Forgot to mention...

...that I also went to see the Matthew Bourne Dorian Gray. I really enjoyed it. The music and the sets were amazing and most of the dancing consisted of very attractive boys in their underwear running around the stage and having sex with each other. And there's a disco ball that has to be seen to be believed! What's not to like? As it was the Manchester premiere there was also a post-show Q & A session with La Bourne himself which was good too. He kept saying that everything we had seen on the stage came direct from the novel. What? Even the back room scene? Have now ordered the novel from Amazon to check...

Just dropped DD off at work. She's doing mornings to see how she copes being in work on crutches. Since I'm on a training course all week I'll be able to drop her off but she'll need to find her own lift back into town. We'll see how it goes. I'm off to develop myself into a confident manager (apparently) so that's all for now. J x

Good News

DD has fractured her ankle. Not good news you might say but they're not putting her in plaster and she can go back to work next week (which has cheered her up no end - anyone would think she didn't want to retire!). She was out and about round town yesterday with "the girls" in a decorated wheelchair so I look forward to tales of derring-do (and derring-don't) when I speak to her later.

The Aged Ps are in Portugal with beautiful weather although not having a brilliant time since my mother has picked up an infection and is on antibiotics - Lord alone knows what this has done to the wine industry over there...

As for little old me, not a lot to report. Had a bit of a scare on Tuesday when the awful stomach pain returned. It lasted about 20 minutes and I had started packing my bags for hospital when I was sick and the pain went. A friend tells me that the act of being sick can sometimes dislodge the offending stone that is causing the pain and so it gets better of its own accord. Am hoping this doesn't happen again since unplanned hospital visits mess up my life. 11/12 will do nicely thank you.

Am on a training course for 4 days this week - luckily its being held in Manchester so shouldn't be too much trouble. There's loads of pre-course reading and work to do though so I'm having to do a lot of it this weekend. Did manage to squeeze in a session on the helpline last night but only got 2 hang-ups and no actual calls. Quite boring really. Hey ho, at least I was there in case anyone did have a crisis. That's all. J x

The Nursed Has Turned.

Well, I have some news. Firstly, and most importantly, madam has taken a tumble and hurt her ankle. It appears that there was an incident involving a number of boisterous (fat) dogs on a country walk today which left DD on the floor with a pain in her ankle. She's been to one of those NHS walk in centres where they took an x-ray but didn't have a doctor to interpret it. So they'll get back to her. Might have been better to brave the A&E crowds to get an instant diagnosis but there we go. Its either badly sprained or fractured - either way initial treatment is the same: rest and keep it raised. I'll spend Tuesday and Thursday with her as I have some work I can do out of the office anyway and she'll get some of the many many other willing helpers to fill in the gaps. Nice to be able to repay some of the kindness and care she has shown me over the years.

I have news too. I have a date for my operation: 11 December. I was offered earlier dates but this one works best. With a 2 week recuperation it takes me up to Xmas day. Its best for my trainees since they won't be sitting exams, they won't have a lot of accountants ringing up (they all bugger off for December anyway) and they're expected to take their annual leave during the tutorial breaks anyway. And Mum and Dad get to look after me for ages - they're over the moon.

DD reads the blog so please feel free to leave her heartwarming and tender messages. That's all. J x

News Indeed

Only its not about me - DD has just heard that she's getting early retirement, She'll be gone by the end of November. She's over the moon about the news and a little emotional - understandable when you consider that she's been in the Department for over 40 years (we calculated that she'll have spent 8900 days working for the Department by the time she retires). That's a lot of days. Of course I'm pleased as punch for her but just can't help wondering how many vodka martinis you can buy your friends from a pension! I'm sure we all wish her the best for an HMRC-free future.

Other news - another long week. Ups and downs. Had a good in-year assessment but lost a member of staff to Manchester. He's good too but has a footballing injury that means his mobility is restricted making travel to Warrington difficult. I wish him well though.

Still no progress on the wardrobe (will it ever get built?) but then had a text from the builder (after 3 months of no contact) asking me when I'd like him to come around and finish off some jobs. Don't know whether to swallow my pride and get the jobs finished off or say "sod you, you haven't been in touch for three months so I'm not giving you any work"'. That's all. J x

First Week Back

Well its been a long and tiring week. I did manage to squeeze in one short day (in line with my Performance Agreement) but overall I did too many hours. Hey ho, I had a lot to catch up on and I managed to catch up on some of it. I'll have a quiet weekend this weekend to make sure I recover my strength. In any case its good to be out of hospital and back in work. Still no word yet on when I need to go back.

Not really got any other news on account of not having done anything else. Hopefully something exciting will happen this weekend (I'm meeting DD for a coffee at some point so that's quite exciting) and I'll be able to report on it! That's all. J x