Geographically, I haven't really gone anywhere, but mentally - what a journey! For the first time in about 10 years I have everything in one place, and decided to fight my way through it all and seriously de-clutter! The significant one is getting rid of most of my 'cow collection' - anything useful is kept/used, all the cuddly toys are going to a car boot sale... another new experience!! Very tiring - 6+ hours for about 5 days working through it all... alongside the odd cycling ride (including one intended for 1 hour - got a little lost, took 2 hours [View Full Entry]

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I spent the entry into 2007 as I meant to go on for later in the year, not in the UK. Geographically not very distant, I had a great time in Dublin with Erika’s family, with many things to see and do: visitdublin.com, or Dublin for Visitors, or Discover Ireland. A bit of local knowledge, and some tourist-traps! We started with a bit of an unashamed tourist tour, starting with Grafton Street (which even I have heard of [View Full Entry]

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There's not a lot to write about Christmas! Great time with family, despite fighting off another cold! Decided to break out a bottle of champagne over Christmas to celebrate... the fireplace decided to go mad about the same time - and it took a while to discover the smoky log in the wood basket... just great! Healthy Boxing Day too... [View Full Entry]

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After 19 months working for the University of Manchester, I've taken the opportunity for Voluntary Redundancy, which will allow me some time to work on writing, catching up with people, and - most importantly - travelling. The last day at work was great - having been counting down for the last 24 days (the advent calendar was a great idea Karen, although it confused a few people as I started to open it 24 working days before 21st - appeared a bit premature!) I finished off the last few bits of work, left everything neat, with notes for others to ta [View Full Entry]

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