Perfect Day For Blogging

A free day that appeared from nowhere. A mug of hot sweet cocoa with bonus cinammon. A packet of bourbon creams. An empty flat and the sun's coming out - perfect time for a well overdue blog!

This past week has been "just like the old days"...but different. Just like the old days, it's involved scatting around, being incredibly busy, feeling like I'm getting stuff done, seeing friends and getting home late. Unlike the old days, life's very different and so my responses, reactions and actions have been different - and I'd hazard a lot more balanced and enjoyable than days of yesteryear.

Some time in the far distant past (about 10 days ago) I found myself up in Hebden Bridge for a NO HANDS Massage training course - not as a student, but as a trainer. I've loved being a trainer throughout this year and each course I learn more and more and more. The team we had was marvellous, the students outstanding and the learning unending. It felt great. I asked for what I needed, I offered what I could, I supported when the opportunity arose, and I worked my little socks off. Marvellous. Still going through all the lessons I've learnt from that weekend and suspect I may be for some time, but they're all amazing and powerful lessons that I'm happy to take the time over.

My rather bizarre and circuitous route home meant I went to Leeds, waved at the 2040 train to London, and then promptly headed north to get the 2140 train from there (had booked in advance - paying another ~£70 to get home an hour earlier didn't appeal). In a way only I could, I really enjoyed the journey - grabbed myself some chips in York and spent the journey south making the most of the free wifi on the train and catching up on 4 days' worth of no internet. Oh, internet-free days are fun!

"The day job" has become rather frenetic over the past few weeks - testing, finding bugs, having people fix the bugs, retesting, finding bugs...you get the idea. No particular highlights or lowlights from my three days in the office last week, but I did benefit from fabulous evening activities.

Tuesday
Finally saw and had dinner with a friend who I've been trying to catch up with for months. Literally. One could say that Tuesday's dinner was the rearrangement from last December. We had a lovely evening of chatter, Thai food (which, sadly, I kept comparing to the outstanding food of The Thai Elephant in Leamington and it just didn't come up to scratch, but it satisfied the hunger), and live blues just round the corner.

Wednesday
Various possibilities were in the mix, but after much to-ing and fro-ing, an evening at the cinema resulted. And my, what an evening it was. My admiration for the late Mr Heath Ledger and his acting abilities meant The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was always on my list to see, and see it I did. And loved it. Beautifully made, fantastically surreal and touching in its own special way (both the film, and the fact it was Mr Ledger's last and 3 Hollywood A-listers then stepped in to make the release of the film possible) I'd had a couple of escapist hours in The Ritzy only to come out to a heavy mist / fog that had befallen Brixton while I'd been inside. I'm not sure I've ever seen Brixton like that before, and it added an even more magical end to the evening - as did a conversation with a friend who I kept being reminded of by one of the characters in the film. Marvellous.

Thursday
More culture in The Land of The Tig, this time at the Chelsea Theatre. Very odd performance piece - a definite experience, although not one I would necessarily choose to experience again. The chattering in the bar (with the friend I went with, her friend who runs the theatre and I know vaguely from Cambridge, and other various folk who were in the theatre bar) afterwards was, however, most enjoyable although the cycle home was not particularly appealling - until I got on my merry way and remembered that, at the end of the day, I love my bike and I love cycling in London. Good job too!

Friday
Was a day of many elements. Started with my first lie-in since, well, a while and then involved a massage swap with a good friend. I don't often choose to do chair massage but we'd agreed to give it a whirl and I was definitely surprised by how powerful a treatment I took. Much chatterage and several cups of tea later the friend went on her merry way and I went off for a visit to my local hardware shop. I love that shop. It's a *proper* hardware shop, independently owned and the folk in there are just marvellous. Turns out they've been there since just after the second world war and continue to beat off competition - because they're just marvellous. Anyway, armed with a rather cool looking plunger the bathroom then got a going over and the sink now drains at the proper speed...result!

Mid afternoon my cousin from a distant land arrived and shortly after, leaving her with the shower and a spare pair of keys I headed into town for a massage trade test at a central London day spa chain. Was happy with the treatment I gave and the "interview" as a whole - not sure if I'll be what they're looking for (it's basically to be added to their books as an on-call therapist when they have gaps to fill, such as holidays and the like) but if I'm not I'm confident it's because I wasn't a match for them, rather than because I let myself down in the interview.

Wandered over to Covent Garden to meet my cousin who was having drinks with various friends that evening and ultimately ended up back at Chez Tigs (London) around 1am. Cue sleep.

Saturday
...was a day of possibilities which ended up being just the right amount of everything! Although at one point it looked like I was going to be out of London this weekend I ended up spending the earlier part of the day predominantly with my cousin (including giving her a massage first thing - 3 treatments given in 2 days, almost unheard of ;) ), late afternoon curled up on the couch recooping some energy and then across London to a pub to spend a wonderful evening with old friends, new acquaintances and a lot of people in fancy dress!

Which brings us to...Sunday

A late start, a bath, potterings, a new travel bag for either my fabulous crystal ball or wooden carved ball and a quiet while on the sofa...writing this blog. I have my suspicions the rest of the afternoon holds more pottering and just enjoying having a day of quiet before the next week begins. But my, it has been a *marvellous* week :)