Uncategorized

  • Back from Bangalore

    Just had to go to Bangalore to run a workshop for Unilever Home Care. Flight inbound landed at 3am and the return one had a 3 hour layover in Dubai between 11.30pm and 2.30am, 20+ hours in each direction. Then 2 days in a room with 37 punters, and, luckily, one person from our Singapore…

    read more

  • Fab week en France

    What a great week away with Mr H in France, joined by our lovely chums Nicky & Jules, Pam and Jude and Sophie in Ile de Re.   Firstly a couple of nights on the way down, H’s special treat of a trip to Henri Bourgois in Sancerre for another chance to wreck the car…

    read more

  • 11 Years on Sunday

    Well, I don't think any of us ever thought I'd be here still to write those words. The 8th September 2008 was the day I was diagnosed with myeloma – a word I'd never even heard of then – and which, when we looked on Google in abject terror, should have meant about 2-3 years…

    read more

  • Mum’s Amazing Old Papers

    Well, they say you should never throw anything away without having a good look at it first – and that has just been proven SO true. I brought back a busted cardboard box of old looking papers from Richard's house, where Mum's final belongings were being stored. And somehow, there was one huge packet of…

    read more

  • Hawkes Family Day

    And the fourth BBQ of the week came on the eve of the Hawkes family day, yesterday. Had Tim (H's brother, as if you can't tell from the matching eyebrows) and wife Mel, plus nephew Reeve, partner Kerry-Anne and daughter Isabella over for the day and night.                …

    read more

  • August BBQs

    Yup, we've been squeezing every last drop of summer weather out of Dora Road this week – just the FOUR bbq in 5 days. We are knackered… But all worth it – had 14 neighbours over on Tuesday. All – amazingly – very nice, many fo them have known each other for years so a…

    read more

  • Lithuanian Lovelies

    So, who knew that Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania is actually pronounced Villainous? Yes, Vill-un-us. My how Fitz & I laughed at Lydia when she arrived saying that, but her cab driver was right and we stand corrected. Anyway – just had 4 brilliant days away with the birds, tootling round Vilnius and its environs.…

    read more

  • Very good news

    Phew – just got the results back from my six monthly bone marrow biopsy. 'It's good Scotty. No evidence of the MM on your marrow immunophenotyping which is the most sensitive test'. OK, so after all these years I'm still not fully up on the 'pheno' lingo, but as they say in the movies, she…

    read more

  • Pam and Jude BBQ

    Great to see everyone at Pam and Jude’s bbq yesterday. Excellent time management – started around 2 and everyone ran for cover – and taxis – when the rain stopped play around 8ish. What a perfect Sunday eve! Slightly regretting the lethal impact of Jo’s cocktail trolley though… X 

    read more

  • Cottage weekend

    Lovely weekend at the coot with some of the ex-AV girls. Game of two halves, a wintery Fri eve spent indoors and a more summery Sat spent in the garden till the wind blew us back in. Wandered round half a dozen of the many ArtWave sites on Sat, pictures, sculptures, jewellery etc at about…

    read more