JetPlane

• Another day in bed *cough*… #
• Bad day in the office: virus has wiped out our network drives for 24 hours. Good time to do the online compulsory fire training! #
• Changed my email provider and now struggling with SPF / HELO / MX settings: Tedious! All that work to get an email through to Michael! #
• Enjoyed *The Good Shepherd* but it’s left me quite bemused, with lots of unaswered questions. More wine might help! #
• My face is tingling after a menthol steam inhalation. Seems to have stopped my coughing, for now. But wow, that menthol is *powerful*! #
• Had a great big breakfast at work, to see me through the morning. #
• Contemplating the *Do-Do* ChestEze Pills I got from the pharmacis this morning: not an an auspicious brand. #
• Just been round M&S in the Grafton Centre, not very busy. Everyone must have been well organized this year! #
• It’s peaceful and quiet outside, no traffic. The only other time it’s been like this was when England was in the cup final. #
• Very fancy amarylis! http://flickr.com/photos/grahammccann/3135368312 #
• I’m at near Bicester, ENG, United Kingdom – http://bkite.com/03drg #
• Had a lovely family trip to Bicester and Rubgy, and now back in Cambridge. Looking forward to an evening of lounging #
• Plan of action: Rohan, John Lewis, Clinton, Vizzavi. #
• made it home in one piece after a successful shop in Rohan: skiing wear sorted! #
• John Lewis and Vizzavi were just awful: abandoned! #
• Making green Thai turkey curry with turkey from Gemma and a ‘Thai Lovers’ gift set from Elisabeth. Looks spicy! #
• Feeling much warmer now after the freezing cold at the CUFC – Stevenage match. #

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The RSC Office closes at 2, so I was home by 2.30 on Christmas eve, which was lovely. I had a bit of final shopping for bread and milk at M&S—the shops weren’t that busy, which was a surprise. Michael got home at 7 o’clock and we had a few celebratory drinks and a nice easy meal. We went around from drinks to the Free Press: Craig and Jenna laid on some smoked salmon and roast potatoes, which was convivial. I was still feeling rough with my cough, so I headed back home after only one pint. I was really impressed by the support people at my new e-mail providers (Simply Mail Solutions) and at Michael’s (pobox.com), even on Christmas eve they managed to sort out my delivery problems between the two systems at amazing speed. The hosted Zimbra at Simply Mail Solutions is great with the iPhone (and I can now get e-mails through to Michael!). We opened half of our Christmas presents when MIchael got back from the pub.

We headed over to Bicester on Christmas day, picking up Elisabeth and then getting to Gemma’s at about midday. We had a lovely time opening a small mountain of presents.

Gemma and Tony made a super Christmas lunch: turkey and trimmings and MIchael supplied the wine (including a magnum of Marques de Riscal Reserva Rioja). The Christmas crackers were fun: with whistles in a a score and we had a few (mixed) attempts to play some Christmas carols, that mainly ended up sounding like the National Anthem.

After dinner we had more presents, and then settled down to play one of Hannah’s games: Alpha Animals which was pretty had (you name a a lizard, crustacean or reptile beginning with U!). Hannah and Tony won! Had more food (some lovely cheese) and then watched one of Gemma’s new presents (Mamma Mia). The film was a fun romp, with dreadful attempts by several well known actors to hammer out ABBA tracks: great fun!

On boxing day we had lunch with Elisabeth, and headed over to Rugby to visit Christine, Adam, Jessica and Lewis. We had a go at Wii Baseball (impossible) and also some electroshock game where you have to press a button on your handset when a red light goes green: Lewis loved it (and go the most shocks!), Christine got an iPod for Christmas and iTunes had messed up her laptop: Michael managed to roll the laptop back to before the installation, and then reinstalled iTunes, but again the laptop had lost all knowledge of the CD drive—very annoying. Back in Cambridge in 6.

I thought that Matt Damon was very good in The Good Shepherd, and it wasn’t an easy role. It was a reasonably long film, but held our attention, with the excellent acting from Angelina Jolie and Matt Damon.

• Michael and I both have the day off work: today’s our 18th anniversary so we’re going out for lunch to celebrate. #
• I’m at Cambridge, ENG, United Kingdom – http://bkite.com/02ZYA #
• Market square – Photo: http://bkite.com/02ZYC #
• I’m at Rohan – http://bkite.com/02ZYH #
• Had a lovely lunch at Darry’s Wine Bar in Cambridge, with wine of course. They have a fantatsic wood stove—very warming. #
• We’re enjoying a very nice glass of Pinot Noir (Aloxe-Corton 2004) http://tinyurl.com/5ct79y #
• Enjoying ‘listening again’ to The Choir ‘Manchester Carols’ from Radio 3: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00g055j #
• I’m at The Free Press (7 Prospect Row, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB1 1DU, United Kingdom) – http://bkite.com/0336z #
• I’m at Kings College (King’s Parade, Cambridge, CB2, United Kingdom) – http://bkite.com/033QX #
• Nice Christmas lunch! – Photo: http://bkite.com/033R4 #
• Feeling a bit recovered after my winey lunch at Kings College http://is.gd/cnjq enjoyed my evening of lazing around but time to shake a leg #
• Eating alone (Michael’s working late) and cr/m/unching my way through a *lovely* January King cabbage from the farmers Market. Yum, yum! #
• I can’t believe I’m in bed again. Wiped out. Reading through the Radio Times Christmas Issue, the only one I ever buy #
• I’m at Cambridge Railway Station (Station Road, Cambridge, CB1, United Kingdom) – http://bkite.com/036Uo #
• I’m at near Baldock, ENG, United Kingdom – http://bkite.com/037dc #
• Had a lovely evening at John and Andrew’s in Bakdock. Had a good chat with Jan about being a controller for Royston taxis. #
• will have a day in bed. NHS Direct diagnosed me as either having a cold that I can treat at home, or a heart attack: I think the former #
• I’m quite looking forward to having a flat iPhone battery, I might then be able to concentrate on reading a book. #
• Yes my DTR had crashed a couple of days ago, oops. Not missed much but I guess I should have checked sooner. #
• Enjoyed Ian Hislop’s Radio 4 investigation into the Three Kings of the Nativity http://is.gd/cO3q #
• Oh Come All Ye Faithful is a birth ode to Bonnie Prince Charlie – http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wear/7789477.stm (via @NeilDavidson) in reply to NeilDavidson #
• Made tamarind lentil and beef stew for dinner in the slow cooker: fingers crossed! #
• Interesting documentary about Allegri’s Miserere available for 7 days on BBC iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00g81g7 Beautiful! #

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Left work at 12 to get one of the four buses down to King’s College for Christmas lunch in their Hall. We managed to pretty much fill it, and had a lovely lunch, with plenty of wine. We played the traditional Heads or Tails for Milton Hospice (Carol won) and then had a quiz (Robert, Jan, Harp and I didn’t do to well at this!). The desert was fabulous: a chocolate fondant. One made of dark chocolate, baked, with a liquid chocolate centre and the other a tower of white chocolate shell, filled with white chocolate icecream flaboured with Grand Marnier. The Hall was a great setting. Jan and I had the afternoon off and we ended up the last in the massive hall, finishing of the wine, just the two of us! We wandered into John Lewis afterwards to send out Christmas Vouchers from work (although neither of us did!).

• Worried about a phone call from work at 06:50. The building doesn’t open till 7. #
• Feeling worn out after a solid day of small-talk! Managed to cram in some dinner. now out for a two hour training course, then marking! #
• OOps, managed to cook my dinner (badly) in the microwave instead of defrosting it. Must read the instructions! #
• I’m at The Wellcome Trust (183-193 Euston Rd, London, NW1 2BE, United Kingdom) – http://bkite.com/02UI2 #
• Having a cup of tea at the Wellcome Trust café because I’m too early for my Research Information Network meeting. – http://bkite.com/... #
• I’m at The Institute Of Physics (76-80 Portland Pl, London, W1B 1NT, United Kingdom) – http://bkite.com/02UQc #
• I’m at The Royal Society Of Chemistry (Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BA, United Kingdom) – http://bkite.com/02UVR #
• I’m at London Kings Cross Railway Station (51.530888, -0.122921) – http://bkite.com/02V5J #
• Really looking forward to gettng home. It’s been a long day and I want to sleep. Don’t care what time it is! #
• I’m at Cambridge – http://bkite.com/02Vbj #
• Dusting off my *Jack Twist* outfit for tomorrow night’s Hollywood-themed Christmas party. Sadly I’m going without my Ennis. #
• Jack Twist? Off to my work’s Xmas party: Hollywood themed! http://flickr.com/photos/grahammccann/3102419233 #
• Contemplating an afternoon in the rain at the football… hmm… #
• Really looking forward to my sister coming over for lunch. Thinking about somewhere nice to go. #
• Met a guy outside a pub yesterday who was 5 years older than me, and I thought he *looked* old enough to be my dad. Felt a bit shaken. #
• Had a great lunch with Christine and Jessica in the Cambridge Blue.
  http://tinyurl.com/6dlpht
  http://twitpic.com/ssfe #
• Having tea from a thermos with Christine and Jessica in Dover Street, waiting for their Landrover to be repaired. http://twitpic.com/st51 #
• The breakdown engineer fixed the car in 30 secs: it’s the alternator “packed up”.
  http://bit.ly/ygCd #
• I’m at Cambridge – http://bkite.com/02YWx #
• *Good news will come to you from far away*: Fortune Cookie in Tang Restaurant
  http://bit.ly/YYmT #

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