After the excitement of the weekend, this week has been a bit quieter. On Tuesday we travelled with little Murgatroyd to a potential home for her. The couple had already been homechecked and given an enthusiastic rating but as they had a cat, we needed to see how she would behave. We drove off when Andrew came home from work, leaving Andy and Booty in the house. We travelled over the mountain road, through the Elan Valley. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and hedges were full of foxgloves, roses and first honeysuckle. It was stunningly beautiful and also very quiet - not much traffic about which made the journey even more enjoyable. The couple lived not far from Strata Florida, where we were quite recently but their cottage was miles off the road, down a variety of little lanes past forestry and fields of sheep. Eventually arrived to a warm welcome but it became apparent very quickly indeed that a happy co-existence between Murgatroyd and the cat was extremely unlikely. Such a shame as it was an idyllic spot with people who would have given her a loving home. Still, I remain certain she will find the right home for her. Even though that was potential home No. 3, it is still difficult - I remain cheerfully besotted and was struggling on Tuesday not to even think about her imminent departure. Now she is back with us, and continuing to be a star, albeit with a moth eaten appearance at the moment, as her kennel coat is gradually coming out and a sleeker, darker coat is coming through. There are little tufts and sprouts of her old coat sticking up and out at strange angles and when you stroke her, drifts of the old coat come out. Soon though she will be looking fabulous.

We are continuing with preparations for the move next week. Andrew has said goodbye to the running club - his last session tonight. That is a wrench as they have been very friendly and welcoming to both of us. I have been trying to cook this week out of the freezer and cupboard to run down stocks of food before things are turned off. We have a big American style fridge-freezer which will be fun to move and will probably need to settle for around 24 hours after it has been transported.

Tomorrow is Andrew's last day in his job - he will be coming home with his aspidistra from his desk. The next few days are likely to be a bit chaotic so I may not be blogging for a little while but will return as soon as I can. I have emailed most people with our new (old!) address and new phone number - if you are reading this and haven't yet got it and want it, then do please email.

Lastly, on an unrelated search, I came across the Cardiff Council Unison (trade union) website and noticed that they now have a blog. Well, many congratulations to them for taking the step. i would just say that it does need a few more posts and possibly a bit more visual attractiveness. you can access it here - http://cardiffcountyunison.blogspot.com/

When I used to work for the Council, it seemed Unison was one of my most regular readers so I am happy to return the favour and point the way to their dip into the blogosphere. The most recent posts appear to be in support of Cuban communism and in favour of expelling members of political parties who do not share Unison's aims - hmmm, bit of a sticky one that. I wonder how many ordinary Unison members are actively in favour of Communism as practiced in Cuba? Still, generally speaking, union members get the union they deserve, in that pro-communists are often the only ones who can be arsed to get organised and active - the vast majority of union members are completely apathetic until they need the help of the union, scream loudly for action then return to a state of political torpor. So, hats off to hard working socialists - who can enjoy the splendid intricacies of composite motions.