Midge bytes

I seem to have rather got out of the habit of blogging, but want it to be alive for my travels next month.  So, a round up of the recent past.

In December I left my job at the Nobody, drove to Manchester for the weekend for MUGSS doing Bugsy Malone, which I really enjoyed.  I then drove to Winchester to stay with Louisa’s friends Will and Felicity and work for Mike’s (my brother in law) cousin Simon at Stone, Vine and Sun wine merchants.  Then I moved to stay with my sisters in-laws in Surrey for the rest of the month while I worked in Winchester.  I went back up to Manchester to the MUGSS Christmas ball in the Museum of Science and Industry, before returning to Surrey to complete my months work in Winchester, then I drove home for Christmas.

All that leaves absolutely no impression of what the month was like apart from busy and travel heavy, here’s a snippet of an email I sent a friend after getting home, it might be more descriptive:

"I drove home last night after work, which was grotty [freezing fog and ice], but it’s nice to
be here.  The past month has been exhausting, but I have learnt a bit
and made lots more contacts, so mission accomplished.  They also asked
me back for a week in January, which I’m mulling over…home has an
even stronger pull on me when I’m about to leave it for nine months!

I went to see Robin’s panto in Englefield Green, which is pretty close
to Frimley, where I was staying.  Was just sitting in the audience
before it started, quietly reading Wyrd Sisters because I had no one
to talk to, when I suddenly realised that John and Cathy had turned up
and were sitting next to me!  It was really lovely finding myself able
to actually bump into friends in an entirely new place!  The MUGSS net
is a nice fuzzy village type thing!  The panto was exactly as I’d
expected, Robin was very good as the dame and there were toffees."

All this travel was only possible because my lovely parents had bought a Tom-Tom which they lent me, otherwise with my joyous lack of sense of direction I’d probably still be driving around the Manchester ring road, trying to work out where they keep Winchester!  It gave me the confidence I needed to just drive off into the unknown to go and watch the panto for instance.  I’d love to say that my New Years resolution is to improve my direction finding, but I don’t think that is going to happen somehow!  I’m fine when I have a map and am not driving, but the second I try and map read and drive it all goes horribly wrong.  Hurrah for sat nav! 

I have been intermittently sad about the recent news about Mr Pratchett and rediscovering the joy of his books.  Before I heard I went to Will’s Gods and Goddesses party dressed as the Goddess Annoia (see ‘Making Money’ and ‘Going Postal’), with a whisk as a necklace and a spatula in my belt, which was fun.  He is wonderful.

I owe a lot of people room in my future vineyard / house / tent (depending on circumstances) after all the help and hospitality I’ve received recently.  I’m looking forward to the first party in my own vineyard, hopefully this will turn into reality one day!

Christmas was a pleasant day, we had both of my Grandmas and two Aunts for lunch, Beef Wellington cooked by me, which was fun and very tasty!  Louisa and Mike were missed, but the mood was determinedly upbeat.  [No actual relatives were eaten in the writing of this blog.]   

I went up to Manchester again for New Years eve at Will’s house.  It was absolutely lovely having all the girls together!  We toasted the New Year in with some Serge Matthieu 2002 which I was given whilst in Winchester (good perks!) it was a good end to the year for me.

I now have three weeks before I go to Australia, I’m really looking forward to seeing Louisa and Mike’s new house!  Also looking forward to many other things, I’m planning on having a very good year!