Hi! Remember Me?

Geez, it's well over a month since I last blogged. I was a young man of 40 back then!

Mind you, it's not like too much has happened, but let me fill you in.

My birthday: a trip to Colchester Zoo with Neil, Andy, Neil, Amanda and Alex. Good fun. In the evening, Andy, Sue, and I went to Aroma in Braintree with Mum, Alex, A Vera and U Laurence, and Sarah and Andy. Nice meal. Folks were suitably impressed.

Prague: wow. Love the city breaks, but Prague was one of the best, somewhere I'd heartily recommend for anyone to visit. Lots to look at, lovely places to walk round. Sure, it was cold. (Fecking freezing on a couple of occaisions!) But the mulled wine sold on virtually every corner cut through.

MV Course: just last week, went to the RM conference centre in Rugby for a residential course. Was very unsettled after events I won't share even with this blog, and really didn't want to be there. But it was ok, and I learnt a lot.

Gym: the gym thing is finally underway. I'm going to the Riverside gym after being referred on the Live Life scheme, which is saving me cash! Had assessments and inductions from the lovely Jenny, and it's all quite technological and posh. The equipment is much better than Canons, though the setting, especially the changing rooms and showers, is reminiscent of The Brittas Empire. I hate communal showers... the idea of showing off my manly physique turns my stomach. It doesn't help that I'm more Mr Blobby than George Clooney of course. But I expect in a few months, I'll be able to strut around like the rest of them. (Yea, right!)

Footie: Spurs are still in fourth place, hunting down the Champions League place. The Arse, surprisingly, only managed a draw at Portsmouth. That means the game in hand has been played, and they are now 4 points behind. Even if we lose at Arsenal, that still gives us a point advantage. The big flea in the ointment though is that Arsenal are in the Champions League semi finals. Should they win the competition, and finish 5th, then they will knock us out of the next season's competition as UEFA have cleaned up the loophole which caused Liverpool to struggle to compete, even as holders. It's silly isn't it... I'll be gutted if Spurs are playing in the UEFA cup next season, even though I'd have been very happy with that back in August. The fact is, we've been sat in 4th place now since December and it will be a shame if we don't end the season there.

Cricket: England, despite being sans Vaughan, Trescothick, Giles and Simon Jones managed a creditable 1-1 series draw in India, under the excellent captaincy of Andrew Flintoff. (I absolutely refuse to refer to him as Freddie!) Essex boy Alaistair Cook got a ton in his first test, left armer Monty Panesar became the first Sikh to represent England, and while he didn't set the world alight, has given Giles the willies about getting his place back. Oh, and Owais Shah had a great debut too. After 6 one-dayers (with one abandoned) India lead the series 4-1 with 1 to play.

For my part, I've finally received my Essex membership doobries. The season starts this weekend, with the MCC vs Notts game at Lords. Essex are taking on Loughborough Uni at Chelmsford in a 3 dayer, and I'll be heading for the Saturday and Sunday, and maybe some of Monday too, if Sue lets me! Hopefully get to see some good cricket, and looking forward to the season proper getting going next week.

So, Easter weekend tomorrow. Nice to have a 4 day break. Sue has Friday and Monday, so at least we'll have a couple of days together.

Better go, hopefully will be back in less than a month!