Weekend treats

I've been a bit remiss with my updates lately, for reasons I've covered previously. So, a quick catch-up ...

Last Sunday saw the first Chiswick Casuals barbecue. The boys gave me my barbecue for my birthday last year so it was my way of saying thanks. The weather was fine and we had a good turnout - all in all a great afternoon. The menu featured a chicken dish I learned at my Indian cookery course last year, sausages from the Farmers' Market, sweetcorn, vegetable kebabs, home made guacamole and coleslaw and a few other bits - it all seemed to go down well.

Wenge I and spent this weekend with the Arch, Debs, Marc and Margaret at Arch & Debs' holiday cottage in Orford, a couple of hours up the A12 in Suffolk. It was a welcome break (tm) from London, in beautiful surroundings, with great weather and of course great company. From our arrival on Saturday morning just in time for a hearty breakfast, to leaving on Sunday afternoon, it was a peaceful and relaxing time for all. In between we had a very enjoyable walk in glorious sunshine, including a ferry (rowing boat) trip and a pub stop; another walk through the village to the quay, and a meal at a nearby pub/restaurant. The only sour note of the weekend was our host's failure to bring a clean shirt for dinner which, frankly, let the side down. No matter, it was one less thing to crumple when he fell asleep in front of Match of the Day on our return.

So, another part of Britain that I now know, having never set foot in Suffolk previously. It moved the dream of a place away from it all closer in my mind... tomorrow would be nice.

My dad the hero

We're all proud of our parents. My dad was Chairman of Rangers for about 4 years and for a while was quite a well known figure in Scotland, so that was quite a big deal for me.

As you'd imagine, we used to talk a lot about football and Rangers. We didn't talk so much about his day job though, which was an orthopedic surgeon. But this week I saw this incredible story that made me realise that he was a great man for more than just football.

Now that really does make me proud.

Holiday? What holiday?

The good news is that Wenge and I had 10 wonderful days in the south of France. The sun shone relentlessly, with the mercury by the pool reaching 47 degrees one afternoon and a sea temperature of 25 degrees, so it was a holiday for relaxation rather than activity.

Since we were in the foothills of the Pyrenees, we had planned to spend some time walking, but it was too hot and frankly more enjoyable to spend it by the pool or just reading a book. Or cooking, which I did a fair bit of.

We treated ourselves to a couple of days in Collioure, and found ourselves in the most beautiful sanctuary of a hotel just a few hundred yards off one of the main streets - a real oasis of elegance and calm in the throng of holiday crowds.

I had my own treat - my annual visit to the local wine merchant who gave me a guided tour around his selection of local wines (I swear he knows every winemaker personally) and helped me get my credit card bill to a respectable level. Our neighbours, who let us use their house, arrived as we left and are going to bring my purchases back in the car with them when come home - now that's what I call good neighbours.

There was a slight hiccup on the way home, when we had to get off our plane on the runway due to a technical fault and wait 5 hours for a replacement plane. Still, as it was Ryanair we were expecting them to just refund the £29 fare and tell us to f*#k off and make our own way home, so it wasn't too bad.

A long bank holiday weekend and it was back to work - my first week in my new position as Head of Internet. As I write it's Thursday evening, 3 days in, and I can't pretend that it hasn't been tough going so far. I'll be glad to get the week over and make a fresh start next week. Thank goodness for the weekend.