Wed, Sep 30th

I know that I am being cryptic. But I can't expand on what I say because work matters are clearly confidential and should not be broadcast to the world. Even if the world is only a few people, and no one that even knows of the people I am not writing about. But, I am afraid that this crazy week is continuing. What I would like to know is...why do people ignore their responsibilities and then get annoyed when you remind them? Enough said!

Tues, Sep 29th

Thankfully things calmed down a little today at work. However, my head is still spinning. When will this end?

Mon, Sep 28th

Back to work and all I can say is that today was one of those days that you either want over with quickly, or can't believe is actually happening. Sadly, by the time I met Dawn on the train, I felt both. I could not believe the things that were happening and wanted to get out quickly, because I just couldn't see the list of unbelievable things ending!!

Sun, Sep 27th

Today was Dad's 82nd birthday and all I will say about this is that after living in Florida for 7 years and seeing Dad go through all his health problems over the last three and a half years, I am so pleased that I was able to spend some time with him today.

We stopped off at Dim T for lunch on the way (because Dad said he didn't feel up to going out).

When we arrived at Dad's flat, we handed him a card and the book we picked up yesterday and chatted for a little before I went into the kitchen to light the candles and bring the cake into the living room singing "Happy Birthday to You." Dad really looked surprised. He blew the candles out before I put the cake on the side. Phillip phoned him before we got there, and I am sure David will telephone before the day is out.

Back home Dawn did her ironing while I edited the photos, and then updated our blog and Facebook. After dinner Dawn watched a X-Factor from last night and then tonight.

Sat, Sep 26th

Following the last week we decided to take things a little easy today. I did the Tesco run on my own before taking Dawn into town to do the rest of the shopping. We stopped at Starbucks before picking up a birthday cake for Dad in Waitrose and some odds and ends in the cake shop opposite to post office, too. Best of all, I was able to pick up a Bartholomew London Guide book published in 1929 for Dad. We thought it would be an ideal gift for him.

Back at the house I made some crab cakes with pepper sauce for lunch before Dawn called Brady. They tried to use the webcam, but Brady had some problems at her end. For dinner we had a sirloin each with a baked potato before Dawn settled down and watched Strictly Come Dancing for the rest of the night.

Fri, Sep 25th

Dawn could not see today through quick enough. As expected, it has been a very long and tiring week. I think she has done incredibly well. What made today even worse is that she had to stay behind late this evening to attend a P&F meeting. By the time I met Dawn at Enfield Chase, she got off the Gordon Hill bound train that arrived there at 17:26 and she was ready to drop.

Thankfully I didn't have to cook when we got home. We picked up some plaice and chips from Carleys and a few Kronenbergs. That meant minimal washing up, too. Not to mention I love fish and chips.

Wed, Sep 23rd

Gave the "Environmental State of the Union" announcement at the Quality Meeting this morning, and issued my monthly environmental report. All I will say is that it's been a long year and we still have three months to go to see out 2009.

Mon, Sept 21st

Today Dawn was not a happy camper on the way to work. It was the first day of Fresher's Week. She had been working tirelessly to get her stall ready and organise helpers to man it so she can get on with her normal duties. So in one sense it was good that it was finally here. However, on the negative side, it meant that Dawn would spent the best part of each day on her feet talking to students. Needless to say, by the time I met her on the 16:21 train at Enfield Chase, she was mentally and physically exhausted. Day one down, four to go!!!

Sun, Sept 20th

The last of our long weekend. Watched Ghost Whisperer while Dawn read the Sunday papers. Did the blog and edited photos, and for once didn't spend half a dozen hours in the kitchen.

Dawn spent several hours on her IEMA course and was relieved to be able to submit her first assignment for marking. Like with my first assignment, it had been weighing heavily on her mind. Sadly it's back to work tomorrow. However, Dawn was able to enjoy watching Strictly and some X-Factor. I didn't enjoy watching Spurs lose 3-0 to Chelsea on Sky.

Tonight I called Dad as usual. He's feeling a little tired. Hopefully he will feel better for his 82nd birthday next Sunday.

Sat, Sept 19th

With the grocery shopping out of the way, we were able to start today a little more leisurely. Dawn did the vacuuming while I tided up and spent what seemed like forever tearing up cardboard boxes so we can compost them.

We then met my daughter Hayley at Hertford East and popped into town and enjoyed a nice long chat at Starbucks. We left there, picked up some newspapers, and then stopped at Ask for lunch and more chatting. After we had filled up on food, we popped back to the house where Hayley jumped on one of our laptops before I dropped her back at the station so she could catch a train back to Hackney.

Dawn started her weekend of reality by watching the start of the seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing from last night (and part of this evening's). X-Factor will have to wait until Sunday.

Fri, Sept 18th

Dawn, unlike me who is deprived of vacation, had nine days holiday that she needed to take by the end of her holiday year ending this month. So for the second week running we both had a nice long weekend by taking Friday off work. Dawn thankfully can carry some of her vacation time forward. As for me, I have now run out of vacation time for 2009 (except days booked for our anniversary in November, Thanksgiving, and Christmas).

Our first task of the day was to get our wing mirror replaced. This cost us £63. Feeling a little depressed, we stopped off at Starbucks in Hertford before running some errands. With half the day gone, we dropped into The White Hart for a cajun chicken wrap each. I also ordered (much to Dawn's distaste) a scotch with orange juice. I hadn't had one for nearly 30 years and it had been bugging me for weeks, so I thought I would give one a try. I gave up scotch about the same time I downed a complete bottle one night that Mum and Dad were in Dorset for a couple of days.

Grocery shopping at Tesco followed before we chilled out the rest of the day at home on the computers and watching some TV, including the film The Best Man.

Thur, Sep 17th

Dawn had another hectic day. This morning she gave a presentation to over 200 student union officers and volunteers on environmental programmes and projects at CU. Understandably, she had a bit of a sleepless night, as she had not formulated her presentation when she went to bed last night. Even worse was that the presentation was in a typical college auditorium with rows and rows of students raising up from the platform so they could look down at her standing behind a plinth and microphone to broadcast her voice.

But they were like puppies in her hands once she started speaking. By the time she had finished, she received an arousing applause from everyone and several of the attendees came up to her to tell her how well she had done, and that they had even found out things at the college that they had no idea was going on.

You go, girl!!!

Wed, Sept 16th

My week has been pretty mundane considering. Dawn's on the other hand has been one challenge and deadline after another. To tell the truth, since becoming Environmental Officer at CU, she has been accumulating tasks and projects like collecting stamps. However, unlike stamp collecting, she can't just buy another album; she has to fit it all into her normal work week. Today she even had to leave work early, which didn't help, as she had her periodical check up at the dentist.

Guess what? Our overburdened socialist healthcare system provided Dawn with her six monthly visit and deep clean for the expensive cost of £35. But then again, we don't have to make insurance payments every month, don't have to fill in countless forms, and worry that some unforeseen health problem could result in us losing our home due to escalating medical bills. Maybe not so bad after all.

Mon, Sep 14th

After over two and a half years in my current employment, I finally attended an Asbestos Awareness course. It's something we offer to other companies, as it is a responsibility of all businesses to ensure that their staff are aware of potential asbestos issues applicable to their job. As always, I felt that not enough is being done to protect employees and deal with this hazard (like most silent killers), especially in this case where the victims may not see the symptoms for a couple of decades.

It's just another example of how mankind thinks of the bottom line and today. The environmental situation is one thing. But when it comes to asbestos, thousands are walking around with a very painful and cruel time bomb ticking slowly inside them. It's just wrong how some companies play Russian roulette with others' lives.

Sun, Sep 13th

The last of our long weekend. I ran out to the petrol station to fill up and check the tyre pressure. Petrol is now £1.069 per litre. Then I went to Tesco to pick up a chicken for dinner, and get some carnations for Dawn.

The rest of the day was spent on the computer, watching television, or in the kitchen. Over the weekend I have made a vegetable and bean soup that will go for five nights, some spaghetti bolognese that will do four nights, and the chicken and vegetable casserole that will be good for tonight and tomorrow night, plus tomorrow's lunch.

I know I got a lot of my stubbornness from Dad, but I also got my thriftiness, too. Perhaps that's why I feel so deeply about the environment - Waste not, want not!!!

Sat, Sep 12th

We normally get the train up to Holloway, but drove because we were going to the cemetery today.
A stop off at Dim T in Highgate first because Dad didn't want to come out for lunch because he hadn't been feeling too good the last few days. When we got to Dad's, he informed us he couldn't go to the cemetery either and asked us to take his flowers for him. He was clearly upset not being able to lay the flowers this weekend, as it was the anniversary of Mum's death last week and burial next week.

On the way to the cemetery, we had a shock when a car passing us in the opposite direction hit the offside wing mirror sending shards of glass into the car. Dawn almost freaked out when she saw blood on my neck, even though she had been hit on the head herself. Thankfully neither one of us was seriously hurt. However, we now need to deal with getting the mirror fixed.

At the cemetery, the branches from the trees behind Mum's grave were still hanging over the graves, so I spent a little time pruning them back.

Fri, Sep 11th

No work today. We both had a day off work and enjoyed taking it easy. We had a ride into town and did our weekly grocery shopping today and in town. We got all our odds and ends in Waitrose after we had enjoyed a cappuccino in Starbucks, picked up veggies from the fruit and vegetable stand, and some sea bass from the fish stall. The fish we had lightly pan-fried for dinner tonight and it was excellent.

Wed, Sep 9th

I stayed up later than normal so I could watch England's World Cup qualifier against Croatia. And it was worth it. Our 5-1 victory saw England qualify for next year's World Cup Finals in South Africa with two games still to play. What a change. Well done England, especially after our cricket team won the Ashes back from Australia.

Mon, Sep 7th

After three weeks' wait, I finally received my IEMA paper back from the University of Bath. I was hoping for a grade B at least and was a little deflated only to get a C for my 59%. I honestly felt that I had done enough to get a higher grade, and so had Dawn. Now I will have to try even harder in the second assignment. However, this is a much harder assignment and has 60% of the total grade. Watch this space.

Sun, Sep 6th

Had a nice lie in, then went down the paper shop to get the Observer and Sunday Times for the newspaper obsessive wife of mine. Watched this week's Ghost Whisperer and then did breakfast.

Sadly, that is where the relaxation stopped. Well for Dawn anyway. She did the vacuuming and then the ironing while I dumped my backside down at the dining table for a couple of hours. I did however spend a little time in the kitchen making lunch, the couscous salad for this week's lunches, and a mushroom risotto for dinner.

Dawn didn't have her weekend video call with Brady today because her mother had company. However, I did call Dad after dinner to check on him and have a little chat.

Then it was depression time again as we acknowledged that we had not won the lottery either Friday or Saturday and would be going back on the Hertford North platform a little after 6am tomorrow morning as usual.

Sat, Sep 5th

Haircut day, again. However, before we lost our locks, we did the weekly grocery run to Tesco. In town we indulged in a delicious banana and nut muffin with our skinny cappuccino at Starbucks before dropping into Waitrose, Boots, the Co-op pharmacy, Messages (for a photo album) and the Hertford Natural Health Shop (to refill our detergent bottles).

Somewhere in between we also stopped at Baan Thitiya for a Thai lunch. We've grown bored with our usual pub lunches in town. Well, to tell the truth, the word is disappointed.

Back at the house, we unwound by watching The Dark Knight. It's not the type of film we usually watch, but we wanted to see how the late Heath Ledger did as the Joker. Then it was England beating Slovenia 2-1 on ITV, followed by X-Factor and then a recording of The Office.

I told you we were going to have a relaxing weekend.

Fri, Sep 4th

My brother Phil's 55th birthday today. Won't be long before I'll be up there. Sometimes I wonder where all the years have gone. Occasionally a song comes on the radio and I feel like I am back in the 70s as a teenager, wondering what the future had in store. Well, at no time did I guess that I would have experienced what came my way. Although, looking back, I can honestly say that now I can see where the crossroads in my life were. Sadly, I took some wrong turns along the way, but then again don't we all?

Back to the present.

Dawn had a pretty hectic day today as she had to schedule in a visit from someone working from ITP. It involved a tour of some of the campus buildings, including the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. Dawn felt like she had walked back into Jack the Ripper times. Unfortunately, that was in the halls and corridors of the hospital and not the streets and alleys around there. Thankfully the new Royal London Hospital is already under construction.

After a quiet week, we both left work a little early and were able to make it home to Tiny a little earlier than usual. Another week behind us and two days of relaxation ahead.

Thu, Sep 3rd

A real quiet week at work with several of those who usually make a noise or create havoc on holiday or out. It gave me the chance to get stuck into accounts stuff. Sadly it's not what I enjoy, but it pays the bills. I'd rather be working full time on environmental issues, but I am at least thankful that I have a job and that my salary gets paid into the bank at the end of each month.

Dawn, on the other hand, was over the moon. As you all know, Dawn has been working on environmental matters full time since January, so she is a little happier than me on that front. Today, though, she got the news that a programme that she had been working on for the last year finally got the nod. For months and months, various people have been putting obstacles in the way, but today she got the news it had been given the green light.

My highlight was dropping into Argos to pick up a can crusher so we can start crushing our aluminium cans before they get collected for recycling.