I knew Eva and I would make great travelling companions when I phoned her the night before we were due to fly out and discovered we shared the same sense of humour and the same capacity to faff.   Indeed we spent most of the holiday laughing and faffing!  If I hadn't lost or forgotten something, Eva had.  Eva would remind me to take my malaria tablet every evening and I would remind her to take hers every morning as we could remember each others more than our own.  The Wednesday before our departure we compared our concerns about missing the Brussel-Kigali connection because Eva only had an hour and 40 minutes to transfer and I had 55 minutes!  We concocted a plan whereby we would check in online and ensure we were sitting next to each other so could instantly tell if one of us hadn't made the plane.  Eva also promised to text me our gate number when she arrived so I would know where to run to.  In the end, we needn't have worried as we both made the second flight without any problems - or pas de prob as would be our catchphrase throughout the trip.

We only got one film which we could hardly see as there was only one screen that we could see and that was at an awkward angle.  Luckily I wasn't too bothered about the film as it was Marley and Me and not something I'd been desperate to see.  The main meal was ok and the ice cream snack part way through was a great surprise.  The sandwiches we were given last, however, were disgusting.  After about 5 hours the flight began to pall, particularly as the light had faded. 

Kigali is like Bradford at night.  When looking out of the aeroplane window after touch down, I couldn't work out at first what the pinpricks of light were that stretched across the horizon in a thick band.  It didn't look right for buildings or stars.  Turns out it was the lights of Kigali spread out across the hills, much like the lights of Bradford as seen from Clayton Heights. 

Kigali International Airport is tiny with the only direct flights available to Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Burundi and Brussels.  In fact, to reach her conference in Tunisia, Frances had to change planes in Paris.  When we saw the Rwandan groundstaff walking towards the plane pulling a trolley, we surmised we'd have a long wait for our suitcases.  After disembarking we walked to the main terminal to receive a stamp in our passports. 

Laurie was waiting for us as Frances had been sent to a conference in Tunisia at the last minute and wouldn't be back until Sunday.  She had set up a range of friends to look after us, including Laurie who would house us until Frances returned and booked our gorilla trek so we could complete that in the meantime.  Laurie brandished a sign with our names as our facebook profile pictures were not adequate for recognition purposes - mine being a cartoon of the scarecrow. 

Laurie lives in a British Embassy house as her job is to monitor the relationship between the UK and Rwanda to ensure our aid is spent appropriately.  An interesting job when the row over MPs' expenses has reached Rwanda.  Apparently the UK has a large aid interest in Rwanda but we never hear about it due to the current economic crisis and the mixed opinions of some Britons towards foreign aid.  The British government is still committted to providing this aid despite the credit crunch as this is affecting Africa too. 

While Laurie lives in a large house at the top of the hill, the pooer people live further down.  The rich-poor continuum is mapped out on the hills from the US Ambassador's residence at the top to the poorest shacks at the bottom.  Most of the roads have no street names and the houses have no numbers, therefore, providing accurate directions to destinations using local landmarks is very important, if difficult.  Frances lives in a new housing estate which does have road names and numbers and is built in a cohesive style meaning it stands out amongst the buildings of Kigali.  The estate was built as part of the Vision 2020 which showcases hoe the government wants all housing to be like in Kigali in 2020.

We were a little spoilt but the embassy house which was huge.  Eva and I each had our own bedroom and bathroom, there was mesh covering the windows and mosquito nets attached above the beds.  There was a large dining room and lounge and these were replicated outside on the veranda.  There was a also a big garden with a lawn, flowers, banana trees, rabbits and chickens.

On Friday morning Laurie was going to a tailor to have a dress made for a wedding using local fabric.  Eva and I jumped at the chance to have dresses made too especially as it meant we could get our first view of Kigali by day.

The city is full of low rise one storey small shops, lots of building work, people sitting and moving about and bump roads.  It is very busy and bustling.  To buy the fabric we went to a suite of one room shops situated together while piles of brightly coloured and highly decorated fabrics were laid in piles and displayed on doors and walls.  It took ages to decide on fabric to take into consideration what we could get away with wearing in England.  Finally Eva plumped for a brown leaf design, Laurie a green circular pattern and I a green and purple combo. 

We looked for the tailor down a side street - essentially an unmade dirt track but the tailor had moved and one of the locals kindly took us to his new shop on the main street - indicating he'd moved up in the world.  We showed him our fabrics and then describe what we wanted using an example dress in Eva's case, a picture in a magazine in mine and both accompanied by Laurie's explanations in French.  Then we were measured.  The dresses take one week to make and cost about £15.

After a lunch of bread and cheese on Laurie's veranda, we went to meet Kassim, the driver Frances had engaged to take us to the gorillas.  Kassim had lost most of his family in the genocide while he was at university in Kenya.  He left his studies to come back to Rwanda after the genocide to support his younger siblings.

The ride to Ruhengeri took about 3 hours as we had to stop to change money and get petrol and the road was full of potholes requiring Kassim to drive sometimes at 90 angles across the road to avoid them.  Driving is interesting in Rwanda.  When overtooking, the vehicle you are overtaking signals right to show they've seen you, the vehicle overtaking beeps when driving passed to show they are passing.  People do often overtake near bends or regardless of whether they can see, which can be frequent considering the number of hills.  Ironically after commenting that the Rwandan driving was pretty good in comparison to other countries we had been to, we nearly crashed into a car overtaking a lorry round a bend.  I think it helps that there aren't many vehicles on the road as the majority of the population is car-less.  For ages I couldn't work out what was odd as we journeyed around the country and then I realised it was the volume of pedestrians walking alongside all of the roads.

Eva and I were so absorbed by the scenery: rolling green hills (forested or laid out on terraces); people carrying an assortment of paraphernalia on their heads, including bamboo, tools like hoes; children wrapped onto their parent's backs; people staring at us as Mzungos (or white people) are an uncommon sight; children waving at us and Genocide memorials, that we barely spoke leading Kassim to think I was from a religious family.

When we arrived at the Mountain Gorilla View Lodge after a bumpy ride down an unmade track which saw us almost thrown around the back of the minibus, I checked in while Eva was a) asked if she'd like a cup of coffee by the hotel staff and b) accosted by Kassim asking if we would check out at the same time as checking in so we could leave straight after the trek.  This we weren't keen to do as we'd want showers and had paid for full board, plus this was not the agreed arrangement.  I finished checking in just as Eva's coffee was ready.  There had been a delay while the staff located some powdered milk.  This meant Eva found herself walking across the park to our lodge, rucksack on her back and coffee cup and saucer in hand which inevitably ended up with her slopping coffee into her saucer and the ground.  I wasn't offered a hot drink but was quite thankful for that after watching Eva's progress.

Rwanda doesn't get many tourists as the country is small so there isn't as much to do as in neighbouring countries, such as Tanzania and Uganda.  Plus flights are expensive and many people have an ignorant percpetion of what the country is like now.  If people come they tend to leave after they have trekked the gorillas.  Rwandans themselves either can't afford holidays or, if they live in cities, spend their free time returning to their home villages and families.  As a result, hotel staff are trying to cater for an audience they don't really understand.  Most of the time you can appreciate what they're attempting to do but they get a little wrong.  For example, they clearly thought they should offer their guests a hot drink upon arrival at the lodge but hadn't considered the logistics of doing this.  Similarly, when we were in the restaurant for dinner, the waiter insisted on reading out the menu, even though we had to keep asking him to repeat things and could see he had the menu written English in front of him.  Some of the dishes had fancy titles, such as Gorilla Salad and Chef's Special Salad but no indication was given as to what they comprised.  Eva was adventurous and chose the Gorilla Salad which turned out to be avocado and tomato, rather than an endangered primate.  I had soup.  We both had beef strogonoff for main as we'd been told you can't get good chicken here.  The Crepe Suzette for dessert came with chocolate sauce.  After the meal we were brought chunks of sugar cane that we weren't quite sure how to eat.  Our tactic of trying to watch other people's attempts was unsuccessful so we resorted to asking.  You chew on them to release a sugary liquid without biting or swallowing pieces.  The fibres themselves are quite firm and woody. 

The hotel consisted of a number of lodges dotted around the landscape.  The lodge had one large room with two beds and a slightly lowered sitting area (that I kept tripping into) and an adjoining bathroom.  Someone came to light the fire for us as it was much cooler there than Kigali due to the altitude.  Later we were provided with hot water bottles which were so scorching we had to wrap them in towels and clothing.  They were still hot in the morning!

Unlike elsewhere we had stayed, there was no insect protection, possibly they were deemed unnecessary by the hotel staff due to the altitude.  However, Eva and I wanted protection from the range of insects, flies and moths that were inhabiting our room.  I'd brought my mosquito net with me but Eva had left hers so we spent some time insect spraying the curtains, removing insects in cups and splatting the rest with flip flops.  I had to find a creative solution to the problem of where to hang my mosquito net without hooks and after losing the nail provided by Boots for the purpose down the back of the bed.  In the end I used the string and tied it to the lamp above the bed.  Fortunately, the beds were quite large so Eva was able to share my bed to have the safety of the net also.

Shake Hands with the Devil: the failure of humanity in Rwanda - Lgen Romeo Dallaire
The Ghost Writer - John Harwood
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher or the Murder at Road Hill House Murder - Kate Summerscale
Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
Clouds of Witness - Dorothy L. Sayers

Yesterday a family friend came round and said she is being recruited to sell Body Shop products at home.  My mum's response was "Oh I don't see you selling beauty products.  If it was dog food - yes". 

Luckily she took it quite well.  Don't think me rolling on the floor with laughter helped.

Post 10 things that are going right in your life right now. I don't care how small. You're happy with your cup of coffee. You saw a flock of geese flying over. ANYTHING. Things that make you happy. Things that make you smile. No pressure.

It's small and it's simplistic, but maybe for the time you are compiling your list, you'll forget about the bad going on and focus on something good.

1.  It was a mild autumnal morning.  I did not need to wear a ganzy and was able to walk along in the sunshine, kicking the leaves and admiring the red tree on the green.
2.  Got into work to find Sarah had sent me a ballet video of You Tube which was a delightful and calming way to start the week.
3. Due to aforementioned video whetting our appetites, the Doomers and I are organising a ballet trip.
4. Andrew baked homemade apple pie and brought it into the team meeting.  It was delicious and a lovely surprise.
5. Alex thanked me for the work I did for her while she was away.
6. I met my parents after work for a meal at Prezzo.
7. I got a lift home rather than having to negotiate the tubes and trains.
8. I got home in perfect timing for the first two episodes of Coronation Street's murder week and managed to finish watching Saturday's Strictly Come Dancing.
9.  Made plans with Ches for this week's IT Crowd recording and discovered that the journey isn't going to be as hellish as I thought.
10.  I played a game of Rummikub with my Dad and beat him which is a rare occurance.

I worked my first Science Night sleepover on Saturday.  470 children aged between 8-12 slept over in various galleries in the museum and I was one of the evening ushers.  I got there early as I was paranoid about being late and helped set up some stands and then enjoyed chatting to other helpers from different departments whom I don't normally get to see.  I caught up with someone off my Leicester course who is now an explainer at the museum; met someone from documentation; collections and events. 

At 6.30 I joined the other two ushers in charge of the Purple Astronaut group and got ready to meet the arrivals.  We helped the groups put their snacks in a trolley and then showed them their sleeping area.  Most of the groups were there for birthday parties.  We had a Cub group and they were by far the best organised.  When I asked for their snacks, they handed me a ready made cool bag full.  I asked if their water bottles were in there and was told they had another cool box full of drinks.  I said "oh I knew the Scouts would be prepared".  Unfortunately, this came out as a cringey pun.  I didn't mean "Be Prepared" just "be prepared" but I think the Scouters were unimpressed and I felt v embarrassed.

Next there was a sleeping mat crisis.  We seemed to have run out but we still had a group of 12 without any.  I had other adults coming up to me and slyly pointing out that some people had taken two.  I went to investigate, found some people had two and some elderly women had three.  I felt terrible taking some away from them but the group without any were getting cross.  In the end I left them with two and said I would replace them if I could.  Then I came across three lads who had 10 between them!  They took it in good part.  They seemed to realise they were being cheeky but had felt that it was worth a try.  Fair play to them.  I spent the rest of the evening feeling guilty about the elderly women remembering how I had to take some cushions off old ladies at Wimbledon and ruined their day to the point that they left early.  Thankfully, I found a couple of extra mats by the end of the evening and could sleep easy that night.

My job was to help ferry the children to and from the various activities.  After the Health and Safety talk, they had a trail in Making the Modern World, before learning about and making snot and then watching a show called It Takes Guts where we saw a film of inside someone's digestive system which made me want to throw up.  One child did throw up early in the night before snack time and any of the activities so goodness knows how he fared afterwards! 

At my break time we were treated to a buffet and I drank too much apple juice.

The two ushers I was working with were great.  The girl and I laughed our way through.  The guy was really competent having done loads of these before and was really chilled out about the whole thing so we followed his lead as both of us were inexperienced.

One group of 8 children had 8 adults with them despite not having any disabilities of Special Educational Needs.  As soon as we saw this on the chart we knew they would be a problem group.  Any adult who thinks that ratio is necessary is bound to have issues and we were right.  They kept coming up asking stupid questions and wanting to know everything, despite having been sent loads of prep info.  The children were fine though.

In a way I was sorry to leave at 11.30 as I had just got into it and to know the people, however,  wouldn't have got any sleep if I had and besides I am staying on the next one.  I was lucky enough to get a paid for taxi home all to myself as no one else lives near me.  I was very excited about the taxi home and made sure I stayed awake throughout to relish the moment.  It only took half an hour - I wish it did during my commute.

The next science night is a Brownie and Guide one and I am very excited about it.  According to the guy usher in my team, the Guiding and Scouting groups are always the best behaved.  I am thinking of wearing my Promise badge on the night to indicate to the leaders that I understand Guiding, however, this depends on me being able to find m badge tab! 

Just got back from a very successful holiday on the Greek island of Lesvos.  Giles and I couldn't believe our luck.  On the way out we waltzed through check in without any queues, had time for a breakfast at the airport, had plenty of room on the half empty flight, no delays, transfer from the airport in Mytilene was painfree and the hotel amazing.  As Giles and I lay on our sun loungers on the Thursday afternoon, we were concerned that there was some catch and maybe the hotel was included in the price after all!  Our room had an en suite bathroom and a balcony with a view over Turkey.

The hotel was well decorated, modern and clean.  It was so nice having our own room for the whole week having spent my last two holidays in youth hostels.  The food was great as it was so fresh and both breakfast and dinner were buffets.  For breakfast I had a roll with feta cheese and another type of cheese, tomatoes and followed this up with a selection of mini pastries - namely mini croissants, mini chocolate chip cookies and a sesame seed covered thing.

Having had a lazy afternoon around the pool on the first day, we spent the second at the nearby village of Molyvos.  We went round the castle (which was free entry another example of our good luck) in gale force winds and admired the views; had lunch of meze in the harbour surrounded by colourful boats and octapus tentacles hanging out to dry.  Molyvos is a medival town of colourful buildings and a World Heritage Site as all the houses have to built in the same style.  It is built on a hillside with the castle at the top.  Tiny cobbled streets
run everywhere, including the covered market.

Saturday saw us on the Wild West tour which included the Leimonas Monastery; the 20 million year old petrified forest which was created when a volcano covered the sub tropical forest during the time when the continents were joined meaning that red wood trees now only found in California are also preserved in the forest; the birthplace of Sappho where Giles and I swam in the sea surrounded by tavernas on stilts and had coffee in a traditional village.

On Sunday we walked to Eftalou and experienced the thermal spa.  The water was over 40C and quite painful at first.  I could barely put a toe in.  After about 20 minutes I managed to get in but I could only stayed in for 2 minutes.  They recommend that you don't stay in for longer than 5 minutes at any time without taking a break.  Once we'd been in, we plunged into the sea and then tried again.  After 45 minutes we had to get out as is advised. 

We then took the local bus to the village the other side of Molyvos called Petra.  We had lunch in a covered market and then climbed up the rock to look round the church on the top.  The wind was so strong that the waves crashed over the road.  We then walked the 5 km back to Molyvos.

Monday we had a lazy day around the pool and played a game of tennis.

On Tuesday we walked passed the village of Eftalou continuing down the dirt track along the coast into the middle of nowhere.  When we returned to the hotel, we had a swim and read around the pool.

Our last day saw us on the beach at Molyvos, swimming in the sea and looking round the covered market.  We had our last meal in Molyvos harbour before preparing for home.

We were the last holiday of the season and many of the hotels and restaurants were closing as we left.  We felt sorry for the only couple left in the hotel once the rest of us left on Thursday because the staff seemed to pack up as soon as we finished breakfast.  Even the holiday reps flew back home with us!

If holidays are as relaxing and enjoyable as this, I quite fancy having another!

My birthday weekend began with me purchasing Millie's Cookies for work.  I was good and did not eat them on the way though I was sorely tempted.  Rachel brought me a cake and a present so I spent the day stuffing my face.  After work I headed to Camden for a ceilidh.  We all met at a pub on the canal for refreshments and then walked over to the venue.  All the Doomers, Dena, Giles and his sister, Arasi and Emma were there.  The Doomers' new flatmate came too as she knew someone else having a birthday.  She even brought me a card which I thought was really sweet seeing as we have only met once before!  The ceilidh was good and exhausting as always.  I had to change out of trousers and into the skirt I brought half way through! 

When Giles, his sister and I got home, my parents were back from their holiday so were wide awake from jet lag.  We heard about their holiday and I opened their presents to me - a series of Canadian and American T-shirts and hoodies - so I now look like I come from across the pond as it was technically my birthday.

On the day itself I drove us to Bodiam Castle which took much longer than I thought as the traffic was terrible.  I drove really badly and it was very stressful.  It was worth it when we got there though.  The sun was shining and it was fairly warm.  Giles, his sister and I spent ages clambering everywhere while my parents sat in the cafe (think the jet lag was kicking in).  When we finished we saw three hot air balloons rise above the castle. 

In the evening we had a curry take away and watched Midsomer Murders.

Sunday was a lazy day.  We went to the Comedy Store in the evening and saw Paul Merton and the Comedy Store Players doing their improvisations.

All in all another successful birthday weekend!

Had a productive day.  Washed the car as was very embarrassed to discover there was a cobweb on it the other day.  I have washed it loads recently and can't believe how dirty it gets in such a short space of time considering it just stands in the drive most of the time.  Have done a clothes wash, washed up, done ironing, emptied Tessa's tray, tidied my room and started my packing for Greece.  Can't wait for my parents to get back as forgotten how much is involved in running a house.

Had a break in the middle of the day to see the Open House properties in the local area.  It was such a lovely day to walk in the sunshine around the local area.  Visited a 17th century newly restored chapel, some almshouses I didn't even know existed, the Manor House Ice House and then climbed Hither Green tower.  I think the Open House scheme is great as these are places I have passed so many times and never really known their history or visited.  Climbing the tower was no mean feat.  I climbed a scary metal ladder which was fixed straight against the wall with only a metal frame on the higher parts.  Moving from the ladder to the platform was challenging.  I kept thinking that at any moment I could go plummeting to the ground and probably die.  It was only when I completed the escapade that I realised that there was an easier way to get up and down which, although you had to crawl under a water tank, was no where near as dangerous.  The view was great though.  I can see this tower from my house so it was cool to finally ascend it.  It is in the middle of a really plush set of apartments.  I wish I could live in them.

I even managed to lie out in the garden for a couple of hours.  I can't believe that summer is almost over having never really begun.  Feel very cheated.

Am now enjoying watching the TV.  Seen David's Suchet Who do you think you are?, Strictly Come Dancing, Wife Swap, After You've Gone and am looking forward to Poirot, although it clashes with Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Damn.  It is scary that it is Strictly time again.  I feel like this time last year was when my life really started as I was finally out of education and living by myself in Lincolnshire so felt a little more like an adult.  As a result, I think that this last year is more vivid than perhaps the others.  It is the only way I can explain why those three months between Sept - Dec last year stand out so much.  I wonder how these will pan out. 

After going into work for a couple of hours to ensure the external contractor was set up ok, I trundled to Euston to meet Xanthe for our jaunt to Bletchley Park.  I have wanted to go there for years, ever since I first heard about it.  I have been reading Station X  at the moment so was more than ready to see the place and soak up the atmosphere.

It was a gloriously warm sunny day so Xanthe and I began in the best way possible by having a pack up by the lake.  We then wandered around the big house, admiring the library and regretting the fact that a wedding was taking place so we couldn't explore further.  It does strike me as a slightly odd place to have a wedding though also quite cool.

We got collared in the 1940s post office by an old man who talked to us about a Vulcan and then his hero who was in B Block and had bailed out of a burning plane.  We were slightly concerned we would have to spend our whole visit in that room talking to him, interesting as it was.  I love old people, particularly this generation which achieved so many remarkable things in the worst of times.  One of the families we crossed paths with later appeared to have an elderly grandmother in tow who, from the snippet of conversation we overheard, worked at BP.

We looked round one of the hutsand saw the Pigeons at War exhibition which talked about this surprising contribution.  Like many places there was too much to see in one visit, particularly as the whole place was rather text heavy, so I shall want another trip at some point.  It was amazing to see the machines and references to the people I have been reading so much about.

I saw their innovative text system where you text a word to a number and then you are meant to access information about it when you get home that I had heard so much about in the museum world.  Unfortunately, the explanation of what was meant to happen was not clear so I assumed I would get a text there and then with more info so I didn't have to read the panel.  I was disappointed when I discovered you only received the text when you got home but am even more disappointed now that I am still yet to receive the reply text.  Think I should get time off in lieu for the time I spent looking at this device and trying it out as we are beginning to try out mobile technology in the Science Museum.

Drove to Bromley for my eye appointment on Wednesday.  Was dubious about doing so as I have never driven into Bromley before and had no idea where The Glades' car park was.  Then I had a genius idea.  I zoomed in on Google map satellite view to the point where I could see the road markings so I could work out which lanes to be in when and the location of the car park.  I then managed to get there despite getting stuck behind a tractor (much to my disbelief) and negotiating a lorry that was blocking the left lane.  I also managed a multi storey car park for the first time.  I was too far away from the machine on the way in and had to get out to press the button but was perfect distance on the way out.

Eye appointment was a bit wierd.  Neither of the pre test machines were working so I hope I don't have glaucoma as I won't find out for another 2 years.  The optician was a bit wierd.  He kept saying "your the boss" when I told him which options I could see better, talking to himself saying "yeah we'll carry on with this" and didn't seem to know what he was doing.  I was pleased I didn't "oh you've replaced that basic torch in the eye procedure with this new machine" because he used the torch-eye method later.  I was very proud that I didn't laugh through that bit because I normally laugh continually through that bit.  He said he hadn't seen anything nasty but didn't say it in a way that he was convinced.

The optician got the Natural History Museum and Science Museum mixed up.  I had thought better of someone in a scientific profession.  I let it go when he said he loved the gems best but had to step in when he mentioned the dinosaurs.

I am very excited about getting my new glasses.  The woman was great.  She chose lots of options and decided whether they suited me.  Then she played about with the camera so I could see myself from all sorts of angles before making my decision.  It was BOGOF so I have a green one and an orange one. 

Although I was alarmed and upset on Sunday to discover that Giles and I were meant to be flying to Greece with the bankrupted airline, Excel, the situation is not so bad as it first appeared.  We booked through a tour operator so were ATOL protected and now we have a new holiday with the same hotel and same dates and only £15 more expensive.  It was good I was working on home on Wednesday to take the phonecall or it would have been far worse.  The girl on the phone actually couldn't believe our luck.  So our holiday is back on and I've got to remember to a) pack and b) leave on the right day!

I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed Brownies until I helped out on Friday with a rendition of the game "Ship, Shore, Port, Starboard" (one of my fave games as a Brownie) in honour of Talk Like a Pirate Day.  I managed to give Xanthe a lift there and back once we had solved the puzzle of how to fit the wheelchair in the car.  I was v scared with the roads being v small, cars parked on either side and the traffic busy.  I managed to do a parallel park by myself for the 1st time which was terrifying, especially as I discovered I cannot judge distances out the back of my car.  At one point I thought I had hit the car behind me (I even thought I felt a bump) but when I got out to survey the damage, I was no where near the car behind - we are talking a good couple of metres.  I am slightly concerned about this but, as Xanthe pointed out, at least it is better to misjudge this way than the other! 

I think I have a cold coming.  I have a sore throat and my head feels heavy.  I do not want a cold.  I have had LOADS of colds and illnesses this year and am worried my work think I am a hypochondriac.  I also don't want to be ill and miss my second Guide meeting as they will think I don't want to come back and am using the cold as an excuse because I am too embarrassed to say!

I've just had a very strange phonecall.  It was a recorded message from Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats asking me to choose, with my telephone keypad, the issues I thought were most important, what I thought of his proposal relating to that area and then how I would vote in the general election if it were held tomorrow.  I quite like this MP asking my opinion trend that seems to be forming.  We had a questionnaire from Bridget Prentice a while ago.  I felt like this is how democracy should be (even if they simply use the info to line the waste paper basket, it is a start).

The only issue with the telephone thing was that the message took a few seconds to cut in so we kept talking over each other and then I felt very silly because I ended up talking to a machine.  I hope there weren't ppl listening in and laughing at the other end.

I have had my first Guide meeting with hopefully my new unit.  Both the leaders and the girls seemed nice.  They have about 14 Guides and during the 1st meeting they were very friendly and, although a couple of them were the self confessed "loud ones", they seemed to be loud in a cheerful, exuberant way, rather than the mardy, rude way some of the Leicester Guides adopted.  I was impressed with their behaviour, particularly since it was quite a boring but essential form filling, patrol sorting type of a meeting.  The leaders seem quite desperate for me to return and I am eager to do so, so hopefully I have found my new unit.  YAY!  The only downside is they do church parades.   I will miss the first two due to pre-arrangements but suppose I will have to go to the November one.  It was brilliant in Leicester because, although they met in a catholic church, they didn't do church parades.  I will have to master parking before then because I guess the car park will be crowded with cars and busy with people so the pressure will be on. 

I was very proud that I was able to drive there and back on Thursday, even though I didn't realise that when turning right at the junction, I would have to wait in the middle or that the road the church entrance is on is one way.  Fortunately, I spotted in time before embarrassing myself in front of my new leader colleagues.  This time, when I got home, I did not hit anything in the drive.

I have had a very domestic day today.  I made some rosemary bread this morning (which I think I have eaten a little too much of now).  I have emptied Tessa's tray, done washing up and removed the layer of flour from the kitchen, then I set about cleaning and hoovering the inside of my car.  I think some car mats are needed - I have spotted some Hello Kitty ones on the Halfords' website.  I certainly want some pink ones if possible.  I have picked up a parcel for my mum from the post office, put my coat into the dry cleaners ready for winter, bought some milk, returned a library book and made an eye appointment.  I also had a go at my Pump It Up DVD, which is distinctly less fun without Jo, and had a little nap.  I am now watching Memoirs of a Geisha while waiting for Giles to arrive.  I even sat outside on a sun lounger for a bit reading enjoying being able to do so for only about the second time this summer and probably the last.

I have finally driven my car by myself for the first time.  I thought I would just take it around the block to simply get a feel for what it is like to be in the car by myself but, once I had done that, I wasn't satisfied so ventured further.  I was going to try to go to Sainsbury's but cars were blocking the road so thought I would try to get to the church where I have just started Guides to I could see if I could drive myself there ready for the first meeting.  I had done most of the route before with my Dad and quite recently so it wasn't too bad but when I got to the church I realised I couldn't go back the way I had come so had to go on some new roads and using my sense of direction.  I think I managed quite well, especially as I didn't panic too much, although I was scared I would end up in the centre of Lewisham with its large, scary roads, roundabouts and crowded roads.  I was almost home when I phoned Xanthe to double check where I was to ensure I was not Lewisham bound.  Got home and reversed into our wheeliebins and knocked my wing mirror as I had never reversed into the drive before but I managed to put them back with no harm done.  I must say I was quite chuffed with myself.  The next night I managed to drive to and from Guides without incident.  Hooray!  I am getting there slowly.  Am still a way off from being able to drive anywhere by myself but it is a step closer.

I made bread rolls yesterday - all by myself.  Am v proud of myself although the kitchen is now covered in flour and I have burnt my finger.  Kneeding was hard work but I perservered for the obligatory 10 minutes.  The rolls seemed to taste ok - quite like scones, in fact more like scones than the actual scones I made last year.  I had one warm out the oven then I took them into work where they were greeted appreciatively.  Rachel spent about 15 minutes going on about how good they were and she has baked bread lots herself.  Hooray for baking.  I was hoping that, while I was baking, someone would call me so I could say "I've got a bun in the oven" but sadly no one did.  Am going to attempt a rosemary and onion bread next.  Am getting ambitious.