Planes, trains and automobiles

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A lot has been going on since my last entry so I think I'm going to need to be brief!

When I last left you I was about to board a plane back to the UK for a long Bank Holiday weekend (2 here and 1 in the UK). I had a great time catching up with friends and family but fear I drank too much and slept too little, so headed back here feeling more tired than when I left! Highlights of the weekend included Gareth trying to persuade Nat that the inclusion of fish sauce in her Thai dinner wasn't contrary to her long-standing vegetarianism (cue Fez and I rolling around crying with laughter just as Em walked in from work), a nearly full house T.com on a Friday, a full (and very tiring) day trip to the coast on the Ninja, a top notch toad-in-the-hole courtesy of Dad (thank you!) and a thorough beating at Wii Golf by Keith (which he repaid in full by taking me to the airport).

Big news on the work front is that Maria, the FD has resigned. Whilst her departure is not entirely unexpected, it does mean that I have my work cut out even more than previously... and means that I'm going to be here a while longer than July. Latest estimate is end of September but that's fine with me because I'm finally getting myself a social life here - more of which later - and it will allow all you disorganised people to book your trips to visit 😊

Last weekend was the Stockholm Marathon which I learned passed right outside my flat. Twice! It was a pretty warm day so the runners were definitely in need of the shower stations along the route. I did venture out for a little while to take in the action but it's not even close to the scale of the London Marathon and there was a disappointing lack of costumes. So I retreated to the relative cool and quiet of my living room and alternately watched from the window and on the TV.

On the social front, I have a new friend! Yay! Turns out that a friend of one of my ex-colleagues from EMI is to set up a local branch of her company here in Stockholm. Karola put us in touch a couple of weeks ago as we're both strangers in a strange land. So Rachel turned up late last Monday night and is fully engaged in interviewing prospective staff, making PR contacts and finding herself an apartment before her hotel booking runs out on Friday this week. But she has found time for us to go out for dinner, and also to hang out with Dave and me for most of this weekend which was great. Tomorrow we're both meeting up with a Canadian lady called Dawnne (friend of one of my current colleagues who's been living out here for 12 years) to have dinner and go to a gig. Staying here for another couple of months seems like it could be rather fun 😊

As you may already have gathered, this weekend I had my second visit - this time from Dave. Saturday was Sweden's National Day and we spent several hours walking around Djurgården before settling in at a waterside bar by Djurgårdsbron for a well-earned beer. From there we watched as the military police erected stripey tape marking off the route of the evening parade. The bar staff said that we were expecting the Royal Family so we settled in with another beer to wait for them. But the evening was drawing on and Rachel and I were getting a bit chilly so we started to get ready to head home. The two of us popped briefly into the ladies to relieve the effects of our stay at the bar... at precisely the moment the Royal Family came past in their horse-drawn carriages! Doh!!! Dave managed to get a couple of photos so we had to review after the event.

Sunday was more relaxed, sitting on the boat out to Vaxholm before having a leisurely wander around the town and the fortress (which wasn't open when Sarah was here). All very sedate. Back to Gamla Stan on the boat and a wander along Hornsgatan to take in a bit more of my neighbourhood. Topped off with a few beers at the Texas Longhorn and a very nice Chinese meal at Ho's (no jokes please). All in all a relaxing weekend, but actually quite tiring!

Well I think that brings us up to date - I'm back in the UK on Friday night so hope to catch up with many of you over the weekend 😊

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