A busy couple of days with some very mixed feelings. I often visit a website set up for people in the UK dealing with cervical cancer or pre-cancer, in its various stages. One of the women on the site started out with the same type and grade cancer that I did, and is about the same age. Unfortunately her cancer recurred and she has had to deal with an escalating catalogue of complications some caused by the damage inflicted by radiotherapy. I don't want for a minute to imply any opposition to radiotherapy - it can and does save lives. Anyway, Kayla's husband has posted that the treatment she has received at the Marsden (world class)has run out of options and she is being moved into the hospice ward. I'm gutted for her, her husband and her young children, and it stirs up a lot of mixed feelings in me about my own illness. This is gloomy but I try to be cheerful and enjoy life as I think that is what is precious.

Anyway - yesterday was the flytipping forum in Pontypool. The town looked very clean and well cared for and the meeting went well. We discussed adapting and adopting the key guidelines in the DEFRA flytipping research done last year by the Jill Dando Institute - well worth a read as it examines the causes, nature and prevention of fly-tipping. My colleague D (he of the amazing nail cufflinks) has agreed to stand as chair of the forum for a year. I look forward to seeing him do this as he is very good at making connections between people.

Today we went to London to the Houses of Parliament. Whoopee! I am not ashamed to say I was very excited, gawped unashamedly and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Only saw Ian Duncan Smith but you could feel the excitement and the history in the building. Cardiff Bay has a long way to go before it has a fraction of the atmosphere. Sadly, the security was depressing. I still don't like seeing armed police in London. We ate and drank out on the terrace. This has the most wonderful views of the river, the Tower, the Eye, old County Hall etc and the weather was gorgeous - scorchio! Somehow looking across at St Thomas Hospital, I thought of Kayla and being there and enjoying it seemed the right thing to do. On the way out bought a few souvenir trinkets from the shop and gawped at the stunning hammer beams of the medieval Hall - utterly astonishing and such a key location in British history, the site of many trials etc... Train back was very full, glad we had reserved seats. Now thinking of all the possible casual opportunities I can manufacture for inserting into conversations my recent visit to the mother of Parliaments.

Returned home to an ecstatic welcome from Andy. Later, I went out to sort out the rubbish for tomorrow's collection and water the front hanging basket and when I came back in, he again greeted me like his long lost best friend even though I had only been out for five minutes. He is currently snoozing near my feet, with a very relaxed greyhound posture involving his legs covering as much acreage of carpet as is physically possible! Now counting the days and hours before his big op - fortunately he is blissfully unaware. Although it should be straightforward, I can't help feeling a little trepidation for him.

The swallows are back, hurrah! Now summer has officially begun. The bats came back and started their dusk aerobatics over Easter, but I always feel summer is on its way when you look up into a clear blue sky and see that beautiful, endless swoop. Somehow, it manages simultaneously to remind you of childhood summers never ending and also to be intensely in the moment, as the swallows are only a summer visitor and their time is precious with us. The feeling is magnified by this glorious weather - we are spending hours out the garden and the temperatures are more like June than April.

Yesterday we went to the garden centre and got our summer annuals for hanging baskets and pots. I don't know if it is because I am more interested in plants now, but there is definately an improvement each year in the variety and range of these plants. Of course there is always a need for old favourites such as petunias and lobelia, but even these come now in such a wide range of colours, foliage, type of blossom etc. We selected a variety and planted up our baskets and pots - now looking forward to them growing.

Watched "The Queen" on DVD last night over a delicious chicken and mango curry. An excellent performance by Helen Mirren that really drove home the point that the royal family do seem to live in this extraordinary bubble of protocol and tradition that effectively acts as a stifling blanket. Their remedy for most ills seemed to be to go on a good walk and to blast some innocent Scottish wildlife into the hereafter. I found myself veering between feeling sorry for them as individuals but even more strongly loathing the institution they inhabit and longing for its end, along with the hereditary flummery that goes with it.

Today we woke up early after a very good night's sleep and took Andy over to Tredegar House - we like it there. Their rhododendrons were in flower, and the iris were just starting round the lake. Nice and quiet so no problems with Andy wanting to chase other dogs but because it was early, lots of rabbits were out so Andy went nuts over them. I just wish we could let him off the lead as I really would love to see him at full pelt.

He supervised me closely while I was doing the ironing via a commanding sprawl on the bed. I was reminded of a Roman emperor surveying a consignment of slaves. There is a delicious smell wafting up the stairs as I write from a beef casserole along with some cracked wheat.

Andrew is in the garden - the pond now has a small fountain running off a pump which was installed by a "pond doctor" on Saturday morning. He rolled up his trousers and paddled around in the pond barefoot, sorting out the pump which has a UV cleaning filter on it as well as the fountain which apparently contributes to the oxygenation of the water. He also gave the pond a kind of hoovering to remove the layers of sediment that have accummulated since its inception last August. With all the building work going on around us still, it is quite dusty and I was not surprised by the amount. This has noticeably improved the clarity of the water and should help to maintain a healthy pond through the summer. I am already amazed by how much life is in there. Today we were looking at the freshwater snails and the baby water boat men. The sound of the gentle bubbling trickle of the water is hypnotically restful - we love it.

Work tomorrow - and a busy week ahead with two days out of the office. Tuesday is the Flytipping Forum in Pontypool and Wednesday is London. The following week I'm off as Andy goes in for his nadger-ectomy on Friday morning, so I will be supervising the care of the convalescent.

Tuesday evening already - why does time go so quickly? Had a good weekend. Favourite aunty came to stay on Friday and we enjoyed a fab day out on Saturday at RHS Flower Show. Weather at hot summer temperatures, huge crowds and mouthwatering plants. Bought many and staggered home in state of contented collapse. New arrivals include a cardoon, a pink bergamot, lovage, salad burnet, grapefruit mint, four fuchsias, a sea holly and an omphalades cappadocia which has the most gorgeous blue flowers.

Sunday had a relaxed lunch, dropped off our guest at the station and returned home to do some planting up of the new purchases. Also planted our sunflower seedlings as they were starting to look a bit leggy. The ornamental gourds will probably be ready to go out next weekend. Andy of course was supervising closely.

The weather has now finally broken after about four weeks of hot dryness and the rain will be helping the new arrivals.

Yesterday was a busy day at work - after being away last week, 141 emails were waiting for me. Had a good meeting with Internal Audit who are looking at our management information processes at the moment, very interesting and should be useful. Signed off the recruitment forms for three new enforcement posts and the recently interviewed drivers. Starting to get lots of calls about the weekend supervisor position which has now been advertised.

Ordered train tickets today for next week. Going to the House of Commons for a posh lunch as a guest of the British Cleaning Council as we were a finalist in the Cleanest City competition. Am looking forward to it.

On Thursday this week, am doing some training on Clean Neighbourhoods Act and next Tuesday is the regional Flytipping Forum so it is likely to be a busy couple of weeks, especially with a few days out of the office - the time always flies then. Have some time off booked after the first May bank holiday as Andy is having his nadgers off - so will be at hand to supervise convalescence. As he is a fit, healthy boy should be straightforward. The attached photo shows what a contented greyhound looks like who has found how comfortable a well sprung kingsize bed can be for an afternoon snooze. Hmmm.

Yee-haaar, y'all! Well, Hayseed Dixie - what can I say? Absolutely fucking brilliant. What I had seen on their website and online reviews had whetted my appetite, but the real thing surpassed my expectations by miles. A picked me up and we headed off into town. A good crowd and a lovely mix - everything from family groups (gar- why bring kids to a gig? They should be at home doing sums), oldsters, punks in kilts, metalheads, country guys and just the plain curious.

The support group were bad, sort of Goth metal ish. All had spent a lot of time perfecting their posing. The singer wore a tiny little vest and every time she did an Avril Lavigne style bounce and stroked the back of her head to indicate her inner torment her boobs (which were large for her overall size) bounced perilously so I spent most of the evening waiting for them to escape.

Time for an interval drink and then it was time to head back in for the main event. The band came on wearing their trademark sawnoff dungarees, and got stuck in. Where most bands have a drummer, these guys had a large fridge full of real ales which they swigged copiously. Between songs they expounded briefly on their philosophy. This comprises such nuggets as:- There are only four things worth singing about - Drinking, Cheating, Fighting and Hell, and a surprisingly heartfelt plea for us all to ignore size zero models with salt water bag tits in favour of real women who eat food.

I spent the entire evening in a state of utter entrancement - it's just so bloody good to find a new band to like and watch play live. They are cracking musicians and seem to really enjoy themselves. What can I say about the music? Absolutely great. Particular highlights were Ace of Spades, I don't feel like dancing, and that hymn to pathetic break ups, I keep your poop in a jar. Grinning wildly on the way out, I treated myself to their latest CD, Weapons of Grass Destruction which I have been playing today. It's fab, and I feel it is likely I may be persuaded to purchase some of their earlier offerings. If you get the chance to go see them, do. A bluegrass take on heavy metal sounds weird, and shouldn't work, but somehow it does, defying logic, musical genres, and being grown up and sensible. Long may they continue. They finished the show with the duelling banjos - amazing.

From bluegrass to Andy, who is definately turning out to be a rock and roll sort of dog. Got home from the gig, he had knocked off the butterdish, broken it and had polished off nearly half a pound of best organic butter. I honestly didn't know whether to laugh or cry, as he looked very apologetic and I was incredibly worried he would hurt himself on the broken china, while being cross he had been so naughty and also imagining what half a pound of butter would do to his poo the next morning. The fun didn't stop there. I went up to bed pretty much straight away, leaving him on his favourite sheepskin, but woke this morning at the usual time around 6.30 to find a slumbering hound at the side of my bed, looking very contented. I wasn't too worried about that, but later on, after I had been to the bathroom, I emerged to find he has mastered the knack of jumping on the bed, and was curled up looking innocent, comfortable and very much at home. I've been pottering round today and when I have been upstairs, he has been on the bed a few more times - I suspect this will not be the last of it.

Finished an article today for an APSE e-bulletin on predicting the future of local authority environmental services. Unfortunately only 800 words, so just getting into my stride and time to cut short. Ended up going a little bit over but Debbie at APSE said that was fine. It's another lovely day and I'm looking forward to going out the garden this afternoon to do some stitching in the sunshine.

My sampler is finished, back from the framer and hanging on the guest bedroom wall. I am very pleased with it. Also in there are our seeds germinating on the windowsill for the ornamental gourds - they have nearly all sprouted which is very encouraging. The young master returns this evening from Scotland and tomorrow I am going to the CIWM Welsh AGM at Swansea, being held at the Liberty Stadium.

Life is good. Haven't posted in a while but the weather has been so fantastic we have been spending most of the time in the garden. Sunflower seedlings almost ready for planting and gourd seeds just beginning to germinate. Only downside is that along with doing no blogging, I am also doing no ironing or other domestic chores and what's more, I don't care!! Andy continues to settle in well, although we had a traumatic day yesterday when in a rare moment of domestic goddessness, I made a loaf of home made bread while the young master went for a run. It emerged from the breadmaker looking delicious with a fine golden crust and appetising smell. When it had cooled a little, I sampled a slice and was heartily impressed. I replaced the bread in the kitchen in what I thought was a safe location and went about my business. I was drawn to a soft thud from the hall. The little bastard was dragging the loaf across the floor with nefarious intent. I immediately retrieved it and the culprit shot upstairs and continued to peer at me through the banisters looking both desperately cute and rather guilty. When Andrew cam home I showed him the slightly battered bread and again replaced it - when we were watering later, it vanished again! Nothing if not persistent and determined. Andrew has yet to enjoy a single slice of the lovely loaf.

On a non-dog theme, going to see Hayseed Dixie later this week. I can't wait - they are a bluegrass interpretation of AC/DC and other similar heavy rock. Sounds amazing. If you are interested, check out their website - it's superb. I may very well buy one of their musical discs. Am attending with lovely colleague A (maker of champion tarts) as the young master is up in Scotland this week. On the weekend will be attending spring RHS show at Cardiff Castle - ooh, plant heaven. Yippee!!

One of the more interesting Cllr requests today in my inbox was for an immediate light meter reading in a residents house - it never ceases to surprise me the way that all sorts of odd requests end up with our service. Will finish here but will post later in the week to report on HD performance.

Life is good. Haven't posted in a while but the weather has been so fantastic we have been spending most of the time in the garden. Sunflower seedlings almost ready for planting and gourd seeds just beginning to germinate. Only downside is that along with doing no blogging, I am also doing no ironing or other domestic chores and what's more, I don't care!! Andy continues to settle in well, although we had a traumatic day yesterday when in a rare moment of domestic goddessness, I made a loaf of home made bread while the young master went for a run. It emerged from the breadmaker looking delicious with a fine golden crust and appetising smell. When it had cooled a little, I sampled a slice and was heartily impressed. I replaced the bread in the kitchen in what I thought was a safe location and went about my business. I was drawn to a soft thud from the hall. The little bastard was dragging the loaf across the floor with nefarious intent. I immediately retrieved it and the culprit shot upstairs and continued to peer at me through the banisters looking both desperately cute and rather guilty. When Andrew cam home I showed him the slightly battered bread and again replaced it - when we were watering later, it vanished again! Nothing if not persistent and determined. Andrew has yet to enjoy a single slice of the lovely loaf.

On a non-dog theme, going to see Hayseed Dixie later this week. I can't wait - they are a bluegrass interpretation of AC/DC and other similar heavy rock. Sounds amazing. If you are interested, check out their website - it's superb. I may very well buy one of their musical discs. Am attending with lovely colleague A (maker of champion tarts) as the young master is up in Scotland this week. On the weekend will be attending spring RHS show at Cardiff Castle - ooh, plant heaven. Yippee!!

One of the more interesting Cllr requests today in my inbox was for an immediate light meter reading in a residents house - it never ceases to surprise me the way that all sorts of odd requests end up with our service. Will finish here but will post later in the week to report on HD performance.

Yesterday was my birthday - 42!! It was a lovely happy day, and thank you to everyone for all the lovely cards and gifts. With it being Easter as well, the house is full of lovely cards. It was a day of glorious sunshine - impossible to feel anything other than happy and hopeful. I attach a photo of a wood anemone that we took up in the woods by Rhydry. The woods are Forestry Commission, and we enjoy walking up there. There are a wide range of flowers, trees and birds to enjoy as well as butterflies. We usually end up stopping to admire something natural. Yesterday we were treated to these wonderful flowers, and also just beginning to bud were some early bluebells. If this sunshine continues they will be in full flower in a week to ten days. We also enjoyed listening to a woodpecker as we walked. It was quiet up there - only saw one other dog walking party, but the walk was marred by discovering two burnt out cars, still smouldering. What was particularly distressing was that the personal possessions of the owners had been strewn around the cars. We picked up a letter and tried to get the phone number of the person but unfortunately they were ex-directory. Notified the police when we returned home. Enjoyed the rest of the day pottering in the garden and enjoying the sunshine. Had a bottle of champagne last night to celebrate - delicious.

Saturday also should have mentioned that my sampler was finished, washed and pressed, so ready for framing. Took it to be framed (pale blue mount, and limed plain frame) on Saturday morning as well as a John Knapp Fisher print. Picture attached.

Today is another beautiful day. We went to the garden centre this morning, along with I think most of the adult population of the country. Picked up some more shebunken for the pond and and a couple of pond plants, including a marginal marsh marigold. We walked Andy this morning over at Park Tredelerch which is right by work. Nice and peaceful as it is mainly frequented by fisherfolk. Enjoyed looking at marsh marigolds in situ on the margin of the pond, a lovely resident heron, lots of coots and moorhens, and further over in one of the rheens, a newt was visible. Andy went absolutely bonkers as the far end of the park is a rabbit paradise, and as it was still fairly early in the morning and so peaceful, lots of the little creatures were hopping about. Andy was literally bouncing with excitement, and uttering frantic squeaks. I wish we could let him off the lead but there are too many roads nearby for that, and a hyper greyhound with rabbits on his mind is not best placed to think about traffic. I am just about to do some ironing, as like the poor, it is always with us.

Andy has now been with us for just over a week. It has flown by. Andrew collected him last Thursday morning from the kennels and brought him home. Since then, we've begun to settle him in to a routine of sorts and he's experienced a number of firsts, including a visit to the vet on Saturday and a B.A.T.H. (traumatic for all concerned). On the plus side he has settled in remarkably quickly. He has a bed which is an Ikea sheepskin which he adores. This is in the living room, and when he is particularly relaxed he lies on it with his legs in the air which looks hilarious. He is a greedy eater and will cheerfully devour anything he can reach, which as he is a tall and intelligent dog, is quite a lot. A leg of lamb came to grief on Sunday, but we have learnt from that. He is great at travelling in the car, being very relaxed, but we still need to teach him to get in - at the moment, Andrew has to lift him in. He mastered the stairs very quickly and easily. Like most dogs, he is not over-fond of the hoover. He takes an immense interest in all the basic household tasks, such as hanging out washing, or washing up and likes to sniff everything with gusto.

On Monday and Tuesday we had the men in doing the floors, which of course created chaos. We tried to be out as much as possible. Now they are in, they look fabulous. I am so pleased with them. Andy's paws click as he walks over them. As we had to empty the rooms, all the bookshelves had to be cleared so on Wednesday, we emptied the last two boxes of books from the garage and had a tiring review of our entire library. There was a fair amount of pruning, re-ordering and the inevitable realisation that we never have anywhere near enough bookshelves - why is this? Is there some mysterious spatial law relating to books?

Today is a beautiful day and we are looking forward to just relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. I spent some time out the garden earlier giving Andy a good grooming. He loves it and visibly relaxes while I'm doing it. He is just losing his winter coat so is shedding a bit at the moment. My birthday on Sunday, and Andy's which is really spooky, although obviously he is quite a bit younger than me.

Yesterday Hil came up from Swansea on the train, and we raided Ikea for her new room layout. We ended up with five trolley loads, including a sofa, sofabed and armchair and a vast assortment of Billy bookcases. She is receiving the delivery tomorrow. We used the opportunity to stock up on Swedish meatballs and the shrimp cheese paste which Andrew likes, and has just had on toast for breakfast.

Well, here he is - the young master having just completed a PB time of 52:39, more than 3 minutes better than his last race before Christmas. I am very impressed. His overall sleek black look was somewhat marred though by his enormous white trainers which made his feet look like boats. In his left hand he is carrying a free race Tshirt. This is him just walking back up from the finish towards the car park. People are visible behind him still finishing. What was slightly worrying was that the race was run on roads that were not closed and also taking place in the area this morning was a cycle race. It was lovely to see him racing down the hill to finish.

We popped in to Marks and Sparks on the way back - he stocked up on a huge number of socks. I bought a new shirt. I was struck by how much of the spring stuff seems to be monochrome. A bit funereal. Came home, ate lunch and he enjoyed a lovely bath while I went upstairs for a nap. We had been caught out by the change of time today, so had dashed out of the house in 10 minutes flat. Apparently I was snoring like a warthog - ah, the joys of marriage....

Enjoyed a delicious venison casserole and caught up with some recorded TV - we love Boston Legal with William Shatner and Candice Bergen - they must have such fun writing the scripts, followed by CSI NY, another fave. Did some cross stitching and caught up with the paper. I am also glad to report that at least four of the sunflower pots are showing signs of germination - this is very exciting. Now for the week ahead - who knows what it will bring?

Here is a picture of Andy and Andrew today. As you can see, the glitch in publishing photos seems to be resolved, apparently just by opening my blog in a new tab in IE. Ah, technology..... We arranged last week that we would take him out for a walk today. Fortunately the weather today was gorgeous, a hell of a contrast from last Saturday's driving snow. Toddled round the park with him and then very reluctantly took him back to Sue's kennels. Still, only a few more days till Thursday. On way home had a tag made up for him and a special new greyhound collar so he will look lovely and smart. Went to Sainsburys which as usual was hell - the aisles are far too small and today were filled entirely with rubbish baskets on wheels full of cardboard. The car park is also mayhem as a new Wilkinsons store has just opened so there are huge numbers of customers pouring in there. Very glad to be home and looking at lovely pictures of Andy and dreaming excitedly about Thursday. The young master is planning a quiet night tonight as tomorrow morning is his 10K run over at Atlantic College. If the weather stays as lovely as this, he'll have a fabulous day. I will write more tomorrow.

A very shy looking Andy

A hugely restorative weekend. Yesterday busy in the garden. More planting and some sowing, including Californian poppies sown straight into the ground and a Californian mix that looks interesting. A side effect of spending time out in the garden is the way it makes us incapable of staying up beyond 10 as we are both nodding off on the sofa. I ruefully consider Saturday nights in my youth when I would consider 10 pm a good time to start going out, not go to bed.

We also planted our sunflowers in pots and have put them on the dining room window sill where they will get lots of sunshine. We've got Russian Giants (visions of the plant equivalent of a scary shotputter) along with a selection of smaller, prettily coloured ones, in a selection (hopefully) of beautiful russets and oranges.

Today we went to meet Andy, our adoptee greyhound. We drove up to the kennels where he is currently living, up on the Heads of the Valleys Road above Tredegar. The weather was extraordinarily bleak, with rain turning into first sleet and then snow as we climbed higher and snow capped peaks up on the Beacons very clearly visible. The kennels were up a remote farm track and by the time we got there the snow was falling horizontally. We met Sue, the lady who runs the kennels and she introduced us to Andy. Not surprisingly he was quite timid but we totally fell in love with him. Andrew took a couple of pictures. After a few minutes in the howling gale, all of us, dogs and humans alike, were ready to call it a day, so off we toddled. Next weekend we are going back up to take him for a walk before we finally bring him home at the end of the month.

Drove back down the A470 and called in Pets at Home to stock up ready. Bought an assortment of food (low protein as advised, to start),a pet bed and some pig ears for him to nibble. We've already bought him a lead, bowls and a pet lobster. One of the things I'd like to work on is his coat which does appear to need a bit of TLC. Sardines every week and a review of his grooming, I think.

One of the issues that has stopped us getting a dog in the past is Andrew's asthma which is exacerbated by dogs. We decided that if we got a dog we would move from carpets to a wooden floor. These are less likely to hold allergens and also are less smelly over time. So, we've selected a floor and the man is coming on Wednesday to give us a quote for supplying and fitting it shortly. Hopefully this will help to minimise any difficulties with Andrew's chest, if we maintain a regime of regular cleaning. When we lived in Borehamwood, the flat had laminate floors in some rooms and we found them very easy to manage. Interestingly, they make it embarrassingly obvious if there is any dust or dirt on them so they sort of encourage you to clean more often anyway. With our carpets, even though they are beige, we are more relaxed as they definately don't show every morsel up in the same way. So if nothing else Andy will encourage us to higher standards of housekeeping.

Now I'm off to do the ironing, Andrew has just put a chicken in the oven and there's a bottle of white with my name on it in the fridge. Lovely......... All we need now is for Andy to join us and the picture is complete.........

A great deal of news, both work and personal. Some good, some not so. Yesterday was a long day. We all travelled up to the NEC in a people carrier. We stopped half way for a coffee, and there were some army people there in desert fatigues that were travelling in an ambulance. All were walking wounded, but I was sobered by how incredibly young most of them were. They are brave, particularly as this war is not well supported at home.

Arriving at the NEC, inspected the trade show, then went upstairs for the lunch and ceremony. We did not win the main prize. But we did win the judges prize for commitment to the environment. Westminster (which is always so clean) didn't get anything. Travelled back and arrived home around 5. A long and tiring day, but very satisfying. An impressive haul of freebies among the boys and the return journey was a hoot with everyone telling funny stories about the wonderful and weird world of some of our staff and their exploits.

In the evening, we had a phone call from GRW to say that they've matched us with a woof. He is a rather timid 3 year old who is black and needs a quiet home. The clincher is he's called Andy! We are hoping to visit him on Saturday and if all goes well bring him home on Wednesday or Thursday 28th or 29th of the month. Most exciting - I can't stop thinking about him. The only thing we are both very apprehensive about is visiting the kennels for a visit and then having to leave him there before we go back to pick him up for good. Fingers and everything else crossed.

Today was an absolute stinker. Going into work, did the usual of ploughing through the huge pile of emails that had arrived yesterday. One was the worst possible news. All of the three VSS we had requested for our restructure (on a cost neutral basis) had been turned down. I was furious. Then had the utterly miserable job of telling the three people concerned. This is right up there with telling people they haveen't got the job as being one of the most awful things to do. However, my colleague J kindly offered to tell one of the three who is currently off sick. This has now wrecked our restructure plans so it is back to the beginning and start again. Grrrr.

Later in the day, had another email announcing that our Chief Executive's "root and branch" review has led to the suspension of the proposed merger between ourselves and Parks. Grrr again. Now we are in limbo as a department as we are not wanted by Waste or Highways and not by anyone else at the moment it would seem. Root and branch feels more like stump and chainsaw right now. Day ended on a really foul mood with a local resident activist sending War and Peace type emails demanding instant action on graffiti in his ward, and a really perculiar one from otherwise highly regarded boss on his last day in the office who had requested some costed proposals for extra work, then replied by expressing surprise on receiving them, turning down the bid and suggesting how I should chop into next year's budget to fund the work. I must admit I sent a distinctly grumpy reply. All in all, one of those days I'd rapidly prefer to forget. To add to the fun, husband is on a delayed train and won't be home for another hour. Humph.

Progress on a number of fronts. Firstly the garden. Saturday was very fine, so we have raided the garden centre. We have potted up some lilies (bulbs) and have planted some sweet peas - three plants in a pot and three in the ground, both with wigwams of willow. We have bought some sunflower seeds and will be planting those this week, and I am also very keen to grow some ornamental gourds, so need to locate seeds for those. Bought a new plant, called a confetti bush, which looks very pretty. I think we will put that in the front, and transplant one of the hebes that are currently doing a bit too well out there. Also have a thrift, a pink and an African daisy type thing for the raised bed. Will also be sowing some Californian poppies and another packet of a Californian mixture which looks intriguing. Last but not least, we succumbed to a holly fern and some foxgloves to go into the shady area in the fern corner. More prosaically, we tied up the wire for our climbers so that is now sorted and have put the trellis on the garage wall. That allows the chocolate vine something to scramble through - it is growing rapidly. I am so excited by the garden at the moment - it is developing very well. A number of bulbs are flowering and some of the other plants are beginning to wake up after the winter and put out leaves. Every time I go out there, something new is happening.

Saturday night we went to a very nice 30th Birthday party for Andrew's friend and squash partner Matt. He lives in a delightful flat down the bay with lovely views. He announced the theme was pink and it it therefore seemed appropriate to give a bottle of pink champagne. Met lots of nice people and thoroughly enjoyed. We were given the option of "homo fun" at one of the city's many gay clubs, but being a boring and ancient pair of heteros, we declined and went to bed, especially as we'd been in the garden all day and that amount of fresh air is always a guaranteed sleep inducer.

Sunday popped down to see friend Liz and had the shock of my life when I arrived as my brother was there, who I haven't seen for a while. Good to catch up on his news, including a new job working on Apache helicopters. Had a long conversation with Liz about dogs and caught up with her trip to Crufts on Thursday which resulted in a fourth place - she was thrilled and had her Crufts number plate proudly displayed on the shelf. Various assorted kids all flourishing, Sarah showed us her 6th form prospectus and we now have the dates for her GCSE results. 24th August. Eek. Katie demonstrated her cantering abilities on her pony and was also doing some demonstration jumping for us. Dan was working on his motocross bike. Usual assortment of dogs, horses, hamsters and general happy mayhem along with their current lodger who lives in a mobile home in the field out the back. A nice afternoon.

Tonight we had a very exciting home visit by the Greyhound Rescue people who are checking us out. We are having earnest debates about whether to adopt a rescue greyhound or a more general rescue dog from the dogs home. I was delighted that the charity does home visits - that is thorough and sensible. We will sleep on it.

Tomorrow is a very big day - Britain's Cleanest City is announced in Birmingham and we are a finalist. Funnily, spoke to the Executive Support office today about picking up our Portfolio holder at home. Mysteriously, the lady in the office insisted the Cllr wanted to be picked up at County Hall at 7 am. I wondered what could be so important. Eventually she confided that his home shower is currently out of action so he wanted to go to HQ first for an early morning scrub. Aaah. Understandable - plumbing never breaks down at a convenient time.

Just realised that I forgot to mention the honeysuckle and the clematis montana that we bought. Oops.

Did you see the lunar eclipse? Wasn't it fabulous? We were down the bay on Saturday night having a meal in a new restaurant. I thought of our friend Leila as when we went in the waitress said to us"Here's the menu. Have you eaten with us before? If not, I'll explain the concept." Cue hilarity - I mean, it's a restaurant, for heaven's sake. It's not an art installation and it's not a nuclear power station either. Harruummph. Anyway the food is delightful, and I recommend it if you get yourself past the conceptual difficulties. After we left we strolled contentedly around the Bay and basked in the beauty of a clear, starry night and a wonderful lunar eclipse that gradually and enchantingly took place above us. We eventually got a taxi home after wrestling a hen party for it, and as we got out of the taxi by the front door, the moon was at its most obscure.

Sunday it poured down - ALL DAY. Various plans for gardening and so on were necessarily halted. Andrew finished the last paint touch ups in the bathroom and we enjoyed a large joint of pork, followed by watching a DVD of Withnail and I. Not having seen it for a while, I had forgotten how incredibly funny it is and how stuffed with quotable lines. It is simply impossible to pick a favourite. We enjoyed a glass of red wine while watching. Wisely, we did not try to mimic the heroic drinking on screen, or the equally constant smoking, either of cigarettes or the family of items related to the Camberwell carrot.

Today, a typical Monday in that our beloved Councillors spend the weekend with their constituents so my email inbox is always full of queries and demands. One wanted a replacement litter bin. I emailed a courteous reply that owing to our current Council wide financial situation, all non essential revenue expenditure has been frozen - this includes litter bins. She then replies asking if we have any in our stores! I was tempted for a moment to indulge my sarcasm and mention that oh yes, we just happened to have a store with 26 beautiful, shiny bins - it would never have occurred to me to put them on the street without her asking. In any case, I am amazed by the number of Councillors who are from the ruling group and ask us to do things that are non-essential - they voted us into the financial mess in the first place, and my other pet rant, invite us to PACT meetings when only last November the Executive decided that members were in the best position to attend and should feed back to officers any questions or issues. Ho hum.

Phil's last BIM this afternoon. He is twinkling merrily and claims to be bored - it is worrying when someone who is so intelligent has no outlet for their brain - makes me wonder what he will come up with. We received a presentation from HR on Work Life Balance -an interesting issue and one that will shortly be more important for Andrew and me, as a new member of the family could be joining us shortly.....

No snakes today. On Friday the press office rang up to ask if we had been picking up live snakes that had been released near a school. That's what I like about this job - you never quite know what the phone will bring. Saturday was a day for having my hair done, cut and coloured - a rather fetching purple brown colour, very dark, unleashing my inner Goth princess. It must be admitted that my IGP is never far away and doesn't need much unleashing, just the tiniest amount of encouragement. Unfortunately although I am 42 (well nearly) on the outside, I am still 17 inside.

Saturday night we watched BBC4 who were doing Die Valkurie from the ROH, with Bryn Terfel singing Wotan, and Rosamund Plowright singing Brunnhilde. Glorious singing, although again miserable depressing costumes. Why oh why can't they just do proper ones with armour and decent hairdos? Think of an Arthur Rackham illustration and you're there in theory. The singing though was sublime, and I was moved to tears by the beauty of the final act and indeed the powerful eroticism of the bond between Siegmund and Sieglinde - if that is done right, the powerful attraction which has the twin taboo of both adultery and incest (although they don't know that at first)absolutely sizzles. However, the final act was accompanied by a gentle and rhythmic sound from the adjacent sofa, comprising a snoring husband. How anyone can sleep through a Wagner opera defeats me, but he said the music was very peaceful. Hmmmm.

Sunday we toddled down to Somerset for the day to see Andrew's parents, both looking very well, and they had the fire lit which is lovely in the winter. The day seemed to fly by, and then the young master jumped on a very early train this morning to get up to London. Unfortunately, the train was delayed by points problems so he phoned me about an hour and a half after leaving home to announce he'd barely gone 10 miles. And the Govt wonders why people drive cars.........

Meanwhile I trundled off to a site meeting with a location I have written about before. Meeting attended by politicians and sure enough, there was plenty of evidence of the aftermath of the oldest profession. What surprised me was the sheer variety of colours for the condoms - there were very bright red and yellow ones tied up on the floor, which of course made them easy to see. On a Goth website I recently saw black condoms advertised, but I hadn't caught up with the move to such a dazzling variety. The police seemed to take a very sanguine view of the problem- I think it is highly unlikely that they will want to move the issue away from industrial estates onto the nuisance caused by prostitution in residential areas. If we had sensible legislation in this country we would not allow street work, but would have properly licensed brothels where professionals could work in peace, safety and dispose of their waste properly. However this is never an issue that society wants to tackle.

Back from London, and only 240 emails waiting for me at work. What's the matter with you all? Don't you love me? Harrumph.... So, London - what can I say? It was lovely. Travelled up on Friday and stayed at our usual hotel. This is the Radisson Edwardian Sussex just behind Marble Arch/Oxford Street. Fantastic location, and we like it - bedrooms always comfortable, and lovely staff who seem really genuine. Friday night we went over to Cantina at Vinopolis - had a lovely evening there with cousin Alyson, and wobbled back after a delightful time admiring the river and the gherkin. Saturday we engaged in a little retail therapy down Bond Street - we loved Jo Malone but Smythson was a disappointment and the staff were very offhand. Boo hiss, won't spend our money there again. In the afternoon we went to a matinee performance of the Mousetrap, now in its 55th year just next door to the Ivy. Thoroughly enjoyable in a delightfully cosy, non threatening way, performed very competently in a tiny and lovely little theatre which made it very intimate and friendly. I can recommend. In the evening we sped off to Fino on Charlotte Street - or is it? Although the postal address is the actual restaurant entrance is round the corner so always confuses taxi drivers and other visitors. Joined by uncle Warwick where we had a magnificent and splendiferous Spanish feast of tapas, eaten in a leisurely way accompanied by much quaffing of red wine and some serious debate about the possible unity of Catholic and anglican churches and the ordination of women.......... A fantastic evening, again service was wonderful, food delicious and company convivial. Bliss.

Sunday was a little more relaxed. A trip over to the National portrait gallery which was my first time there. I was completely overcome as in the same room was a magnificent picture of one of my heroes, Sir Richard Burton and also a few photos of the expedition of another of my heroes, Captain Scott.. There was something so unbearably moving about seeing the photos of the little hut, crammed to the rafters with branded equipment and food like Bisto or Oxo, and homely things like socks while Scott was busy at his desk, or a picture of Dr Wilson before they set off for their last fatal walk. In some ways the fact that they were photos rather than paintings or drawings made them far more immediate and recent, and of course even more painful and unsettling to see. Also in the same room was a very fine portrait of Lord Baden Powell, lookign very twinkly and avuncular. Seeing Sir Richard though made me think of his dear wife Lady Isabel and I felt very sad there was no accompanying portrait of her. He was an extraordinarily handsome and striking man. When we lived in Herts, I made a pilgrimage to their tomb in the Catholic cemetary in Mortlake, that too was very moving. The tomb is shaped like an Arab tent, and although blocked up now, originally had an enamelled blue ceiling with golden stars and a tinkling camel bell. Wow.

Anyway we emerged to a full flight of Chinese new year celebrations which were lovely. Firecrackers exploded constantly around us in the street, beautiful lanterns swayed from every available lamp post and high place and in Leicester Square they organised a huge firework and firecracker display.

Sunday evening, we had a quiet meal at Zizzi on Wigmore Street. Monday morning returned to St Christophers Place as we had located the Marimekko shop. I have loved these beautiful Finnish textiles for a number of years, so stocked up. As is usual, we fell in love with a wonderful fabric that Andrew suggested would look gorgeous as a wall hanging on the landing, and sure enough they had none left!!

Returning to Oxford Street, stopped to talk to some operatives engaged in cleaning the street surface with a very good piece of kit, the Nilfisk. They have given me the contact details for the company and were very patient with all my questions and photos. Eventually caught the train home Monday afternoon, happily laden with a variety of parcels including the treat of some caviar (about the size of a large teaspoon, but costing a fortune) from Fortnum and Masons, one of my favourite shops in London (along with Liberty of course).

Have just tried to add photos of crocus in the garden, but keep getting an "Error on Page" message. Must be a glitch. Will try later.

Happy Birthday to my brother - 40 today. If you're reading this, Liz is trying to get hold of your new mobile number.

I'll begin with Madam Butterfly last Saturday night. The day was not the happiest anyway as Andrew's run had been cancelled, but we were both looking forward to a vintage production. We had seats in the front row of the Upper Circle, so had a good view. Unfortunately Julian Smith, the WNO's veteran conductor was as usual setting the volume of the orchestra (who actually play extremely well) in competition with rather than to complement the singers.

The set to be fair was very pretty and the costumes were all in the currently fashionable shades of chocolate, beige and chalk pink. Unfortunately Pinkerton's uniform looked as though he had slept in it, it was extremely baggy and poorly cut, and the portly singer wearing it kept pausing to yank his trousers above his belly. This is not the ideal behaviour for a romantic leading male who is supposed to be a dashing, Richard Gere type figure in a sexy uniform. I just kept wishing they could have afforded to buy him a pair of braces. Things continued to go from bad to worse with Butterfly having a voice like a corncrake, when she was audible over the din of the orchestra. By the end of the first act, we were both so disappointed and fed up we walked out. Butterfly should be an absolute cert for WNO - it's an old war horse, never fails to pull a sell out crowd, has lots of lovely tunes that are very well known, and has opportunities for good visuals and costumes. Yet it went wrong. Audience near us seemed to be enjoying it, but for us we were extremely disappointed. So we came home.

On Sunday, Sarah arrived for her study break - half term in Carmarthenshire is a week ahead of Cardiff. She stayed until yesterday, working on her art portfolio, but it was a constant battle to get her off the computer where she enjoys MSN-ing all her friends.

I seem to have spent the week doing large quantities of ironing. Happily, the pile has now shrunk considerably. As it was such a sunny day yesterday, I took some photos of the garden. We now have lots of crocus emerging, and a few Tete a tete narcissi. I attach a photo looking back towards the house. As you can see, the ferns have settled in extremely well and I am very happy with their progress. The little pot of violas on the step is flourishing. Even the recent snow last week does not seem to have damaged them. For sturdy determination they have been fantastic.

Started making some Easter cards last night- experimenting with a variety of papers. Most enjoyable.

More snow. Drove to work OK but as soon as I arrived it really began to hammer down hard. We eventually called all the guys back in around 10, and by 11 most of the office based staff had gone. Drove home after 12 very gingerly - I hate driving in snow, and by then it was deep and slushy. Why do people tailgate in this weather?

Young master is in London, and as I type should be on his way home, GWR permitting. Unfortunately, just had email confirmation that the PPUK Valentine Love Run that he was entering tomorrow has been postponed due to the weather conditions. He had been looking forward to this so much and had been training hard to beat his previous time. As it is a park course, he should have been able to have made a fast time. Unfortunately, the race has been postponed to a date when we are away. Ho hum.

Have just finished a huge pile of ironing, and am now going to relax with some stitching. My sampler is progressing well. Tomorrow evening is Madam Butterfly - hoorah!

Snow today. Interestingly, bang on forecast. Woke this morning to a white world. One of my colleagues kindly gave me a lift into work as he has a 4x4, the perfect vehicle for this weather. Journey only marred by the fact that his closest ear to me is his deaf ear, and the batteries had gone in his hearing aid, so what should have been a pleasant early morning chat ended up with me bellowing for a bit, then eventually giving up. No refuse collection or street sweeping today - sent the guys home. Office very very quiet and most other people left early especially as they were worried about ice and bus services were quite irregular.

A thoroughly annoying day as a particular Cllr was on the rampage
making all sorts of wild allegations and generally throwing his teddy out of his pram. What is most growl making is the fact that his constant interruptions to moan actually take more time than getting on with the job. Aaargh.

Time now for another of my pet hates. CANCER RESEARCH CAMPAIGN ads. Nothing like a bit of emotional blackmail. Yes, I know that they need to encourage people to give. But I hate the way they ambush you on the radio or on tv when you least expect it, and I am still at the stage where the issue is raw for me. Heard one yesterday on the radio featuring a sobbing woman with the voiceover asking if they were tears of joy or sadness. Felt an instant urge to ensure the latter, most uncharitably. The trouble is that all cancer survivors (and our loved ones) know that surviving is just as hard as going through the treatment (in some ways more difficult). All of us live with the knife edge - we plan our lives from hospital appt to hospital appt rather than the calendar. We worry endlessly about every little ache or sneeze or bump - is IT back? Is that cough a sign of mets in my lungs? Is that twinge in my back a tumour? Meanwhile like swans we gracefully (or not so in some cases) paddle along the surface, running our lives, doing our jobs, having fun. And then all of a sudden while watching some mindless and delightful nonsense on TV, someones sits there looking brave, and says "I shouldn't be here. Or my mum should be here." This kicks you in the solar plexus, ruins your evening and leaves me feeling miserable and conscious of that chap in the black cloak with the scythe sitting apologetically in the corner of the room. So, if you want to support a cancer charity please do so, there are some great ones around. But not the CRC. My vote goes for hospices - they are fab. The care I had in the one in St Albans, Grove House was outstanding. There, rant over for this evening.

Snow is forecast, all around us, little children having fun..... yes, go on, hum along to Shakey...

Tomorrow we coastal softies are due for around 5cm while the hardy souls of the valleys and mountains will be getting between 10-15 cm. Phwoar, missus... I wonder what it will be like. Although I love playing in snow, it's an absolute nightmare at work, as schools seem to close at the first sign of a flake so half the workforce is on emergency childcare, even if the roads are perfectly clear. Also I am a big girl's blouse and hate driving in it. So we wait and see. The pond is frozen at the moment though of course we have the little plastic ducks maintaining an oxygen passageway for the fish, who I devoutly hope are tucked up nice and warm in their duvets having a snuggly winter snooze.

Eventful times at work. Went to Scrutiny Committee last night - talked about street cleansing, it was an interesting session. After the meeting, came back towards the depot with our Enforcement Manager, and checked out an industrial site that was the subject of a meeting today. Found the site we were interested in was nicely closed up with no trouble but a neighbouring dodgy skip hire firm was ablaze. Immediately called up the fire brigade, the Environment Agency and shortly after two fire engines arrived along with the police. our concern was that there were gas bottles on site. Slowly developed hypothermia watching the fire be extinguished then returned to base, collected car and retraced my steps to the station to collect the young master, returning from Brum where he'd been at a meeting. When we finally got home, both very tired, cold and hungry. Munched some grub and almost immediately collapsed into bed.

This morning, had a call to deal with an abandoned pig's head (where was the rest of it?). Needed to move swiftly on that as it is possible it may have been intended as part of a racist attack. Also dealt with one of our Councillors who was upset about what he described as some fly-tipping but was in fact waste stored securely under some scaffolding behind high fences- hmm. Must be election season.

A member of staff wants to return to driving duties after being off them for a number of years - he withdrew when going through some personal difficulties. I respect this position and we will do our best to support this. Alas, another driver yesterday was not so careful, driving a small mechanical brush over some temp traffic light cables with his brushes down, thus ripping them from the carriageway and causing traffic lights to collapse. It would be funny if it wasn't so stupid.

The letter bombs in the news are causing us some concern. Received emergency guidance (common sense rules) as of course our dept includes transport and traffic related issues. Spent some time with our senior admin team going over mail procedures.

Also now continuing to refine our bird flu procedures. We are currently involved in a long series of meetings anyway with our colleagues in Emergency Planning, refining a number of our pandemic issues and procedures, but the current situation has hightened people's awareness.

Had a meeting with our Portfolio holder this afternoon about the industrial site mentioned above and in previous posts. Have suggested using some of our recent grant money to alleygate it, or doing a joint surveillance operation with the EA. Highways are now considering some of the practical issues related to gating - this would be the best long term solution.

Finished early as last visit this afternoon by plumber's mate to do the grouting on the last section of tiling. Now all complete and looking like a rhapsody in blue......

Another satisfying weekend.... First, the bathroom. We've bought paint for it - it's a metallic sparkly very dark blue, sort of disco infinity, yeah baby..... Also purchased a new light and Andrew spent today manfully fitting it, so the bathroom now has lots of sparkly halogen loveliness. Plumber David who is lovely will be returning later in the week to pick up his thermos which he left behind and to complete the last little bit of tiling, then Andrew will be painting, and then it will be virtually complete.. So exciting to see it come together.

Succumbed to the lure of the garden centre today and returned home with a quince (Geisha Girl, a lovely delicate, creamy peach colour blossom) and a hamamelis - yellow, although they also had some beautiful rust colour ones which tempted me sorely. Also bought some more granules for combating the ever present cat crap menace - I loathe them. Bulbs are now poking through most excitingly with lots of crocus in bud, and some hyacinth and narcissus not far behind. Apart from last week briefly, it has been wet and mild rather than cold so bulbs developing well. Tomorrow should be an interesting day in work.

I can't believe it's already Friday and so much to write about. Firstly, the Glamorgan sausage controversy. This is a Welsh delicacy - a meatless sausage, usually made with cheese, breadcrumbs and sometimes chopped leeks, and very delicious it is too. Before Christmas, my friend Leila (down in deepest Devon) found some on sale in her local Sainsburys and sampled them, and called to say how much she had enjoyed them. This then developed so that when I was out and about and saw one, for instance at the farmers market, I would text to report a sighting. Yes I know, little things etc..... Anyway, during a recent conversation on this subject (when we weren't solving the Middle East peace crisis, or lamenting the state of the modern novel) we agreed that actually a Glamorgan sausage has a really naughty ring about it, just begging to be a synonym for a deviant sexual practice. A Cumberland Sausage has no such ring, somehow it sounds worthy and hearty and rather dull, but a GS..... Anyway, I've asked several colleagues to put their thinking caps on. This led to some very interesting and surprising revelations and suggestions, most of which so far have revolved around knee tremblers in the wilder reaches of Merthyr.... however, I think the search is still on. So far, the suggestions are sex with two vegetarians, or watching two vegetarians having sex. I welcome any further thoughts....

Today is Leila's birthday - hurrah!! Go Leila..... Sounds like she had a really lovely day getting on the right side of a Chocolate temptation, admiring a waiter's cute butt, and wanting to ravage the flower delivery man...... Excellent.

Work is interesting. We are continuing to work on the new job descriptions and person specifications for the management restructure. New supervisory posts are being created for flytipping and hazardous waste, graffiti and flyposting, public conveniences, an asst to our transport manager, two senior supervisors, a new service support officer, a service development officer, and two new rejigged management positions. So exciting, working on these and seeing the ideas take shape and become reality. With our Enforcement unit, we are setting out for taking on skip permits,dog fouling, graffiti, highway permits for tables and chairs, abandoned vehicles, trolleys (S 99) and new notices under S 33, 34, 46 and 47 - can't wait! The new CNEA is what a colleague describes as a helicopter gunship for us - I like his turn of phrase. Personally, I love the idea of my own submarine, but really I'd like a tank with a RPG on the front to attack flytippers, caravans, cars with sickly baby on board stickers and men who drive wearing hats...

The bathroom now looks so gorgeous - I expect an orderly queue to form of admirers at the front door. The shower curtain is perfect for it - tomorrow we go to buy the paint for the finishing touches (and then I can visit a towel emporium, ha ha ha ha.... )

The plumbers are here! Contrary to popular urban legend, they are delightful, arrived exactly on time, appear neat and professional and brought their own stuff for making tea and coffee. Lead plumber even entered a brief but knowledgeable discussion of London theatre and has recommended a restaurant to us; I suspect he is a friend of Dorothy. So the transformation is under way. Very exciting. I have spent the day quietly cross stitching out of the way downstairs - it has been a real treat.The sampler is progressing well. Young master is in London today, returning later tonight and working from home tomorrow so it will be his turn to enjoy their company.

An enjoyable weekend which was quite quiet. We went out for a meal on Saturday night. When the taxi picked us up, he remembered us from previous forays down the Bay, which was nice. Went to Woods Brasserie, our first time there. Lots of young French staff with outrageous accents. Do they practice them? Is it some Inspector Clouseau style conspiracy? Do they stand in the back room together practising? Delicious food and an impressive wine list. I would recommend and would certainly go back there again. After the meal we went for a romantic evening stroll which was lovely but very, very cold so we toddled home and watched a DVD.

Inspecting the garden on Sunday, we now have three crocus flowers, and lots more in bud- wow!! Very happy and very impressed. Lots of other interesting spikes emerging - I love watching them grown and turn into flowers. On a less exciting note, did a huge pile of ironing. Ho hum.

Floods, gales and excitement with plumbers. Yesterday, Persimmon finally sent two men round to repair/replace the broken shower tray in the ensuite bathroom. I was downstairs happily cross stitching a new sampler but I don't think they realised how clearly their voices carried as the bathroom is directly above the living room. They were having a very detailed discussion over the pros and cons of having a mistress, the practical issues and how to manage when found out. It had a kind of trainwrecky fascination as apart from anything else I didn't realise men had such intimate discussions, instead thinking they tended to mask their feelings by coded discussions about manly things like sprockets, flanges and drill bits. So if you are married to a plumber or similar tradesman, their long and irregular hours and frequent travels apparently provide an ideal cover for naughty goings on. The one who was unmasked didn't seem to regret the affair per se, more that he then had to put in a considerable amount of spadework with his wife, including several holidays in Tenerife and a more than usually flexible approach to shopping.

On a more serious note, the weather yesterday was bad, and during the night got steadily worse. The wind was so loud it woke me at night and by this morning the gales were atrocious along with the most appallingly heavy rain. Driving to work was utterly miserable as several roads were badly flooded with fountain style drains and idiots who were going too fast through deep bits and then creating bow waves. Arriving at the car park, by the top near the landfill, I attempted to use the big brolly we keep in the back of the car, but that was a complete waste of time as I nearly impersonated Mary Poppins and floated off over the tip. By the time I got down to the office, I was drenched and looked as though I had literally just stepped out of the shower.

Went to County Hall later for our monthly finance meeting which as usual was interesting - I am always so impressed by our Finance team - they are so constructive and positive, although Phil (the boss) also creates a very positive environment. Fortunately, our DSU finance is heading in the right direction, although it is apparent there are problems elsewhere in some of the others that may cause difficulties in resolution.

Our BIM meeting was cancelled this afternoon, so I returned to the depot, with less rain this time and ploughed through a big stack of correspondence for approval/signing off. Just had one about a persistent problem where a business on an industrial estate is cheesed off because prostitutes and clients use the vicinity at night and leave a range of detritus behind, often including throwing their used condoms into the business premises, to await the staff when they arrive the next morning. I strongly suspect the police will be unwilling to move the street prostitutes on in to a residential area so I am not optimistic about an early settlement of this issue. He was also complaining about the smell of the waterworks - fortunately this is not in my remit.

Also had another phone call this afternoon to say that it looks as though two of our recent four funding applications may be successful . This is great news and I am very happy. If so, this will be worth about £100,000 for the two projects (£50K each). I will write more on these once it is confirmed.

Came home the long way so as to avoid the flooded roads and have spent a contented evening in cross stitching, card making, and of course blogging..... Over the weekend we will be collecting our new tiles and on Monday the tradesmen arrive to start work on the main bathroom. It is expected to take around four days of work. I am so excited about this. I will post some photos of the before, during and after.

I have succumbed to the lure of the tile shop. On Saturday we purchased a new shower for the main bathroom and looked at tiles. The young master has egged me on (not that I needed much egging once I got into my stride) and we have selected and ordered a beautiful turquoise/aqua mosaic tile that we'll use. My wise friend Leila has also pointed out that this will be an ideal towel purchasing opportunity. Quite right too. In the evening, we went to a colleague's surprise 50th birthday party. Had a good time and it was nice to see him enjoy himself so much, surrounded by his family, friends and colleagues. I attach a photo - it was also memorable for him wearing a tie - not something he does ordinarily.

Sunday was very relaxed - old school friends Robin (without her husband who was poorly) and Christopher (without his partner, who was working) came over for lunch. We did a peasant casserole with Heaven and Earth mash, followed by date and toffee pudding - successful and delicious. A really enjoyable day, discussing gardening and putting the world to rights over a glass of red wine - can there be anything more pleasant on a cold Sunday afternoon?

Work is now a swirling morass of rumour and counter rumour. As my boss is now leaving, the Operational Managers have been asked to put their heads together and re-organise - as is always the case, there is now a healthy mix of gossip, innuendo, fact and downright fantasy. I am enjoying the process, as the rumours are very entertaining. I will write further on this as matters become clearer.

An interesting couple of days. Yesterday evening I went to a very interesting talk in the Old Library in the city centre on Brunel's impact on the South Wales landscape. I parked in our city centre depot and walked round with the afternoon shift supervisor, while being impressed and amazed by the speed at which large bits of the city centre are disappearing in preparation for our new shopping centre. It was a good opportunity to catch up with all the news from the depot. As we walked past the old Tabernacle chapel, there was a smartly dressed man in a mac hanging around looking furtive. Just as we passed he sidled up to the litter bin and slipped in a brown paper package. On leaving me, my colleague was rightly concerned and on inspection it proved to be a fine collection of porn!

The talk was excellent - to my surprise, half the Council seemed to be there. On taking a seat, my colleague A joined me (the champion raspberry tart maker) along with a friend of his from our IT dept. After the talk, then bumped into a colleague from Parks who was there with his dad, which was nice. Strolled back to the depot by which time the night shift had arrived and it was good to stay a while and have a chat and catch up with the news. I ended up staying there till around 10.40 before setting off home.

today was an interesting day at an APSE meeting. My colleague L was kindly giving me a lift (in his BMW convertible, how posh is that?) and was picking me up from home at around 9.20 this morning. Thinking I had plenty of time, of course the inevitable happened, I dawdled and by 9.18 I was in a frantic multi-tasking mode of applying makeup, drying my hair and finding a pair of earrings. Naturally,then L was late! Opened the front door, and was practically blown flat by a gale of frightening size with accompanying horizontal rain. Our bin bag(being very light) was half way down the street. Anyway we got to the meeting, not helped by a Nazi jobsworth in the hut guarding the Council car-park. Where do we find these people?

Meeting went well. J and I did a joint presentation on smoking related litter and listened to some other presentations on highways surfacing and benchmarking issues. Left there, came home, again courtesy of the BMW magic carpet and did some ironing. Then updated this. Also just had an email, confirming that on Sunday, a couple of old school cohorts are coming to lunch.
Am really looking forward to it, and also the enjoyable process of deciding what to cook. Hoorah! Weather has calmed down slightly and seems to have stopped raining, although it is still quite breezy.

Forgot to mention earlier, that last night as I was leaving work, I walked up the car park to the landfill overflow car park by the weighbridge. The nights are noticeably beginning to draw out now which is lovely. Anyway, the sky was a stunning deep blue with just a few early stars. Just as I left the top of the main car park, I noticed an owl hunting down the hedge line. The paler underside of the wings is quite ghostly and beautiful. I stood, entranced. The bird life at work is superb - I see so many species there, it is a real treat.

Another wet Monday following a very wet Sunday and (surprise!) a very wet Saturday. Yesterday was so miserable weatherwise we didn't feel like venturing abroad - it was a day for peaceful pottering, cross-stitching and a slow-cooked, warming beef casserole cooked in port and a slug of madeira, with huge quantities of root vegetables. Today has been productive at work. We've been working on a presentation we are doing on Thursday at an APSE meeting, on our Smoking Related Litter project. Have some great photos including some I took on holiday in Edinburgh last October. As I write, Andrew is doing battle with our Christmas tree outside, trying to chop it up into smaller pieces so we can take it to the tip on the weekend for recycling.

Visited by a plumber and his accomplice earlier - they came to have a look at the main bathroom. When we moved in, Persimmon had finished it in a perfectly pleasant and inoffensive marble tile with a bath, but no shower. There is a shower in the ensuite to our room, which is great when we are here, but not so much when we have guests which is quite often. So, it looks as though in a few weeks time we will have a shower fitted. We either need to find a match to the tiles that are in there or to look for some new ones. The young master is keen on a change - I'm quite content with the ones we have but I suspect if we visit a tile shop I could be convinced. Watch this space for an update.

Most recent picture is of me and Andrew on Christmas Day and it was very very cold. Our noses ran. So we went home and had a drink.

A busy and productive end to the week. Got four funding bids finished and sent off, including the one for the pop up urinal - I love this job!

Also attended a meeting on our service area risk management policy this morning - supposed to identify risks and illustrate how we'll manage them.

tomorrow, we are seeing favourite great-aunt for a relaxing pub lunch. We are also planning a weekend away in London next month. I can't wait. Now I'm blogging in this new version it does seem a lot quicker and faster so am happy. Will add another picture - my Christmas sampler cross stitch before it was framed. It looked lovely this year - seemed a shame to put it away.

New Year, new blog. Apologies for the delay in blogging, ladies and gentlemen. I've been having awful problems with the version I was using. So husband offered to upgrade me to new version, just out of Beta, which accounts for the frivolous posts you see before this one. I'll say no more, except my revenge will be merciless.... He is obviously too used to getting away with stuff 'cos he pulls that really cute look which makes it impossible to be angry with him for more than a second... Humph. After nine years of marriage he has unerringly mastered my weak spot.

Enough frivolity. The year has started with such a packet of news I hardly know where to start. Most important first. Went to hospital just before Christmas for my checkup. Usual squirmy moment with cold ironmongery (but lovely, lovely sainted nurse who held my hand and deserves a halo) and specialist announced that all was well, and even better, they don't want to see me for another year. The best Christmas present I could possibly have asked for. Even more fabulous, he then drew me a graph for illustrating the risk of recurrence (he's even done a paper on it) which started me off at about 40% and has now plummeted to less than 10%risk. In other words, I have a greater than 90% chance of being here in three years, and after that I revert to being "normal" or as normal as I will ever be. Let us pause here for a moment and then rush around like a mad thing, open champagne and let off fireworks and then let's say a huge great HURRAH for modern medicine. I like my life and I appreciate being around to enjoy it so very much, even if it is only to moan querolously about my husband.

After that, everything else is relatively minor but here goes. Firstly, husband bought me the most fabulous necklace for Christmas - I am wearing it as I type and feel like Elizabeth Taylor (in one of her glamourous phases, I hasten to add, not a self-destructive alcoholic stupor).

Enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with assorted family and loved ones, drank champagne and Southern Comfort, and returned to work to find out that my boss is leaving at the end of March. I have mixed feelings in that I am delighted for him personally but am sorry for the department as we will miss his considerable talents. Will stop here but wanted to reassure my readers that I had not abandoned you.

Weekend enjoyable and my husband still impresses me after nine years of marriage. On Saturday we went down to Somerset to see his parents - his mum's birthday. We had a lovely lunch in a remote pub on the Levels, 15th Century, with a beautiful log fire, twinkling fairy lights, lots of real ale and delicious food. Strolled round the lovely village church afterwards, full of interesting history.

Sunday up early to face a day of cold, howling wind and driving rain. Reluctantly drove down to Margam Park for the RNLI Reindeer Run - Andrew more and more dispirited with every mile we travelled. Each competitor was offered a free pair of reindeer - mysteriously, he declined (sweet old fogey that he is). By the start, I was battling with the umbrella, and the rain was driving horizontally from the sea up past the steel works. Anyway, he lined up and he ran. I stayed in my spot, having squelched through deer poo and mud, progressively fighting the brolly and leaning into the howling drizzle, when every so often a pack of muddy reindeer wearing apparitions would appear in the gloom, thunder past and then disappear in a cloud of Deep Heat, including Andrew, who was smiling broadly as he ran. Eventually the handful of spectators stumbled back to the cars and he appeared with his goody bag, having run a spectacular time of 55 minutes, which was excellent given the slippery going, gale force winds, cold and steep hills (not to mention the deer poo). He was delighted and elated and muddy and I was delighted and elated and soggy. So we sat in the car and steamed our way home where he leapt in the shower and then spent the afternoon deservedly reclining on the sofa. What a star. I attach a photo.

Now I can write about the Ring. When I had cancer, I promised myself that if I survived, there were two experiences I particularly wanted - one was to visit Dollywood, the other was a Ring Cycle and over the past four nights we've done it in Cardiff at the Millennium Centre. The auditorium is lovely with good accoustics, giving a very crisp sound. Prince Charles was in the audience on the final night,but without his new wife, perhaps it's not her thing. There are several reviews floating around in the press - I would summarise the experience as wonderful orchestra, singing good in parts but the staging was a complete nightmare with the set being so totally incomprehensible that I simply don't know where to start in trying to describe it. The production was done by the Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg and it was interesting to see the stylistic differences. In particular, the singers all adopted that declamatory style that has fallen out of fashion in the UK. If you've ever seen Blackadder Third, the episode with the actors, then you'll be able to perfectly picture the manly stance, legs apart, chest expanded, head high and arms in that peculiar theatrical hold that nobody in real life ever actually uses.

What can I say about the music though? If you closed your eyes it was sublime, quite literally giving me goosepimples at times, making me nearly cry at others, exciting and intense. My head is full of it, ringing with the sound of it still. There was an elderly gentleman sitting next to us, who explained at one point that he had even seen the Ring at Bayreuth, and his mother had also, but in the process she had become a "Wagner nut" as he affectionately put it. The trouble is this music and the characters are so powerful how do you go back to anything ordinary after that? It is addictive and I am already wondering how I can get my next fix. I sympathise entirely with his mother - becoming obsessive is a very real danger. If I did, my daily life might be difficult though - thinking about routines would be difficult with a head full of dwarves and dragons and love and betrayal and warriors and swords and armour and horses and all the other wonderful things that happen.

On a more prosaic note, the surtitles were gloriously fouled up with frequent error messages, little link to the story (they kept jumping ahead) and the most inappropriate slangy,casual language used - very much textspeak. Textspeak has its place - I use it myself enthusiastically when texting, but it isn't right for characters in complex moral dilemmas, or life and death choices. And although my knowledge of German is nearly as extensive as my knowledge of football, I know Wagner didn't write sentences as flat and prosaic as - Wotan, pay ur debts now - Rheingold or It's all over and I don't care - Gotterdamerung.

I will do a separate post about the Ring Cycle as it deserves it. A weekend, continuing as I write, of howling winds and torrential rain. Much colder too. Last Thursday husband had the day off and to our enormous excitement a delivery of two trees arrived. Firstly, our multi stemmed silver birch Jacquemontii which has the most beautiful white bark and an elegant fountain shape. Secondly, a slender rowan which will have red berries. Both were planted and the garden lights then cabled up so are now working. Wow. Not sure if I can take photos in darkness to illustrate the effect but will experiment. When it stops raining I will take a photo of the trees in daylight. When dh went to buy the cable, not surprisingly he succumbed to the lure of more plants. He got another couple of beautifully coloured cornus and two climbing roses, one of which he remembers being very much loved by his Nan, which is a lovely happy association. We have also been experimenting with top dressings on the raised bed. We had considered glass but that seems to be too disco even for us - so we currently have little circles of a green chipped stone around some of the plants. It doesn't look too much like a municipal cemetery thankfully so we may get some more. He also bought a winter jasmine - they aren't rare but they are lovely and I like them for their cheerfulness in a dark time of the year.

Because the purchase of the green chips needed a visit to a diy shed, we also looked at Christmas lights. Those who know me will know that I would be delighted to have a house looking like the strip in Las Vegas, hopefully visible from space. My dear one has unaccountably more restrained tastes and even threatened me at one point with a Martha Stewart christmas when I was getting tiresomely over-excited. This is one of the those marital testing points that you have to negotiate. At the time of writing, a flashing snowflake is hanging on the front of the house with a static tree shaped light to be erected also. After that, who knows what will follow? Watch this space.

Busy, busy, busy. Last week in work we did the interviews for and appointed our Smoking Related Litter Officer position, in advance of the ban next April. Very enjoyable and interesting process with some fantastic candidates making it difficult to choose. However, we did and he is an excellent candidate and should do a really good job. Interviews very tiring and draining, followed by marathon session on Friday afternoon of selection - grading all candidates, and then phoning all unsuccessful ones as I didn't want them having to wait all weekend before finding out. Finally shot off to the station to collect fave auntie at 4 who had come up for a weekend of fun and frivolity.

Saturday was our annual craft fest at the big Creative Stitches and Papercraft Exhibition. It would be fair to say we shopped till we dropped! Bought many many wonderful things, and to our great delight saw Alan and Barry, formerly of Create and Craft TV. Even had a signed photo, much to my excitement, and husband's bewilderment. Staggered home, exhausted. Sunday fun at Ikea bouncing on sofas as H is considering buying Ektorp. After a satisfyingly prolonged bounce, Ektorp was pronounced suitable. Also looked at lots of lovely other things there. Home for quick lunch then it was time to take H to station for her train home. Tried to see Borat on Sunday evening but it was completely chaotic so went on Monday instead. So funny that I laughed all the way through and emerged aching after it had finished. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it.

Tuesday night joined by the His Imperial Majesty Tsar Kevinovich - litter tsar of Plymouth who was visiting our city for a WRAP training course. He came over and we cooked a meal, drank too much and enjoyed catching up with all the news. Fantastic. Cooked honey and ginger chicken with a mango and chilli salsa, plus roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli, followed by a selection of cheeses. Yum. Just wish the evening could have been longer as it seemed the conversation was just getting going when it was time for him to go back to his hotel. Hopefully, he and Melinda will come and stay for a weekend soon.

Yesterday took day off for day of Christmas shopping with H, who came up again on the train. Very enjoyable and exciting day, with a successful trip to Lakeland to purchase two kitchen timers and a pastry brush. Saw lots of our city centre teams around. Had lunch at Starbucks and we had the cutest barista, who treated us to red sprinkles on our drinks, whoopee...... Bought myself a new pair of suede casual boots, and a casual western style shirt, prompting husband to ask on my return home if I was going line dancing. Humph.

Spent the afternoon today at our Highways depot, attending our monthly BIM for senior managers. Nothing wildly exciting on the agenda, but meeting deafened by howling gale and thundering rain - really quite awesome. Drove home with roads all flooded, heavy spray - glad to get home safely. Baffled completely by seeing (just) several cyclists with NO LIGHTS and DARK CLOTHING - do they want to be killed? I just don't understand.

Blimey, what a busy week. Well, last week was very momentous as it was the week the judges for the Cleanest City were visiting us to judge us. Spent some time in the city centre and must admit the cleansing standard was excellent. If I was being picky I would say we were let down by the street furniture - some of our bins are looking very tired and desperately need replacing as well as some of the other street furniture. We also have some empty shops which are waiting to be demolished to make way for the new shopping centre - even though the street is clean, these can pull down the overall visual impression. Took one of my colleagues for his first ever Starbucks as we were doing a walk round - he chose an eggnog latte and woofed it down at warp speed. Most impressive.

On Tuesday we teleported down the M4 to an event in swansea at the new Liberty Stadium. Lots of police and fire service people as well as the DVLA - looking at streetscene issues in relation to crime and neighbourhood policing - lots of crossover issues. Very interesting and a lovely little goodie bag from the DVLA - I really am a sucker for these! The stadium was very impressive - it is a joint home for the Ospreys rugby team and the Swansea City Football Club. Lots of meeting and conference space, and it was good to see lots of different groups using it that day.

Friday was marred by the news that one of our community sweepers was very shaken but fortunately not hurt after some tosser threw a firework at her while she was on her rounds. Words cannot even describe the rage I feel. Here is a woman doing an important and appreciated job for her local community. The local Councillors, police officers, shopkeepers and residents all rave over her and the wonderful job she does. She quietly goes about her business, making her neighbourhood a better place, is cheerful, positive and well liked. And some idiot teenager thinks it's big and clever to try and frighten her and is very lucky she is not injured, maimed or worse. Why do people do this? Why do people spit at, stone, abuse our staff who are simply providing an essential public service? It really does depress me at times.

On a more cheerful note, we ordered the Christmas turkey over the weekend. It's a free range, organic bronze from Marks and Spencer and was described in such glowingly happy terms in the brochure that it clearly is being as fulfilled as a turkey possibly can be, eating delicious food, hanging out with its friends, enjoying the fresh air, sleeping on high thread count sheets at night, doing a little night class in pottery - all the things that keep a modern turkey happy and healthy.

We also braved the hell that is Toys R Us - presents for nephews. Anyone contemplating breeding should be forced to spend an hour there. The smell, the noise, the double buggies that completely block aisles, the tantrums, the daggers on the axles of the chariot model buggies pushed by ubermummies, the small children cannoning round corners with no thought for who or what could be round the corner, the depressing rows of primary coloured plastic tat - aaargh! And blatant sexual stereotyping on the toys - lots of cute little girls pictured with the "My first Mrs Mop" kit, my first Hoover, etc.... and in the science section - do you think there was a single female to be seen on a box cover? No, all boys, and even worse, wearing glasses. Grrr.

This week is going to be quite hectic too. We are interviewing for the Smoking Related Litter post on Wednesday and Thursday with one candidate coming on Friday owing to a family bereavement. I am looking forward to the interviews as we have some very strong candidates. Tomorrow is J's last day in work for a while as he's heading for Tenerife for a much deserved break with his family. Will continue to post as the week unfolds.

The time is flying faster than a chav with a stolen Burberry handbag. A busy weekend just gone. Went to a Fair Trade Christmas fair where we made a start on a few Christmas presents. Also bought a new kettle - it's a disco inferno!! It glows blue/purple light when it is boiling - so great!! When I told Leila, she immediately advised to don the gold hot pants!! The fish are flourishing too - the cold weather means that they are less active and just sort of sluggishly laze around at the bottom of the pool. It's tempting to pour in a can of Red Bull to see if it has any effect.

On Sunday, Andrew went up to Manchester - we don't normally do work flights on weekends but the training course he is running started early this morning.

Busy day in work. Took a phone call from a Councillor about a problem back lane. As is often the case, it's a combination of flat dwellers with no refuse storage, some dodgy trade waste, residents putting out too early and a bit of mayhem into the bargain. Each element will have to be tackled. Fortunately, she is one of our nicer Cllrs, who is polite and friendly when she phones up - so much better to deal with.

Spent the afternoon shortlisting for the new Smoking Related Litter Project Officer. We received twenty five applications - more than I was expecting with an excellent mix of candidates, both internal and external. I love shortlisting as you feel as though you are opening a Christmas present with each new candidate - each form presents them in a different way. A wide variety of life experiences and ages and backgrounds to choose from. We eventually shortlisted down to ten candidates for interview. Hopefully (if HR play ball) we can interview next week. The candidates will also be doing a presentation as part of their interview. This will form 20% of the marking.

By the time we'd finished, it was nearly time to go home. So I did.