Friday13 - Friday 20

Friday 13
I kept being attacked by some psycho in a hockey mask wielding a bloody great knife.

Luckily I have a black belt in Llap-Goch 
(The Welsh art of self-defence that is based on just two simple principles;

1. Attack is the best form of defence
2. Surprise is the best form of attack

Therefore the perfect technique is to attack your attacker before he attacks you, or better still before the thought of attacking you has occurred to him.).

By utilizing these two techniques I was easily able to defeat my opponent before he’d even drawn his knife, or in fact I left him looking like 6 tins of cat food before he’d even had a chance to don his hockey mask and overalls! I’m sure many others would have been fooled by his cunning disguise and would have truly believed that he was just an innocent traffic warden issuing a ticket. Unfortunately for him this time he picked the wrong car and as a Master my training immediately enabled me to penetrate his cunning deception and take the appropriate action before it was too late. Its weird, this keep happening and for some reason it’s always on a Friday!

After I had disposed of the remains

I went to work.

Sat 14 – Film Night
Me to bed, Nat to the Games workshop, Han to Ballet, Deb goes shopping, Deb bought the DVD of Night at the Museum 2.

We all watched it that evening (I want to go to the Smithsonian) after which Nat and I started to watch Watchmen (for some reason Deb absolutely hates this film) and which we were going to turn off when Deb came back into the room. However she plonked herself on the PC then beat a retreat to an early bed so we didn’t get the chance.

Sun 15 – Rugby, Allotment and Wine

Sunday morning and it’s another early morning rugby match day at the Leicester Vipers. I can’t recall who it was that they played but the Nat’s side lost the first match. His team just can’t ever seem to get it together in the first match. They two teams played a second shortened match and right at the last minute Nat smashed his way through to score a try in the corner. You should have seen the look of pride on his face and the smile as his team mates congratulated him.


After the match we stopped at the allotment to try to clear it ready for winter. We took down the bean sticks and pulled up some veg that that gone passed it’s best. Now we need to arrange for a delivery of manure which we can be spread on the plot and left over the winter. That’s one for next week hopefully. Home for dinner, I got the potatoes and parsnips prepared and into the oven whilst Deb popped to Asda for a few things, including, because for some reason I’d had a craving for some for days, the first bottle of Liebfraumilch we’ve bought in years. Chilled the wine and had a glass with lunch it was a nice as I remembered it to be. I don’t know why, I hate sweet French wines but love sweet German ones.

Mon 16 – Opticians, Frozen Cars and Edward Woodward

I had an appointment to see the optician at Asda today. It’s been two years since I’ve had an eye test and I think my prescription needs adjusting, aside from which I’m tired of wearing glasses with sello-tape on the right arm. As I suspected there had been small changes and I got a new prescription (remember to take the receipt into work). I didn’t choose any new glasses as I can’t see what the frames look like without my glasses on so I said I’d come back with the family later in the week.

I returned Home sat and supped and generally felt sorry for myself. That’s the trouble with chronic pain it eventually wears you down to a point where you’re just apathetic. I don’t feel like I’ve actually done anything, on my own initiative, for months. About 2:45 I got an urgent call from Deb saying that the car was frozen. Apparently the batteries in the electronic key had gone flat and when she’d tried to start the car everything had locked up. She needed me to get the spares to her. It appeared she had already called Donna, who was picking up Nat and Sian from school, who was going to drop off the kids at our place, Han was already at Donna’s house, with Josh, having been collected from school by Jonathon. Donna arrived at about 3:40 and we were on the clock because she had an important appointment herself at 4:30 that she couldn’t miss. We made it by the skin of our teeth, got the car started, got Donna home before 4:30 and made it home. Nat went to kick boxing at 6:15 and Han went to Cubs. Sad news on tonight’s news, the actor Edward Woodward has passed away, I was always a fan, I don’t think I ever saw him in anything I didn’t enjoy.

Tues 17 - Brockington Bullies
Yet another night with little or no sleep. The hot water bottle sprung a leak and nearly scalded me. Had to chuck it in the bin and make do with putting the microwave bear between my knees. I’m afraid MB didn’t stay hot for very long and so proved to be something of a dud when it came to pain relief. We got an urgent call from Nat at about 3:30 that afternoon, it seems he and Henri had been cycling home when they were once again confronted by the lads they’d had problems with at the beginning of term. Words were exchanged, threats were made and stones were thrown. Nat and Henri had gone back to the school car park before Nat phoned us. Deb, Han and I piled into the car and headed for Enderby. We met the lads in the car park then went to reception to report what had happened. The school had better sort this out once and for all, my Son is NOT getting bullied, I went through for years and it scared me for life, and it’s not going to happen to Nat. I will have no compunction about ruining those other kids’ lives if I have too. We left the kids’ bikes at school and drove Henri home. Briefed his Dad about what had happened. Hopefully, after the debacle with Sian, Henri and the bike incident the other week, this time he and Maxine won’t go off half cocked. After dropping Henri off we dropped Nat at home before Deb, Han and I went to choose me some spectacles. It took them about 45 minutes to make my choices. I ended up ordering two pairs with veri-focal photo-reactive lens. Total cost £240! They should be ready in about 10 days.

Wed 18 / Thurs 19 – Sleepy Hols
Shattered from lack of sleep, went into work but once on site I booked a night’s holiday and Deb came and picked me up. I felt sick from lack of sleep. Spent the night down stairs on the settee and went to bed in the morning after everyone had gone. Yet again I didn’t manage to get much in the way of sleep so I called work and booked yet another day’s holiday.

Friday 20
Got a few hours sleep on the settee then went to bed around 10:30. Decided to listen to podcasts as this usually helps me to drift off, listened to the All About Symbian podcast first where I discovered that there was a new version of Google mobile apps available for my mobile which now included voice search. Downloaded and installed over the home wireless network. Fantastic, unlike Yahoo’s attempt at the same thing last year this actually works. Afterward I listened to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History episodes 27/28/29 on the war on the Eastern Front during WW2. His cast were as excellent as ever and I’m looking forward to listening to number 30 in bed tomorrow.

Deb was out tonight; after all it’s only our wedding anniversary, at a works do so Donna kindly took me to work. It’s been very busy tonight and at times I’ve really had to fight the tiredness, around 1:00 AM I thought I was going to heave I was suddenly so exhausted. At the moment it seems as if I’ve managed to tough it out. Hoping Dan puts me to sleep this morning, its OK Dan I’ll listen to it again another day, so that I’m less sleepy on Saturday night.