Over Sleeping On Sunday

I woke up at half past ten this morning and immediately went into a complete spin because my meds were all at least two hours overdue. It doesn't matter so much with the pills but the IV is a different kettle of fish altogether. Fortunately the occasional blip doesn't seem to make much difference and the only danger I seemed to be in was having an empty cassette. Cassettes changed, pills taken and crisis over I made a nice cuppa and remained in bed to read the paper. I cannot remember the last time I had a proper lie in and, once over the shock, relaxed back and enjoyed it. It was gone half past eleven by the time I was up and about, how naughty am I?

Andrew came home yesterday for an over night stay and things are not going well.

It is freshers week and it seems his house mates have interpreted this as 'who can stay drunk the longest'. Andrew's idea of a night out is a couple of pints in a quiet pub where he can enjoy good conversation. His house mates think it means getting hammered every night and throwing up in the bathroom every morning. Andrew has been kept awake most nights by constant parties and then spends most of the day on his own cleaning up. He is not happy.

Next week proper lessons start so he reckons that they will all calm down then as they will have work to do and that will keep them out of the pub, it also means no more organised events on campus so less opportunity to get drunk. If they don't then he is seriously considering asking for a house move but I suspect most of the houses are exactly the same at the moment. The problem is that they are all very young. A couple are only just eighteen and none have been away from home before and seem used to having everything done for them. Some even appear incapable of locking, or even closing the front door. Andrew emerged from his room one morning to find two total strangers going through the cupboards in the kitchen, he was not impressed. There is one bloke there who is a bit older than the others and he and Andrew have struck up a bit of a friendship so it isn't all doom and gloom and of course he hasn't met any of his course mates yet so he might find Tom isn't the only one he gets on with.

The Saturday night event was billed as the 'Smirnoff Send Off' and described as the 'last big blow out before the real work begins'. Deciding that he was not going to spend Sunday one his own cleaning the kitchen, again, he packed a rucksack and came home arriving just after lunch yesterday afternoon. The kitchen is the bain of his life. Like me he believes that cleanliness in the kitchen and bathroom are sacrosanct. The rest of the house can be a mess but the kitchen and bathroom have to be pristine at all times. Some of his house mates make a rudimentary effort to clean up after themselves but others seem to be of the 'wait until I have nothing left to eat off' inclination. I have advised Andrew to grit his teeth, clean the area he is working in and then wash only his own stuff up. If he keeps cleaning for them they will expect him to do it and that is not fair.

There was some excitement though as he has the dates for his first placement and he has been measured for his uniform. He will get five shirts, five tee shirts, three pairs of cargo trousers, one pair of capped boots, a hi viz waterproof, a hi viz summer coat, a fleece, a utility belt and a stab vest. The stab vest is custom made so if he will keep that with him for life or until he changes shape. He is also being supplied with basic equipment such as a stethoscope, which again are his for his entire career. His first lecture is at nine on Monday morning and he cannot wait.

Since being home he has eaten for an army but did not bring any dirty washing as, as he proudly explained, he'd done it all before he left. We have agreed that until his house mates settle down he will come home at weekends, just for a break from the noise and mess. I can't see this lasting beyond the end of the month as I'm sure once he starts making friends and  everyone settles into their courses and has masses of work to do he will feel more inclined to stay put. He will be home next weekend though as it is his birthday and we have planned a family meal.

I got up to a bit of mischief yesterday, OK, it may not be everyone's idea of naughtiness but when you are banned from doing something even the most mundane task seems exciting. I vacuumed and mopped the floors! Only downstairs, I couldn't get the hoover upstairs, but I felt such a sense of achievement afterwards. It did mean I spent the rest of the day on the settee either watching TV or chatting to Andrew, but it was worth it just for the feeling of doing something 'normal'.

Today I'm cooking one of Andrew's favourites, sausage, mash, peas and gravy for lunch and then we will escort him part of the way back to uni, he got lost coming home, before settling down with a nice bottle of wine. I don't drink often but I think a treat is in order tonight. As this is turning into a weekend of 'doing everything I shouldn't' or as I like to call it 'living normally' I may as well end it in a similar fashion. I will probably regret it tomorrow but as they say, tomorrow is another day.

Talking of lunch, I'd better get started o my men will be raiding the fridge.

Question Of Faith And Morality

As promised I took my scooter out to the shops yesterday where it behaved impeccably.

It was so much easier to move around the crowded aisles than with conventional scooters and I was able to reach all but the top two shelves. Not once did I feel unstable or unsafe so this is obviously the perfect environment for it, which is good because that's the main reason I bought it. If it remains dry this afternoon I'm planning another trip out around the village to see if I can do better now I've got used to it a bit more.

My new pump arrived this morning all perfectly programmed and appears to be working a treat. I don't have to return my old one until next week so I have plenty of time to test it and make sure I'm absolutely confident with it.

While out on my scooter I got stuck behind two old ladies in a queue for the checkout. They were talking about a funeral one of them had attended and how they had buried a 'shell' and not the whole person. I thought how comforting this was as when I buried my baby boy the vicar told me that he wasn't in the ground, it was just the shell he had lived in. I'm not particularly religious but I did find it comforting to think he was 'somewhere else' and thought how comforted this lady must have felt being told the same, so I was totally unprepared for what came next.

"They stripped everything out of him you know, the bloody vultures!"

It took me a moment but I realised she must be talking about transplants. My suspicions were confirmed later in the conversation and it started me thinking.

I've only every thought of transplantation from my point of view. I need a heart and lungs and there is only one way of getting them. However I've managed to look upon it as just getting another medication and have disassociated from the fact that in order for me to live someone must die. This conversation has made me think of things from the donors point of view, or at least that of the family and friends. And it has made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

I am a donor, though there is very little of me they can still use, and have always said I'd have no problems with agreeing to members of my family being donors but is that true? Would I, if the situation arose, be able to give consent? I wouldn't even allow a postmortem on William when he died so how could I possibly bare to allow organs to be taken and used by someone else? Of course no one knows how we will react in any given situation until it happens but I am now worried I may not be able to be as generous to others as they are willing to be for me.

There are religions who think the exchanging or organs, or even blood for that matter, is wrong and I've scoffed at these religions calling them short sighted and backward but what if they are right? Who commits the sin? The donor? The recipient? The surgeon? Then another part of me reasons that if God didn't mean us to have transplants he wouldn't have allowed us the knowledge to do them would he? And yet another part says it has nothing to do with religion and is just science.

I then wonder if by wishing to have new organs I am actually willing someone to die. This, of course, is nonsense. The person would have died anyway and if I or someone else don't have the organs offered they will just go to waste, which is the sin here, taking the organs or refusing them? It's not as though those in need of a transplant are walking around looking for a match, it's not as though we are 'farming' donors but by the very fact that we 'wish' are we actually influencing fate? Are we, by some power beyond us, causing the death to happen? Most will say that is ridiculous and impossible and they are probably right but no one can be 100% sure and even an iota of doubt still counts.

I know that I tend to over think things from time to time and that is probably what I am doing here but I think they are all valid questions, I just wish I knew the answers.

I have the day to myself as Peter is in work so of course I'm probably going to end up doing something I shouldn't. First up is a quick dust of the living room, then I'm going to try assembling my scooter by myself. Peter has done all the putting together and taking apart stuff since it arrived but I haven't as yet and it is important that I know whether I can. My freedom will be severely curtailed if I can't get the thing in or out of the car boot and put it together. I waited until Peter wasn't around because it would be too easy to wimp out and ask for help and I just know he would be unable to leave me too it, any hesitation he'd be there, helping. Don't get me wrong it is nice to have someone so willing to look out for me but there are things I just have to learn to do for myself and this is one of them. If I can get it assembled then the potential for misbehavior increases tenfold, I can't wait!

Now though it is time to have a cup of tea and read the assembly instructions. Wish me luck.

TravelScoot Test Drive

The first thing I noticed on my first trip out on my new scooter was how bad the pavements around my village were.

I decided to take my old jogging route as it covers most of the village and goes past the places I am most likely to want to go such as the shops and GP surgery. I last walked this route over two years ago when the pavements were still in good repair. Yesterday I found potholes, sloping where parts of the pavement had collapsed and overgrown bushes blocking my way. In some areas I was forced into the road because the pavement was so bad but at least it did give the scooter a good work out.

The first thing I will say is that if you want a light maneuverable scooter for shopping centres and well paved areas this is definitely the scooter for you. Do not bother if you have limited movement in your upper body or cannot push with your legs or want to go on rough terrain.

The scooter itself rides like a motorcycle or push bike. The throttle is a bit touchy and it is best to start off very slowly, it is a twist throttle, just like most motorbikes and you will need to hold it in place. The brakes are not as efficient as I would like but that might be because they are new and not bedded in properly yet. It has no light's so if you intend to use it after dark you will need to get a bike light. It also doesn't have a key so if you are likely to have to leave it outside a shop you will need to get a bicycle lock to stop it getting stolen. It fits brilliantly into both our cars and leaves far more room than the wheelchair.

The ride is very firm as the wheels are solid rather than air filled but the seat and back rest are thickly padded and wide so they cushion the bumps quite nicely. Because of the placement of the battery and the seat the scooter is back heavy so to avoid tipping over you need to lean forward going up slopes or kerbs. You will also need to lean if going along a slope, I didn't and nearly found myself deposited in the road. Once you have got the hang of having to lean to counterbalance you should be fine, as I said, just like riding a bike.

It does not like wet grass or gravel, it won't move on the first and gets bogged down in the second and it definitely does not like mud so hence my comment about using it on rough terrain. On the whole I found the going fine and on flat, good ground I whizzed along at about six mph but felt much more comfortable going slower especially where the ground was potholed or sloping. Width wise it managed much narrower pavements than a conventional scooter would do but it was still too wide for some of the narrower paths, especially those overgrown. Turning is brilliant, you should have no problems turning in lifts so you don't have to back out. It has no reverse gear but is no trouble to push with your foot.

A little word of warning though. I was going up hill on a very narrow path and hit a pothole that I couldn't avoid. The next thing I know I'm flat on my back looking up at the sky. The pot hole must have bumped me off center so all the weigh went backwards as did I. Fortunately I was unhurt and managed to right the scooter by myself. After that I was much more studious at avoiding the potholes, especially going up hill or on a slope. The accident was more the fault of the road condition and me not being used to the scooter than the scooter itself but it has taught me a valuable lesson and I hopefully will not end up in a heap again.

So how does it compare to conventional scooters? Well difficult to say as I've never ridden a conventional scooter around the village. It is definitely lighter and more maneuverable however this means it is more unstable too and will need practice before I am entirely comfortable with it, especially after my tumble.We are going shopping this afternoon so I'll get to try it out in better conditions, and where I've used conventional scooters, so will report back on that tomorrow.

It rained most of the day yesterday so, apart from the small window where I went out on my scooter, we put off going out and I caught up on some neglected house work instead. The 'lack of Andrew' factor showed immediately and it only took me one episode of Neighbours to get the ironing done. The washing machine was put on for the first time since Sunday and the sink remains free of empty tuna cans. Best of all I can wash down the kitchen in the morning after breakfast and find it in the same pristine state come lunch time.

I do miss him though. It is not so bad when Peter is around but when he is at work and I'm on my own I find myself looking at the clock to see if school has finished and how long it will be before Andrew's home. I then get a pang of sadness when I realise he isn't coming home. I am no longer lying awake at night worrying about him though so I'm obviously settling down.

He keeps in touch and I've had at least one text per day from him so far. Yesterday he text me to say that his class had just been told that out of the 900 applicants for the course only 65 were eventually chosen. Apparently personality plays an even bigger part than exam results when they decide on who they are taking on. I suppose it makes sense as he will be dealing with extremely ill, shocked or distressed people for most of his working life. If you cannot connect with people while at the same time remain emotionally strong then it just it isn't the job for you as you will see some dreadful sights.

Laurence has also had an exciting week, one that may well end up in coroners court. He was involved in trying to save someone's life on Monday and spent twenty minutes giving CPR whilst waiting for the ambulance. The person he worked on is still in hospital but may not make it. Naturally Laurence was quite shocked by what had happened so we spent a long time on the phone chatting about it and how he felt about it. I think the one thing he does miss about living at home is that he doesn't have anyone to 'off load' on when he gets home.

Well the sun seems to be coming out. I may ditch the shopping basket for my camera and head off to take some pictures. I just need to decide what of.

Cry Freedom!

My scooter arrived this morning, I am so excited I could scream. It is all assembled and only the battery is not attached as it is currently charging. I've sat on it and scurried around the living room and kitchen on it pushing it along with my feet like a small child on a trike, yes it really is that small and that light. The five hour wait for the battery to work is going to drive me mad but it is also raining at the moment so I'd have to wait anyway.

Yesterday we had a brilliant day out at Watford, yes I did say Watford.

Watford has a very large number of charity shops which house a very large collection of second hand books. I read like the devil especially when ill and can get through a book a day which can be extremely expensive so I trawl charity shops instead and as a result can get five or more books for the price of one new one. I know some people have a thing about second hand stuff but it doesn't bother me. I only buy books that are in excellent condition and always check the inside pages as well as the cover. When I get them home I wipe down the covers with alcohol wipes and I'm quite happy. Yesterday's outing gave me a haul of nine books, which is more than the two or three I usually find and added to my growing Agatha Christie collection by one book. I am trying to collect all Christie's works but many are now out of print so charity shops are my last hope of getting a copy, well that and second hand books shops. It also is nice to know the money I spend is going to do some good and not just line the pockets of a grasping publishing house.

After our trawl we had lunch in a Subway, which is delicious and healthier than a burger. I had a tuna melt packed with veggies and almost managed the lot, my appetite has definitely improved over this last week and once again I'm wondering if the stress of working is the problem rather than the meds themselves. It then started to rain so we high tailed it into the centre for a mooch around the shops. I very nearly bought a Tangine as I've always wanted to try one out but restrained myself thinking it would be a nice item to put on my Christmas list so that's what I'm going to do, along with a book of Moroccan recipes which also caught my eye.

As my scooter had yet to arrived I hired one from Shopmobility and they seem to have got some new models in, which were smaller than the types I'd had before. Compared to Milton Keynes, borrowing a scooter at Watford was a doddle. I rang to book but was laughed at by the receptionist who said they'd never had to turn anyone away and hardly ever had anyone book. Compared to the Milton Keynes shop though their stock is enormous so it is easy to see why they never run out. It left me wondering why the bigger centre should be the one with the least scooters. Also the Watford shopmobility has it's own floor of the car park which is secure and you have to show your badge before they let you in. I still had to pay the car park fees but it was so nice to know that my car was unlikely to be hit by any moron thinking it was a race track and that the people at shopmobility keep an eye on the car whilst there. Brilliant!

In the news I've been following the story of Megan and her maths teacher and like all teachers I am appalled. As teachers we have a parental responsibility to look after the children in our care but there still have to be limits and barriers. When a child is having a rough time at home and they trust you enough to confide in you then you of course listen and offer advice. This might be anything from just a 'why don't you talk ....' to referring them to someone who can help. What you most definitely do not do is take sides or get involved.

Now reading about this it sounds as though Megan has a pretty mixed up family with both her natural parents now married to someone else and a new baby brother to contend with. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the parents did anything wrong or are in anyway 'bad' parents but it must be a lot for a fifteen year old to contend with. In those circumstance Megan would have been extremely vulnerable to anyone who showed her any sympathy or attention. Jeremy Forrest clearly has abused his position and when caught should go to jail. He will never teach again. However the most alarming part of this story is how slowly the school has been dealing with this case when suspicions were raised seven months ago. I know teachers are constantly falsely accused of bad behaviour by vindictive children and their parents, often because the child was given detention, but there is a difference between protecting the innocent and routing out the bad. With the evidence presented to them this teacher should already be suspended.

Well off to get lunch and then a trial run around the village. 

University Blues

Woke up to an extremely depressing, dark, rainy day and a text starting 'Mum I've forgotten...' I have a feeling I'm going to get a few of those over the next couple of days.

Knowing that the 'storm' was on it's way we set off early for Hatfield and arrived and moved Andrew into his room in the dry. It wasn't long before the rain started though and by heavens did it rain. We unpacked and put everything away and then met some of his new house mates. The student accommodation on campus is split into individual five bedroomed houses with each house housing a maximum of ten students. The house also has a large kitchen and two bathrooms but no lounge. His house mates seem really nice and are all studying different subjects, I suspect this is to stop students becoming too isolated and only mixing with those on their courses. It will mean they will have a proper break from their subjects too, which is a good thing. Andrew's room mate is very quite although a little on the messy side but then Andrew isn't the world tidiest either. They each have a small fridge in their rooms for milk etc, and a big fridge freezer in the kitchen. There is an oven and a sink but no washing machine but there is a communal laundry with washing machines and dryers elsewhere on campus.

After we got him settled we took him for lunch, as it will probably be the only proper meal he is going to get for a while. We went to a local pub and had an excellent meal, which, I am pleased to say I almost managed to finish. Then it was off to Asda to pick up a few essentials and to work out where it was in relation to his digs. We were pleased to find it is less than a mile away, well withing easy walking distance. We also found a small co-op even closer so shopping should be really easy for him.

By the time we got him back to campus it was really coming down so we dashed to his room for a final chat and a private hug before leaving. So what had we forgotten? The cable to attach his laptop to the Internet. It is now in the post and with a bit of luck he should get it tomorrow, Wednesday at the very latest.

Today is his registration and induction day and he has already texted to say he is having his first placement with the London Ambulance Service in eight weeks time. It will only be as an observer this time though so if you are in London in mid November and you are unfortunate enough to need an ambulance, rest assured you won't be jumped upon by someone who has only just learned how to read a thermometer. You might find yourself being stared at though.

Saturday Laurence came up to see us and to wish Andrew well. He was in a very jovial mood and we spent a few hours laughing at some of his work stories, he always has a few, and discussing early arrangements for Christmas. Both myself and Laurence are roistered on Christmas Day this year so we have decided to put our actual Christmas meal back a few days. We are also supposed to be on New Year's Day too but have agreed to request that day off so we can, hopefully, have a get together before Andrew returns to uni. Unlike a lot of uni courses his is really intense and because of the placements the terms are a lot longer. He only gets ten days at Christmas, about a week at Easter and the summer term does not end until mid August.

Of course we will be seeing both of them again before Christmas but it is going to be difficult getting everyone together on the same day as we all now work shifts.

So how am I doing? Well today I am extremely tired as I lay awake all night worrying about how Andrew was getting on. It is so stupid and so strange. When he went to Bulgeria I had no sleepless nights except for the night before he returned as he was arriving at six in the morning and I was scared of over sleeping. Now he is only thirty minutes away and I'm worried sick. How does that work? I suppose it's because he was staying with people I knew in Bulgaria whilst here it is all brand new and strange. In Bulgaria he had someone who knew the area to help him get around whilst here it is easier to get lost, at least until he gets used to it. I keep telling myself he will be nineteen in two weeks and is a young man not a child but so far it's not doing much good.

On the plus side I've put on almost three pounds in weight and I'm putting this down to long lie ins, sitting around reading or watching TV and eating more as I am able to snack right through the day, something I cannot do at work. Of course there is also the stress factor. Although I get four days off between each working week, I never truly relax because I'm always preparing for the next set. As you know my trip to Papworth has been put back until October 8th so I'm hoping to gain a few more pounds before I get there and avoid the ticking off I got at Harefield.

Our trip away has hit the skids. We originally booked to go to Paris today but then cancelled because Papworth sent me that appointment and we both decided it was more important. Then Papworth changed the appointment so we tried to rebook but have failed to find a free hotel for the days Peter has booked off. So we have decided to book a couple of days at a B & B somewhere near Canterbury for a couple of nights this weekend and do some sight seeing. It is not the trip we intended but at least it will be 'away' which is all that really matters.

This week we've decided on a couple of day trips to fill in the time, the weather is supposed to be better tomorrow so we are checking out some country houses in the area and hoping to take some stunning pictures. We will enjoy ourselves no matter what and spend the time getting used to being a couple again.

Brothers In Arms

Andrew's packing continues apace and we are almost done. I couldn't find my spare tin opener so had to nip out and get one but apart from that it seems to have gone smoothly so far.

Today started off with a bit of a disappointment. I bought a new bath bomb and decided to try it out this morning. I really hope there is something wrong with mine and it doesn't normally smell like this one did. According to the description I was meant to be immersed in the smell of lemon grass and avocado instead there was a distinct waft of farm yard animals about it, not only that but it seemed to leave my skin slightly greenish. I thought it was just me until Peter muttered something about cows and the Incredible Hulk's sister, at which point I dived into the shower. It also leaves a bright green scum mark around the bath which is incredibly difficult to shift. That is absolutely the last time I buy something called Avobath, you have been warned.

Don't you wish that computers would sometimes take the hint? I foolishly allowed an update on mine and now I'm getting nagged every ten minutes or so to 'restart' my computer. You'd have thought that after the fifth or sixth refusal it would just leave you alone until you are ready but no, this thing is more persistent than Tarmac demanding breakfast. It is going to be a case of who cracks first.

The killing of the two female police officers in Manchester has opened a huge debate in my house about whether police officers should be routinely armed in this country.

My personal view is no they should not. Our police force is admired world wide for being largely unarmed, other countries just can't understand how law and order prevails without the help of heavy fire power. Despite shocking episodes such as Manchester, gun crime here is still very rare, which is probably why such a fuss is made when something involving a gun does happen. Having guns would not have saved these officers, according to reports it all happened too quickly, they did have tasers but didn't have time to use them. In fact none of the officers that have been killed or wounded in recent times would have been saved by them carrying a gun simply because they did not have time to react.

I personally would feel much less safe if our police routinely carried guns. We have all seen the reality cop shows from America and other countries where the police randomly fire at everything that moves. And we have all heard or read about the horror stories when innocent bystanders are caught in the cross fire or an innocent person is shot by mistake when an officer wrongly identifies them as the criminal. Do we really want to be reading about similar events in our own country?

Then there is the tricky situation of what happens if a police officer does shoot someone, will he then be charged with murder himself? Again we have all read about how officers are treated if they do shoot someone, quite often it is deemed justified and the officer is allowed to carry on his duties, However there are times when the officer's actions are deemed to be not justified and then the officer not only loses his career but can also end up doing time himself. Whatever the outcome the subsequent investigation takes up time, money and resources that would be much better spent elsewhere. Of course, as in every profession, there are bad officers who do go too far, take the recent G20 death for instance but if that isn't an argument against routinely arming police I don't know what is.

Finally my biggest fear is making the police a bigger target than they already are. It is known that the officers in Manchester were targeted, not personally, just the uniform. Raoul Moat openly said he was 'hunting' police officers, again it was the uniform he was after, not necessarily the person inside it. Put a gun with the uniform and people like Moat and Cregan will not be scared, they will just see it as a bigger justification for their actions and I suspect we would soon be seeing more officers killed on duty. And as these things always do situations will escalate until we end up having shoot outs on our high streets.

I like our British police force. On the whole the people behind the uniform are polite, helpful and approachable. Do we really want to become 'like everyone else'? I'm pretty sure we don't and if you asked a policeman, which you can still do without fear in this country, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want that either.

Gosh that's rather serious for me on a Saturday!

Back to the joy that is my holiday, one week gone and still two to go. I am now fully rested and am looking forward to getting out and doing something. I already have a couple of day trips planned specifically with photography in mind and of course there is my trip away to look forward too but first there is this afternoon.

Laurence is coming to tea so that he can say farewell to Andrew. I am so excited, both my boys around my table for the last time until Christmas. It will be lovely but sad at the same time. I have planned their favourite things and am going to attempt  muffins, practically the only cake I can get to rise.

Tomorrow there will not be a blog as we are transporting Andrew to university. All the up's and down's will be fully reported on Monday.

Socks? Check!

I am glad to report that Tarmac is fully recovered and well enough to try the same thing again this morning. This time I wasn't carrying anything and was able to avoid him without doing myself any damage. As I've said before a cat with very little brain.

Well it is not half past nine in the morning yet and I've already had an argument.

Healthcare at Home turned up at my door demanding I hand over one of my pumps as it was due for a service (I have two pumps to make the evening and morning drug swap easier and safer). I had not been notified of any collection and the bloke had not brought a replacement pump with him. Trying to explain that I could not be left with just one pump was like trying tie to shoelaces in mittens, damn near impossible. In the end I think I got through and he went off empty handed with the threat that 'he'd be back'. Well maybe he will but he is still not getting a pump off me unless I get a replacement first.

Today I am compiling a check list so that when we start packing tomorrow nothing vital will be left behind. A friend of mine discovered her son had left his shoes, laptop and phone charger at home after helping him unpack in Sheffield. He was not popular. So far the check list is enormous and contains the essentials such as 'comb' and 'toothpaste', I've even put down his socks, I'm taking no chances, I've lived with him for nineteen years and know what he's like. At least we do have everything he needs in the house somewhere. There are not going to be any last minute panics about tin openers, actually there might be over that one as I cannot remember where I've put our spare, and so it is just going to be a case of making sure everything is put in the suitcase of boxes and safely transfered to the car. Should be a easy, shouldn't it?

I am beginning to get pangs of sadness now, I only have him for two more days and he's gone. He says he is going to be back at weekends but I suspect that will tail off once he gets used to uni life and makes friends. After all a night in the pub with his mates will far outweigh film night with a bowl of popcorn with his parents.

I am please to see that Dale Cregan has been charged with the murder of the two police officers and the two men he was on bail for killing. With a bit of luck he won't see the outside of a prison cell for a very, very long time. I was further delighted to hear of the arrest of one of the vile trolls that set up one of the facebook sites praising Cregan's actions. I know some people are uncomfortable with it, free speech and all that, but sometimes free speech goes too far and has to be dealt with.

At the moment I've got twenty doughnuts sitting in my kitchen. Peter did another supermarket raid on the way home last night and found the doughnuts, two cheese and onion flans and twelve bread rolls on special offer so snapped them up. I have to say I am getting a bit sick of doughnuts now though the flans and the rolls have been put in the freezer for future use.

Well we are off out again this afternoon as Andrew wants to get some waterproof trousers as he is going to be using his bike a lot more in bad weather and at present he only has his Kevlar filled trousers. They will stop him from skinning his knees if he comes off but are hopeless in anything other than a light drizzle.

By the time we leave him on Sunday me and my credit card will be needing a nice long rest.