I will echo what I said earlier. That was some quality time. I started making a list of the salient points but there are too many to note.

We have about 3GB of photos and video of London and Yorkshire which will take an eternity to process. Beckernator and Sophisticate both want printed albums of photos which means I am probably going to have to spend a weeks money on photo paper and ink cartridges.

Saturday night was a scream. I had never met Donna's husband before even though we were at Uni at the same time. After a few sherberts, he decided he liked me. \"Why have I never met you before? This is wrong. You're ace.\", a phrase that was repeated at 5 minute intervals for around 6 hours. The feeling was mutual. I appear to have missed out on 20 years of having someone I really, really get along with. I am so glad Donna married him. At 3:00am on Sunday morning, we were sat talking business plans. After the umpteenth question (over breakfast in the morning) of \"Why have I never met you before?\", Donna got a little bored and said \"Richard, because you just haven't. Leave it. Nothing can be done now.\" I can guarantee that Richard and I will stay in touch. It was one of those magic moments where you meet a kindred spirit. Had we not had to get back yesterday, I would have quite happily spent the evening around at their house chatting.

Speaking of kindred spirits, I met up with my old mates Phil, Annie and Heidi as well as met Donna's sister who is a female version of me. It was frightening how similarly Jo and I think. She doesn't look like me (thankfully) which is a damned fine trait in a lass. Phil appears to have done very well for himself -- he'd flown back in from Tokyo expressly to come to the do. He also let me drive his Masurati. Swoon. Heidi is still as stunningly beautiful as she ever was and three times more pleasant. I had no idea she would be there so there was a bit of a gasp when she walked in the door.

Donna has not changed a bit. She has not aged a day and she has become even kinder than when we were at Uni. She didn't even mention the times I \"fixed\" her car and subsequently broke down half way back from Uni to Southport. I had to bring it up out of guilt.

Beckernator and Sophisticate were nervous that they would feel out of their depth with my old Uni mates. Utter rubbish. We're all still as immature as we used to be albeit with a little more acumen. Beckernator took all of two minutes to grab hold of the best camera anyone in the room had and start snapping photos.

You are going to get seriously bored with my tales of this trip as I remember them. I am writing them down primarily for the people who were there and those who know the characters involved. If you know Donna, Richard, Phil, Heidi or Annie, you should have been there. I can swear that I have not had as much fun in years. Once the lightweights had all departed, Annie, Andrew, Donna, Richard and I ended up in my hotel room talking each others' legs off. Marvelous.

Speaking of the hotel, if you ever need to stay anywhere near Sowerby Bridge, stay at the Malthouse in Rishworth. It is worth every penny. Cheaper tham chips and wonderfully done.

Right -- work now. I was up at 6 this morning contemplating worky things (nearly wrote thighs there -- oops!) but I'm still buzzing from 4 days of tremendous fun. Now comes the return to normality and the mundane.

Last word -- thank you to the Jennster for resurrecting my house while I have been away and apologies to her for destroying the place in the few hours after we got back.

Boy have we had a good few days...

Starting with a random hotel mirror shot...

Ani...

The gorgeous Beckernator and I...

The wonderfully entertaining and completely adopted Sophie...

Ooops -- we appear to have all have got the same tattoo...

I have to run. I have a train to catch to Yorkshire to go see my old mates Donna and Phil. It has been a cracking (but expensive) few days.

It's official. Ani DiFranco is amazing. I'm sat in the K-West in Shepherd's Bush remembering one of the best gigs that I have ever seen. Her singing is pitch perfect and her guitar-playing is to be adored. There was only one bad moment to the evening: both the Beckernator and Sophisticate are partially deaf so any form of communication has to be fairly loud. One oik in the audience took issue with them when they were talking and I damn near lost it with him. Even after I had explained the deal to him he was scowling at them. It was not like the lasses were drowning out the [insert large amount here] decibels such that no-one could hear the music. If I were he, I would have just moved. Idiot.

We have pictures and video up the wazoo. When I get back on Sunday, I will post some. It was a truly top-notch night and I have a nice tour tee-shirt to remind me of what a great time I had. Whatever it cost me, it was worth it.

Before we left for the gig last night, we ate in the hotel restaurant. I'm on a bit of pasta kick at the moment. Bec knocked up some pasta the other night and it was incredible. You have never seen me eat so much. It was a fairly simple recipe too so I can make it myself when I get home. Pasta, courgette (zucchini if you like), smoked salmon and creme fraiche. I ate my portion and then finished off Sophisticate's. I could have carried on. Just in case anyone missed my sentiment on Bec, I am going to miss her like nothing on earth when she goes to her new job next week. Not only is she magical company, she is one of my best friends. I love her to bits. We have the same tastes in virtually everything. We can sit for hours chatting (I had to learn scouse as well as sign language) or both be reading in a comfortable silence. She is a breath of fresh air.

Last night's dinner was chili king prawn linguini for all of us. When we got back, a bit of KFC action went on. I have a pie for breakfast, specially imported from Wigwam. :)

Anyway, I seem to be food oriented at the moment. I will shut up about that now.

We're doing a bit of a tour around London today. According to a text from Her Bryonyness, she is going to call this morning and arrange where to meet later. I am nervous beyond belief. I've met famous people before. When I met Monica Lewinski, I did not bat an eyelid. When I spoke with Bill Gates I just got on with it sans probleme. When I sat next to Nena Cherry on a plane, I had a nice chat with her. So why am I so, so nervous about this? It is completely illogical.

The girls are trying to talk me into hitting the spa for some form of stress-relieving gubbins. I looked at the prices and near fainted. Regardless of the prices, I am not big on physical contact with people I don't know so I'm not comfortable. Remind me to tell you about my trip to Singapore sometime. That is the reason I don't like physical contact.

Right, time to ring the lasses and get them up. We need to hit the road. Things to be done, places to be, pies to be eaten.

Is it really a week since I last blogged?

Okay, here's the news:

Her Katness left the building yesterday, which was a sad moment that I missed thanks to a conference call. The Jennster has moved in for the duration. The Beckernator, Sophisticate and I are off down to London tomorrow and then across to Yorkshire on Saturday to meet up with an old mate of mine for a bit of a do.

The Beckernator took it upon herself the other night to cook. Wow. We all pitched in and made the best roast dinner you have ever had. I have video of some of the cooking process which I should post on Facebook. The Beckernator made the most amazing cheesecake I have ever eaten. There is still some left and the lasses are due round in preparation for tomorrow's departure so I need to finish it off, stat.

Work has continued to frustrate but, hey, I'm on holiday so albeit I will take calls, I'm not going to stress. The next few days are going to be absolutely wonderful. As I say though, I am truly bricking it about meeting Her Bryonyness.

Anyway, must stick some washing on and get all prepared. It used to be that I was prepared to fly half way around the world at a moment's notice. I appear to have become a bit complacent.

I shall try to blog from London but I cannot promise. Likewise on the video of Bec organizing the cookimg.

Yesterday was hell. I've been working like a trooper to get something finished for Monday and events overtook me like Michael Schumacker on acid. I'm obviously not going to go into the details, but it did upset me substantially. If you ask Babbles, Anthony, Jennster, The Vanquisher, Beckernator or the Sophisticate, they will tell you I was virtually inconsolable.

After yesterday I have decided that I am stopping doing work at weekends in order to meet ridiculous timescales.

I didn't even stay out that long last night. I was away in a different world. I don't think I contributed to a single conversation. My mind was utterly consumed by work, which seems to have been the case for a while (having re-read my last few posts).

Thankfully these guys understand and left me to myself.

Special thanks have to go to the Beckernator though -- she looked at the situation objectively and talked her usual sense, gave me a hug and told me to ignore it until Monday. Sound advice, and an even sounder hug.

While I was trawling my old posts, I noticed that I have not been very jovial for a while. I promise I will rectify this ASAP.

It has been a stressful week. I am so glad it's Friday. Within 8 hours I will be switching off work mode for the weekend and I will probably sleep the time away. I have to knock up a document before that so all is not quite that peachy yet, but at least the end is nigh.

During the lead up to Xmas work was light because Telecoms companies tend to not do anything that may impact systems over their most profitable period. The hangover from that holiday is that everything starts to cascade down in January like bricks. Such is the case. I have been hammered this week. Everything is top priority so I ended up spending more time stressing about what to do first than actually thinking about the real work. Thankfully, I am off from Wednesday to Friday next week.

In other news, Babbles has her new accommodation sorted sooner than expected so will be departing Sunday/Monday. That is good news for her but bad news for me. I'll miss her boisterous tones echoing around. In contrast, the Jennster is staying for a while because she has nowhere to live. This is fine in my books. She's quiet and pleasant and there is no uneasiness if we're silent. Oh, and it means the laundry is done on a daily basis, the dishes are always done and I get fed. Ideal cohab arrangement if you ask me. The only downside to this arrangement is the council tax will increase by 33%.

Right, I have Visio hell to deal with, followed by Word hell. When did I become a document whore? I remember the days where I used to write code, debug things and trouble-shoot companies. Genüg. I will fire up the swine Microsoft PC.

As I have said on Facebook, Kat (Babbles) has moved in for a couple of weeks while she waits for her house to become vacant. This is convenient since I have to be awake during daylight hours and she is nocturnal. It means that I can get on with work stuff during the day while she sleeps. And when she gets up, I get my arse kicked for not having eaten, then she makes me food. It also means that the coffee machine is on when each of us get up. She also keeps stock of what is needed, grocery-wise. Good deal. I know it will be a few weeks before she gets her house but I will miss her like nothing on earth. One in a million.

Next week, I'm off down to London with the Beckernator and the Sophisticate. Thursday is Ani DiFranco at Shepherd's Bush. Friday is meeting up with Bryony (gulp). We're then heading to Sowerby Bridge to a party with an old Uni mate of mine.

Sorry for the lack of updates. Between work and Babbles, my time is short. Normal service will resume shortly.

The Kenny has landed.

On balance it has been a good week. Apart from the fact that I was stupid enough to do eight orbits of London on foot in unbroken-in boots (so my legs and feet are dropping off) and I was dozy enough to let someone utterly obnoxious into my house, I have achieved a great deal. I say "I" in two respects. Work has gone pretty well, although I am late on one thing which I will correct over the weekend. The other aspect is that I have been totally pampered by Her Katness and the Jennster. They have kept the house in order while I have been in London or toiling elsewhere. Oh, and they have fed me. In fact, just now, while I have been doing my final emails of the week, Jenn rustled up an old favorite of mine from Uni (pitta bread filled with cheese and hot bacon so the cheese melts). I feel 18 again.

I had to take a trip into Bolton yesterday. Good Lord. I hate it with a passion. All roads lead into Bolton but none lead out. I swear I spent an hour orbiting its nucleus. It is a black hole. Maybe there is a God-given cosmic reason that I ended up back in Wigan. <comfort zone />

I'm thinking a Tudorial is in order for us, as a thanks for Kat and Jenn's work this week. I might even throw in a bag of peanuts as a Brucey bonus.

Ooerr missus

I've been up and working since about 06:30 so call this my mid-morning break.

As I have said on Facebook, I went to bed last night with a house that looked like a tip. I awoke this morning to find it immaculate. Kat and Jenn strike again. Say the last sentence; poetry. :) The pair of them are priceless.

After a couple of hours of deep thought yesterday, I have a drawn design of a system that I need to transcribe into Visio and then cost up, so my work day will be easier than it was potentially going to be. That is a good result. Possibly even better than the Man U result.

I now have my travel details for tomorrow evening. I always abhor visits to London but this one makes me very nervous for different reasons. For all my adoration of Her Bryonyness, the prospect of meeting her has me visibly shaking. The Waaart's advice is a couple of stiff brandies. However, based on his experience of deploying such tactics, I'm not sure that is such a great idea. I may just man up and deal with it.

Right, back to the grindstone. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate Microsoft products? Visio is a particular form of idiocy.

I'm so tired, I could eat a buttered brick. Okay, that makes no sense but it's good enough for this time on a Sunday.

Due to the fact I have six lesbians who stayed over last night, I landed the couch. Listening to them last night was hilarious. I wanted to join in but restrained myself. It is always better to observe. What is the phrase I am looking for? Ah yes, \"it is better to remain silent rather than open your mouth and prove you are a fool\".

All of said six can sing too. Two of them remarkably well.

Just for a giggle, I have posted a video of Babbles and Sophisticate dancing in my dining room. Here. Apologies for my non-existent talent on the iPhone recording. I must have had my finger over the microphone. I would have used one of my Fuji cameras but they were not to hand.

I now have to gear myself back up for work. I have to design something tomorrow. I might try to start that later today. Tuesday is Leeds for meetings and then off down to London for a meeting but where I hope I get to meet Her Bryonyness in the evening. I'm so nervous about that. Apparently Bryony is interviewing Michael Heseltine that day but may well make it to Moorgate or thereabouts for a while.

So I may be a tad quiet for a couple of days now. I hope you can all cope with the disappointment</sarcasm>. If I do meet up with Her Bness, I apologise in advance for the effusing of utter love.

Laterz peeps.

Babbles asserts that she can read my cards from the reflection in my glasses. Frighteningly, she can actually do it. She correctly predicted all 7 cards last night. It makes playing to her left a swine of a job. It also helps that she has pockets where other people do not have pockets and sleeves that could conceal a whole deck. Oh, and that she will claim a victory with a straight that is nowhere near a straight.

She reckons she's psychic because it says "Medium" on her undergarments.

The other day I had to get one of the lasses to go rummage in her bra for my front door key. Everything is stored there. Should she ever be completely out of it, the Arc of the Covenant will be retrieved from the contents by yours truly and I will be awarded medals.

Does this remind you of anyone?

I seem to remember I had a holiday booked. It appears to have disappeared. I have spent so much time with Babbles, Jenn, Sophie and Shez that all of my vacation has evaporated. Back to work tomorrow. Gah.

I watched the US version of Boys Don't Cry late last night with the lasses, followed by Million Dollar Baby. Waaarty will be straight in on the girlyness factor. It was just a tad gut-wrenching. What was the Northern Irish version of that plot? I have completely forgotten.

Anyway, Babbles has accused me of being sexist, simply because I object to women boxing. Apparently she used to box. There is nothing sexist at all about it. I consider boxing to be an idiotic pastime no matter what sex you are.

Babbles reminds me of someone who I will not mention, for fear of offense. She's utterly fearless. I have definitely adopted her. This is reciprocated by the fact that she has adopted my car. I have yet to understand her logic on that one, but I'll live with it. Unfortunately no-one will insure her for driving the beast. It's a shame since she could meander around quite easily to and fro from Kearsley quite easily and thus would not end up leaving my pajamas all around the house and robbing my sock drawer.

I should get to bed soonish but Babbles et al are still here, grilling cheese. I probably have a million things to do tomorrow.

In the immortal words of Kurt Vonnegut, "and so it goes".