowing that I do not have to concern myself with running any sessions. This is not to say I don't enjoy running them, but the freedom of Tuesdays and Wednesdays is always a good feeling. A trip into Luton today to do some banking and a little shopping, and a fairly relaxed day, with a little reading done for my degree course. A little bit of Pinter and Ibsen never did anyone any harm. I feel rather peaceful. We watched more Game of Thrones, and are all thoroughly gripped with it. I can already feel that sense of loss that we are going to experience when the series is all watched. I need recommendations for our next "Box Set"
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Monday 26th September
Spent today feeling a little more relaxed about life. I am not sure if this is because I should feel relaxed, or whether I just need to. The promised late summer heatwave has yet to materialise, and we were treated to a damp dull day today. I have a clear head about life at the moment, and I am not feeling too overwhelmed by everything, but I am only too aware that this can soon change. Today saw the release of the remastered Smiths albums. Many fellow fans have complained that this is simply hypocritical and that it is a case of "Re-issue", but I am quite relaxed about it, especially when you consider that Johnny Marr was at the controls. I listened to it for most of the day, and whilst at first I struggled to hear too much difference in some of the early material, it became clearer as we went on. I think I must know every note of these songs and I can only be thankful that I do not have an electronic gadget to tell me how many times I have listened over the years. It would probably make me weep for all the wasted time. On the other hand, this music has inspired me onto so many other things, and whenever I return to it, which is not often these days, it always brings a warm smile to my face. I think they were my first real love. We continued with Game of Thrones in the evening and are now over half way through. It is an excellent series, and I would recommend it to any of my readers who have even a sneaking regard for Lord of the Rings. It is quite graphic in places, but I have to say, I think it is all the better for it.
Monday, 26 September 2011
Saturday 24th September
A very busy day today. Work first, followed by Christmas show rehearsals, followed by a mad dash to Surrey for niece's birthday celebration. T'was nice to see some family members that I haven't for a while, and to catch up. I think I may be getting a little soppy in my old age, but the events of the last few weeks have made me realise how important family can be. This is of course my in laws to which I am referring, but I feel more closeness and affinity to them than anyone in my family to be honest. The whole Nature and Nurture debate is a complicated one, but I just feel more love to and from them. We arrived home late evening, and I nodded off after Match of the Day feeling tired but content.
Friday 23rd September
Happiness appears to have broken out at Plug Towers, with everyone seeming fairly "Chipper". I am now of course worrying that my use of the word "Chipper" has confirmed once and for all my entrance into middle age. On the other side of the coin, I have been receiving communication related to my Aunt, which has been playing on my mind. It was good to receive a visitation from Mother and Father in law to help set my mind at rest that I am taking the correct actions. I always feel that if they think I'm doing ok, then generally I am! We sat in the garden and chatted for a while, and realised that we don't do this enough. An evening was spent in front of the giant Telly watching various old classics and avoiding real tv.
Friday, 23 September 2011
Thursday 22nd September
Spent most of this morning with an edgy feeling that I had perhaps forgotten something, which manifested in a realisation that I had a bill to pay today. I do wonder how the brain works at times. I continue with my quest to get my "media Library" organised, and the 2TB hard drive that I purchased recently is slowly filling up with lots of good stuff. We are not really what I would describe as discerning TV and Film watchers, but the girls have the tendency to switch on and veg. This was one of the reasons for the upgrade of TV. We thought that if we had access to more digital content that we might persuade them to watch things of a little more quality. So far it appears to have worked. I would much rather youngest sat and watched an episode of Blackadder than some vapid committee written Disney sitcom that always has a moral. We watched the first episode of Game of Thrones last night, and really quite enjoyed it. It's a fantasy type show along the lines of Lord of the Rings, but so far without goblins and with the addition of nudity. So far so good! It comes from the Sky Atlantic stable, which seems to have quite a lot of good quality content on it. I will be starting a new after school club on a Thursday next half term. This means that for a while at least I will be starting drama at 3.30 and finishing at 10.30 on a Thursday. This will of course be after a day of prep work as well. This is not, dear reader, a complaint, merely an outburst of mild panic that I may have taken on too much! I shall be spending some time tomorrow looking for a cheap low end Tower PC to replace my flakey laptop. It will have no bells and whistles, and will cause me a headache whilst I click on all the "No Thank you" buttons during the build. I will then panic that I have spent too much money, even though without it, work will be difficult. I am delighted with the iPad, but it is not quite there yet if it wants to replace PCs completely. We are being visited by my Ma and Pa in law tomorrow, which I always enjoy, and then seeing most of the family on Saturday for a birthday celebration. It will be good to spend time with a pleasant family. Talking of which, I received another demanding phone call from Aunt last night, who is apparently ill again. It was a voicemail, so I have ignored it.
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Wednesday 21st September
I had a meeting yesterday and another one today with schools. Both went very well, and we start a couple more after school clubs over the next few weeks. There is also the possibility of some additional project work as well. All very exciting, as I watch the workload go up and up. I was chatting to a chap at the coffee kiosk at the station the other day, and I found myself almost moaning at the workload. I must try to make sure I don't do that, it must sound dreadfully ungrateful considering what I do and how lucky I am to be doing it. Amongst little snippets of news that sneaked through into my world today was the news that REM have split up. After 31 years together they have decided to amicably call it a day. I felt quite sad about this news, as they have been there as a bit of a soundtrack to my life, and in particular to my relationship with Mrs Plug. Even though the obituaries today cite the last few albums as patchy, I would suggest that their last album was actually quite strong. It is good that they have not decided to go out in a blaze of aggression and court cases. It is so typical of their intelligent alternative approach to all they did. Lyrically they were never quite up there, as Michael Stipe chose to deliberately hide away from lyrical analysis if he could, by not printing lyrics and by keeping them deliberately low in the mix. This made for frustrations for me, but added a bit of mysticism to others. It will be interesting to see what he does next. He is clearly an intelligent man.
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Tuesday 20th September
A walk over the hills with Mrs Plug this morning after the school run. Lots of rather melancholic memories of hairy companions, and I came back feeling better for the fresh air and exercise, but a little down about it all. I went to Luton to do some banking, but also came back with another gadget! 
This little beauty has already transformed my favourite device into an even better prospect. I have mentioned before that the typing of any serious text onto an iPad is a struggle. This is a sturdy, and sleek keyboard that has the feel of a top of the range laptop keyboard to it. It also charges through the device and has an audio out socket. I feel that I can write anywhere the mood takes me now!
Monday 19th September
A fairly humdrum day other than the occasional work related revelation. I think I may have turned the blog into a work diary rather than a place to record my thoughts, so I am trying hard not to make it too theatrical in its content, but it can be all consuming at times. I finally managed to get up to speed with my Uni work as well, and got some paperwork, Logins etc sorted out. For the first time in my life I felt patronised because of my age today with the general tone of the emails and phone calls. I had struggled to get logged in to the system at Uni. Now I like to think I am fairly IT savvy, so it amused me when I was patted on the head somewhat by the IT manager. I think I will enjoy this years study...I am studying Direcotrs, and American Musical theatre.
Sunday 18th September
I love a good gadget. My vast readership will know this from my various iPad related posts and similar. We have always had a bit of a crap television though. This was remedied today with a purchase. We now have a much nicer, and much bigger one. The most exciting thing is the ability to connect up various USB devices/laptops/iPads and play content from them. My film and TV collection is now being transferred to an external hard drive. This in turn will be connected either directly to the TV which works on most cases, or through the new media station when it arrives. We have HD now, which seems to me to be entirely designed to see the poor make-up work on television. I have learnt how to switch it off in an instant for fear of my local MP appearing on Newsnight. The thought of that in HD is enough to make a grown man cry. I sat in awe and wonder when we had set it up, and my first viewing experience was Tottenham beating Liverpool 4-0. It was an unexpectedly pleasant day. In the evening we watched the recent Pirates of the Caribbean film, and generally basked. It was a good day, spent with my lovely girls, and all the more precious for it.
Saturday 17th September
Another anniversary today, that of me starting work. 27 years ago today, this little fresh faced young chap with a bad suit and a nice parting skipped off up to London to start work. The rest as they say is history (Well to me anyway). Little did I know that 27 years later I would be sitting here typing stuff on a space age gadget in my house whilst my wife and children busied themselves around me. There was no Internet, no PCs and no digital Television. I think i would have exploded with excitement at the technological advances that would make our lives so much easier (Well thats the theory). Life was totally different back then. I had a walkman on which I listened to music on the train on cassettes. If someone had explained iPods back then I would have seriously just wept with joy. My train journey was unencumbered by the sound of mobile phone conversations, and newspapers were large enough to wallpaper a house with. I worked for the Civil Aviation Authority, and stayed there in different guises for 11 years. I had some fun, I had some awful times as well, and I am not sure it prepared me for much else in life. I should have guessed on the first day that there was going to be a problem. My first job was to count correspondence in folders, and to write down how many letters were in each. When I had finished I proudly presented my boss with the figures, and asked him what to do next. He told me to tear up all the correspondence I had counted, Perhaps I should have realised there and then that much of our working life can be wasted doing futile, uninteresting and unimportant tasks. DId I learn form it? Probably not. I would like to say that I saw the light on day one, and forged a new and interesting career path, but I didn't. I accepted it for what it was, played the system for all it was worth and happily took the money each month. What a waste. It took many years for the new career path to appear, and I suppose it would not have been as rewarding without the years of crap that went before it. I do wonder though.
Friday 16th September
Today we celebrated five years of the business. It's been a long journey in many ways, but one that I am really very proud of. I think it is one of the only things in life that I have started and continued to be committed to. I remember quite clearly the feeling of terror before we started the first session, the exhilaration when it was finished, and that feeling at the back of my mind that this was not a proper job, and that at some point someone would come and tap me on the shoulder and make me do a proper job instead. However, here we are five years down the line, and we are expanding, thriving and generally really enjoying the whole process. We have talked a lot about the business, and what makes it work and what doesn't work, and I think that is one of it's strengths. Self awareness is a marvellous thing to have, and its just as important to have in any business as it is when you are acting. A small glass of wine was imbibed in the evening to celebrate, but we move on without too much fuss.
Friday, 16 September 2011
Thursday 15th September
I spent the first couple of hours of the day tidying up my office and throwing out junk. By the end of the morning I had two workable desks, and an environment that made me want to work, It is amazing how your environment can affect your outlook and attitude. I wonder at times whether I need to have a life laundry type of tidy up, but then when i really consider that, I realise that life is too short to be considering wasting it on such things. I will certainly need to address the two heaving bookshelves that are currently...well shall we say oversubscribed? I received a snotty phone call from aforementioned aunt, and was curt and to the point. I felt better. I then sent out a plethora of emails attempting to get more work. We seem to be moving towards something called organisation, and by the end of the working day, I think I may have secured two more sessions, bringing the total to six, without after school clubs. A great session, followed by an adult rehearsal, and then stupidly sitting up watching the recording of the Spurs match, and I hit the hay a tired but happier individual.
Thursday, 15 September 2011
Wednesday 14th September
There are times when I wonder if I am using this blog as a form of minor therapy. As with any personal writing, I also have to accept that it will never be 100% honest, as, I think anyone would perhaps paint a slightly rose tinted version of themselves. In the last week, as I have mentioned, there has been an internal struggle going on. My Aunt has, to put it quite plainly, been a complete brat. Whilst I understand her frustration at being in hospital, it really cannot excuse the total lack of gratitude or thanks...in fact it just hit home to me how filled with bile and resentment she really is. The ghosts of families past have been summoned, and as a result, I have been feeling really rather down. She got home from hospital today, and exploded with rage at the world. Nothing had been done right, nobody had done what they said they would, her flat was filthy etc etc etc. I got a warning phone call from the warden explaining it all. An hour or so later I received a frosty phone call and it felt like the end of something. I didn't explode with anger at her rudeness or ingratitude. I just turned monosyllabic, and ended the call in a civil, but quick manner. Life is too short and too precious to be wasted on people for whom there is little hope. I look forward to moving on. A few years back, when my Grandfather died, I went through a similar experience with my family, and chose to tell them that I wanted no further contact. To use my friend's analogy, I closed a door. Well for some reason I allowed it to be opened again, and I feel that this time I might need a padlock.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Tuesday 13th September
I was asked to write a draft script for some professionals last night. This excites me, and makes me nervous in equal measures. It came out of a casual conversation, and I am now really excited at the prospect! I shall have to make time and get my office into some sort of sensible order. The Chaos is not helping my train of thought! Went for a meeting in the afternoon for a really positive meeting with a theatre. I was surprised I managed to get there in a positive frame of mind after the Aunt phone call and the Uni phone call, both of which were rude and unnecessary. Perhaps I am just feeling a bit of a victim at the moment. Fresh approach required!
Monday 12th September
The Aunt situation continues to irritate and annoy. Demands are forthcoming, aggressive and rude demands. It is like travelling back in time. I am being pushed and pushed and I am trying hard not to react, but I fear it is inevitable. I have been inconvenienced enough, and I feel that I have not devoted enough time to my work this week. I shall pop in tomorrow and see her, as I am on the way down there for an important meeting. I can only see this particular episode of my family life ending the same way as usual, with upset and recriminations. Work this evening was entertaining....it had been really blustery all day, and there was a full moon. I think this was responsible for the slightly feral mood in the air this evening....it was very entertaining though, and we had lots of fun
Sunday 11th September
I shall avoid any mawkishly sentimental posting today. The TV coverage of the tenth anniversary was inevitable, and of course very very sad. Eldest pointed out to me that since 9/11 there have been far more deaths in Iraq, and that we do not have anywhere near the same fuss about that. She's right of course, and how can we justify this? Well I suppose that you cannot compare atrocities. The point that she makes is right, but it still cannot take away from the sheer revulsion that we all felt that day. I put on a documentary called "102 minutes that changed America". We sat and watched the whole thing, a real time documentary using amateur footage, and I think it became clear why the day was so significant and tragic. Perhaps the biggest tragedy is the fact that we do not seem to have progressed since then
Saturday 10th September
Mrs Plug is away at her Mother's side, who is recovering from a foot operation. I had a logistical challenge, ensuring that work and the subsequent Ballet session were all taken care of, with various outfit issues. I was able to spend a pleasant 3/4 of an hour outside ballet reading, and finishing Emma Kennedy's book about her trip to the States...It was a funny and heartwarming book, and was one of those that left me sad when I finished it....What next? Well, as if by magic, I happened upon the Frankie Boyle book in the charity shop on the way back from Ballet, as well as a book of soup recipes! I struggle a little with Mr Boyle, in the main because of his disabled jokes, but prior to that, I really rather enjoyed his humour. I shall report back on this one. Richard Herring has a lovely phrase about humour, and attacks. He says it's always ok as long as you are punching upwards, and I think i agree with this....Frankie Boyle was guilty of punching down a little, and he was rightly castigated....But everyone deserves another chance I suppose.
Friday 9th September
Frustratingly, I have lost nearly a weeks worth of posts. They have disappeared somewhere between my iPad and my Posterous, which then automatically posts to the Mr Plug domain. This is infuriating on several levels, one being that the reason for the cross posting is for the purposes of back ups....There is no trace of the posts in my email client on the iPad, which is quite worrying! Anyway....Friday was spent in a bit of a moral quandary with regards to the Aunt situation. Ultimately, she is using me, and remains, a nasty piece of work. I need to make a decision again. Work in the evening was very pleasant, and I am all ready for another session in the morning. I will need to look carefully at my whole blog update procedure I think!
Monday, 12 September 2011
Thursday 8th September
Work continues whilst the world collapses around my organisational skills, which let's face it, were not that great anyway. Dashing back and forth to feed cats doesn't sound like a big deal, however, it can take anything from 3-4 hours as a round journey. The angry and demanding nature of the phone calls that I get connected with it all brings back too many memories. Work went well, and then we continued straight on to adult rehearsal. I am feeling really quite rough and lack lustre still. I think the kidney infection has really knocked me for six, and I need to go on a real health kick. Has it really reached the stage where I have to think of vitamin supplements...?
Thursday, 8 September 2011
Wednesday 7th September
I am feeling rough still. I think I am going through one of those down patches, and struggling with everything. I hate it when this blog turns into a weapon with which to fire off streams of misery. The girls went back to School today...eldest starts her final year at school, which makes me feel quite old. I then managed to be mildly productive, but also managed to keep an eye and an ear on the Dorries debacle in parliament. She really is a piece of work as our American cousins might put it. She is also the only woman who can put forward an amendment, lose the vote by 250, and then claim it as a victory. It was good to see her humiliated in the way she was....my only regret is that she will never see it that way.
Tuesday 6th September
Having spoken to the hospital, I eventually made my way up there, and established that they have no idea what's wrong with her. She is worried, and of course thinks that she is dying. I picked up from the doctors that this is not the case, but ultimately she is old and scared. The hospital has many memories for me, and all of them bad. Having to go back via Borehamwood was also difficult. It was good to get home in the evening and meet the girls after their visit away. School starts tomorrow, and they seem quite cool about it all. I am wishing that I didn't have the additional stress at the moment. Life is complicated enough as it is. On a plus note, I had a meeting with the advisor today, and all is looking promising.
Monday 5th September
Tis the first day back to work, and of course, nothing is ever straightforward. Elderly Aunt has called an ambulance and is now in Barnet General. I am expected to drop everything, rush to teh hospital, pick up her keys, go back to her house, let the cat out of the bedroom because that was a sensible course of action to take to lock a cat in a bedroom before you go out to hospital, pick up some clothes, go back to the hospital, drop of clothes, then come home again. This would have taken four hours roughly, and cost somewhere in the region of £50, and that is before I have counted the cost of cancelling work (Around £300). I did not do any of the above, and ended up shouting on the phone to her that she needed to be a little more sympathetic. This of course made me feel guilty, and so the vicious circle of guilt and recriminations continues. I went to work tonight wishing that I could be anywhere else, and missing the girls who are at Auntie Wend's. Work as it turned out was fun, and perhaps the tonic I needed. We had a new girl start, and all seemed to be well with the world. I settled down in the evening a drank some wine, and mused about my family too much
Monday, 5 September 2011
Sunday 4th September
I think we are all ready to get back into some sort of routine. Whilst switching off for a while does everyone a bit of good, I think we have outstayed our welcome in lazyland. I am feeling a bit edgy and snappy today, though I suspect that is in part down to the phone calls with my Aunt. I cannot help but go over old ground and think about my family when I have spoken to her, and inevitably this has troubled my night. I wish I could just take a giant blackboard rubber and get rid of it all, but if life were that easy we would all do it wouldn't we? I know that there is a lonely lady wanting some help, and I will do what I feel I can, but as is always the way, my family tend to be able to push the right buttons. I hope I am not like that with my girls when I get older, but perhaps there is a certain inevitability about it. I spend the day waiting for more calls that never come. Mrs Plug has finished at Burghley, and is preparing for two days at her sister's house with the girls. I will spend the time getting ready for work, and generally getting in the correct mood. I felt the darkness fall a little over the last few days, and I need to ensure it goes no further.
I watched the TV programme "An Appropriate Adult" which was in essence a dramatisation of the Fred and Rosemary West Case. Lots of horrific memories, but done beautifully well, and without the sensationalism. It must be incredibly hard to play a character like Fred West with an element of humanity, but Dominic West did it brilliantly.
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Saturday 3rd September
No football today, as there is an International match. The whole weekend is bereft of any sport that I like. I spent the morning dealing with doctors and a panicy Aunt. She found herself in terrible pain, and I think we were a little concerned that she might be having some serious issues. It turned out to be over as quickly as it began, much to our relief. It does no harm to get the occasional reminder of how fragile life can be. In the evening, we watched Dr Who, the new Jonathan Ross chat Show and a film with Julia Robets called Eat Pray Love. All were equally uninspiring. I tried to do some painting. which was also uninspiring.
Friday 2nd September
So the holidays are wending their way to a close. Eldest is catching up with friends and partying a little, which is fine. Myself and youngest went and shopped for School, and paid on a couple of cheques. We dislike Luton, but had fun all the same. In the evening we prepared our second Veggie meal in a row. The girls are beginning to take the whole health thing quite seriously, and it is a pleasure to cook for them at the moment. They are trying different things. We are not committed to becoming vegetarians, we are just being more careful about the old diet, and it's quite enjoyable. I am feeling better, and have also cut down on the alcohol intake.
I watched Source code today, which was quite interesting and entertaining, and has the odd tear jerking moment. It has still not helped to inspire me out of my current writer's block situation, but I suppose the impending deadline will do that!
Thursday 1st September
Mrs Plug is off to Burghley for the first of four days, and I am here trying to get on top of house and work. Having said that, it was also good to spend some time alone with the girls, and we got quite a bit done in the end. I do miss having Mrs Plug around, but I suppose it is no different to the last year really. We have just got used to her being about again I think. I have been toying with the idea of doing a little artwork again, and as such, I have purchased a small water colour set, and a book from the charity shop. I was also delighted to find a book on Wainwrights from the Charity Shop, and was pleasantly surprised to see all of my three journeys listed in the book. I discovered that instead of completing seven Wainwrights in a day, we actually did eight...We forgot Nab Scar on the way down, so having had that verified by Mr Pops, I am enjoying reading the book even more now. I am looking forward to my next visit with renewed excitement.
Wednesday 31st August
A day long workshop awaits. I feel less prepared than usual for this, and as a result, the pre match nerves kick in. I had an idea for a rough concept, which we manage to pull off convincingly, and the day actually flew by. A nice bunch of kids in attendance, and lots of questions about the possibility of a weekly session. I need to clone myself I think, as we have some other areas that are looking promising work wise too. A relaxed evening in front of the telly watching the end of the transfer window, and seeing football fans get excited over nothing. I am slowly but surely losing my love of football. The money and the desperate scramble for instant success seems to have taken the edge off of it for me.
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Tuesday 30th August
We were awoken at 7.00 am by and excited and beautiful brand new 12 year old. Presents (Ukelele and associated paraphanalia) books and DVDS were happily given and gratefully received, and then a lovely relaxed day together including lunch at a nice local place. I feel a bit lucky today. We watched virtually all of the Inbetweeners today, and laughed a lot. She's growing up into a wonderful young lady, and she is such very good company. I hope the world is ready for her :-) x
Monday 29th August
All of youngest's Birthday presents have been delivered in time, and I was feeling quite smug that everything was arranged including the cake and the wrapping and the cards and a present from eldest as well. They all seemed happy to be home, but had all had a good time. We sat together and it was great listening to all of the stories of their escapades over the weekend. I am not sure of it's the illness, the nostalgia, the week in the Lakes, but I am feeling delightfully soppy at the moment. I missed them all so much, and again my thoughts turned to them growing older and moving out. Silly fool. I watched Vicky Christina Barcelona and went to bed
Sunday 28th August
At last I appear to be on the mend, and I am able to get up and have a good housework day. Washing and Hoovering is done, and I am ready to watch the big Spurs game happy in the knowledge that the house is tidy for everyone's return tomorrow. Spurs got beaten 5-1 at home, and it was bloody awful. It was tempered slightly by the fact the Arsenal got beaten 8-2 later in the day, but the damage was done. I watched Muse in the evening with a heavy heart, but happy that I was on the mend and that we would all be together tomorrow.
Saturday 27th August
Still feeling absolutely awful. I laze around for the day, trying and failing to manage the temperature and the various other discomforts that come with a kidney infection and watch a bit of TV. There some football on and the odd film, and then in the evening Pulp are playing at Reading. Pulp hold a special place in our hearts, as when oldest was a mere babe, she would bounce around to "Common People" shouting "Jarbis", much to the amusement of adults around her. She was an adorable baby, and I miss her when she's away. When they came on, I sent her a text saying "There's Jarbis!", not expecting a reply, but to my delight, she sent one straight back, and she was there watching them. I spent the rest of the set in floods of tears reminiscing. I also didn't realise that Mrs Plug had sent virtually an identical text. Little moments like that melt me.
Friday 26th August
I woke up pretty early feeling a little shivery. By the time the afternoon came round I was running a very high temperature and feeling awful. I recognised all the signs, I had a kidney infection. I am prone to them, and they usually go after 48 hours, but I was cursing my luck that it happened now. I was looking forward to knocking a hole in the workload, and enjoying the peace. As it stood I was not fit to do any work. I sat wrapped up in a duvet watching Reading Festival on the TV and feeling rather old and jealous. I hope she is enjoing herself. She deserves it. I think Mrs Plug thinks I am inventing my illness as an excuse not to work, but I am genuinely rough. When I go to bed eventually I have a fitful night, and am delirious at points. I was quite worried.
Thursday 25th August
So reality kicks back in, and we are back into the groove of life. Eldest went off last night to stay at a friends house before going on to the festival. Mrs and youngest then left early afternoon, so I had a few free days to knuckle down and get work done. First things first though, I had had an adult rehearsal to run which went really well, and it was, despite my misgivings, a pleasure to get back to doing a little bit of theatre :-) A visit to the pub afterwards and a late night chatting and I went to bed feeling pretty good
Wednesday 24th August
Reluctantly, we said our goodbyes and our thank yous and set off back to Bedfordshire. It was a straightforward journey, and despite my sadness that the week was over it was good to be back home on many ways. The pigs had survived very nicely without us, and everything else seemed fine. We have a busy week ahead with youngest's birthday, a workshop and planning for the new term to get done. I am alsofeeling the pressure of writing deadlines approaching. Early nights all round tonight, as Eldest if off to Reading Festival, and Mrs Plug and youngest are off to sisters for three days.
Tuesday 23rd August
A late start again, and my calf muscles were feeling it a little! We took our hosts back up to the waterfalls, and more pictures of the girls frolicking in the stream were taken, before we took a leisurely drive back through the Kirkstone Pass in time to go toe the Strickland Arms for tea :-) Youngest ate a fish the size of her, much to the surprise of the waitress who had wagered that she would be unable to do it. I must speak to youngest about the smug look on her face as she left! I feel really rather sad this evening, as our week is at an end. I miss our friends, so weeks like this are so special to me.
Monday 22nd August
Up early and off to go for our long walk. We started at 10.15 on the long upward Hike. The whole walk took us until about 5.00 ish., and we went on the following wainwrights....Low Pike, High Pike, Dove Crag, Hart Crag, Fairfield, Great Rigg and Heron Pike.....It's only around the ten mile mark, but it was hard work at times. What spectacular views we got when we were up there, it was worth every drop of sweat and every bit of cramp that evening. I have now done 9 Wainwrights, and though I suspect I will never be close to completing them all, I think I have definitely got the bug. The sense of achievement, the beautiful scenery and perhaps most importantly, the excellent company made it a really precious day to me. We went off the the Shakespeare for a couple of pints and then on to the Pizza Express where I think I may have eaten my own body weight in Pizza that evening!!!
Sunday 21st August
A Leisurely start to the day, and then a trip out to Lunch at a Lakeside Hotel, with a Carvery and good views of the Lake and the impending looking Fairfield Horseshoe behind it....Will I really be up there tomorrow? I wonder. The last year has seen me getting a little more exercise than perhaps at any point since I left School, and I do feel a lot better for it. Whether this extends to managing what Mr Pops describes as "A Serious walk"...Time will tell.
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