Promises Promises

There was me promising I wouldn't let my blog go quiet for more than a week again, and this is the first post of December! I do have my excuses though... good ones this time.

Main one of course is I've been off work and away in the UK for a week. Before that there was my parents visit and through all of that I had very little computer access. Ok, I'm sure I could have made an effort at some point to login and fill you all in, but therein lies the second excuse...I didn't have the urge to.

If I had kicked myself into life I could have written a separate entry for my trip to Derby to see Cat and Darrell (think that's the third different way I've spelt his name now, and I still don't know if I've got it right). It included a drive over to Coventry to see a live Ice Hockey game, and getting a personal mention on The Radio One Chart Show too! The important things you need to know is it was a fantastic trip, great to see them both and meet their respective partners, and to take Bob the Duck to a new destination.

Talking of new destinations for Bob, the next day I was off down to Bournemouth with him to see Jackie and meet Emily. It was quite strange being on the Cross Country train to the south coast again. As I passed through Southampton Airport Parkway station, I instinctively got my bag down from the rack and put my coat on. It was only getting a text off Jackie at that moment that stopped me getting off at Southampton Central station like I had done a million times before.

Meeting Emily was wonderful, and seeing Jackie as a 'mum' was also a treat. We spent the evening in, watching a bit of telly and eating pizza with her partner Mark - and the next day, went into Bournemouth centre for a bit of Christmas shopping and a mulled wine in the German market. I haven't pushed a baby around the shops since I was with Sarah and Caoimhe (I think I need to learn to be more agressive with shoppers who get in my way really.) Wish I could have stayed longer, or at least spent more time with them both, but there will be other times. Worth noting at this point that Jackie has about as much willpower for keeping presents wrapped up until the 25th as I have of passing a pub that's open without going in!

Next stop on the roller-coaster ride was Ellesmere Port to see my sister, have a couple of games of ten-pin bowling with the family, and use the opportunity to get my hair cut. For the record Bob the Duck won both games (which I think put my Dad's nose out of joint hee hee).

Before it felt like the trip had even got going, it was all over and I found myself back in Malta. No rest for the wicked though, 3 more days off before work started again, but a friend was coming over to visit. Had to make sure the flat is tidy, and the fridge is stripped of anything I left behind that now has it's own eco-system growing in it... and now it's back into the work routine.

..as I lay in bed last night, unable to sleep (for the second night in a row) I realised that these last two nights have been the first in three weeks where I have been alone. Either home or away I've not been in an empty house for 20 days. Not having to listen to see if the bathroom is available, not having to worry if I'm running low on milk, not having to 'tread on eggshells' if I move in the night for fear of disturbing someone, not having to explain to someone else what I'm doing or where I'm going. I've no idea if this is why I'm not sleeping (it seems unlikely) but something is keeping me awake.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I want to have someone around on a permanent basis, nor am I saying I don't want to share my home, just trying to make the point that there is a world of difference between the two, and in the past few weeks I've experienced both.

Oh well, Christmas looms ahead of us. Thankfully I managed to bring back a few winter clothes with me (the temperature is definitely dropping now). Sadly, my suitcase decided to attack a bottle of shower gel on the trip home, so Christmas presents and clothing got drenched in Imperial Leather 'Just for Men', but it all seems to have come clean in the wash. I won't promise to be in touch again soon, look what happened last time I did that...

..but I will try.