Wednesday 14 December 2011

Suited and booted for a change

I've been working away from home this week for the first time since joining Flare, helping with a training course in Windsor. It's meant wearing a suit, which has actually made a nice change, and getting up very early. Earlier than Lara, no less.
Yesterday was the first day in a long time - since she was last on holiday with Olga I think, early in 2010 - that I didn't see her at all. I was away out of the house at 7am, before she'd woken up, and I didn't get home until 9pm, well after she'd gone to bed.
Today our trainee and I popped out from where we were working to see the Changing of the Guard at Windsor Castle, here is a snippet for anyone who's not seen it before:


Yesterday was a bit of a marathon trip to get to Windsor - so that Olga could have the car to take Lara to her last gymnastics class of the year at lunchtime, I took a bus to Marlow, a train to Bourne End, another train to Maidenhead, a third train to Slough and a fourth train to Windsor. Dad would have been proud! Door-to-door that journey took 2 hours (the boss gave me a lift home!) On Monday I drove there by the back routes and it took one hour. I drove there today by dual carriageways and A-roads and it took 37 minutes, despite the traffic looking heavier than on the B-roads on Monday. There's a lesson in there somewhere.
Olga and I are working together with our trainee tomorrow - she's a Kazakh lady Olga knows from her visits over there - so I think we'll take the A-roads again!


The Best Looking Male in High Wycombe

It's official - the Best Looking Male in High Wycombe lives in our house.
Sadly, it's not me, but Mishka.
Back in September I took him to our local pet store who were having a Dog Portrait day. The usual story - have a couple of photos taken of the dog, enter them into a competition, no obligation to buy... Of course when we saw the photos a week later, we had to buy one!
When I came home from work today (have been working away from home), Olga said there was a surprise for me... a large framed print of Mishka's photo - he's won first place in the competition! Here's the link to the photographer's website for proof, and here's the boy sitting in front of his (ok, our) prize tonight:


Mishka will enjoy a jucier treat this weekend as his prize!