DAY 123 (Sunday 20 November 2011)

No news to report today other than I made my flap jacks.....yummy.

DAY 122 (Saturday 19 November 2011)

This morning BK, Charlie and me went on a bike ride, Marion cried off as she said she had to sort her house out before she goes away for the week and Cath couldn’t come as her hubby (Jim, my DCOS) has gone to Everest for the Marathon (they left on Friday).  We did the normal University route, but when we got to the area where the guys do their PFT (Personal Fitness Test) we turned right instead of left and went off across country.  At one point I didn’t know where BK was taking us and I asked him if he was taking us off somewhere to bury us, (he just laughed), anyway, we carried on for an age and ended up going between fields on tracks.  BK, as usual was in front of me quite a distance actually, there was a hill that I had to get up (didn’t get off once today) and when I got to the top I could see that BK had his bike upside down with the back wheel off, apparently what had happened was that going down this particular track he picked up a small branch that caught up in his derailleur this caused it to bend and the daisy wheel wasn’t in alignment so the chain wasn’t feeding right.  The upside for me was that BK for once since I have known him had to well and truly go down to the Granny granny ring, he did remind me though that is only because of mechanical fault that he had to go to the Granny ring.

Well after we made it back to camp, we were out for a good couple of hours riding, we did about 13 miles in total today (I know this as I have a new toy, it’s a Garmin Forerunner 305), it logs my route, if you are my friend on Facebook you will see what I have downloaded, anyway, I am going off track here, we got back sorted ourselves out then me and Charlie headed off into THAMEL to go and get some more DVD box sets and films as we are almost finished with the 24 season box set that we had bought last time.  Again I used the Garmin to log our route and to see how far we walked, (just over 9 miles by the time we got home), my poor feet needed a soak they were sore.

On our way to THAMEL we were walking down the main road over the BAGMATI RIVER when we rounded the corner and on the other side of the road the monkeys were all sat on the pathway eating whatever they had been given, there were cute little babies, but I am glad they were on the other side of the road, however, saying that there was one sitting on a wall on our side but I went nowhere near him.  I wished I had my camera as it would have been a good picture seeing all those monkeys together, oh well next time.

Tomorrow is going to be a quiet Sunday, just my ironing, letter writing and this time I’m not going to bake as such as the Flap Jacks that I intend to make get put in the fridge to set.

There is nothing else to tell for today so I shall sign off and catch all you peeps later.

DAY 121 (Friday 18 November 2011)

A whole day in work and it was not a good day, I have a visitor coming out on Monday who wishes to trek in the East of Nepal, this was not a problem, their programme had been done, completed and sent out, what happened today was that the area the visitor was supposed to go to didn’t have the porters or the vehicles to support the visit, (talk about a last minute change), anyway I had to contact the Unit from where the visitor was coming from to get them to inform him that he would now be trekking in the West of Nepal, I don’t know if he got the message, but I shall no doubt find out on Monday when I see him.  At least I got to finish at a reasonable hour today as the rest of the week I had not been finishing until after 1830 hours each night.

DAY 120 (Thursday 17 November 2011)

Woohoo, today was the last day of the course and we were finished by lunch time, that meant that I could go back and concentrate on my work and not have to worry about the Nepali language, how wrong was I, Sasir (he is one of the finance clerks here), he called me on the phone and spoke to me in Nepali, now admittedly I got a couple of the words he said, but I had to answer him back in English, I told him it will take time, still I don’t intend to use the language if I can help it.  Sorry Nepal.

I was really happy today as I got my post and in my post was a parcel, they had arrived, my feet will not be cold this winter as I introduce my new slippers.....

Toby Turtle

DAY 119 (Wednesday 16 November 2011)

It was a lesson in the morning, and then in the afternoon it was back to work for me as I went to the office and had to work the majority of my lunchtime due to emails that needed to be answered and programmes that needed to be completed.  I didn’t mind really as I didn’t want to have to sit in class and go through ‘General Conversation’ which meant having to try and talk in Nepali without speaking English or writing it down first.

DAY 118 (Tuesday 15 November 2011)

Today was not a good day for me on the language course, well the morning anyway.  I got frustrated with myself because I just could grasp the fact that they did their sentences back to front, basically in our language, we do Subject Verb Object, they do Subject Object Verb, it can get confusing, the afternoon was better for me, I found that I had to write down the question in English first to get my head around where the words had to go, but I do know one thing from this course, I won’t be using this language in a hurry.

DAY 117 (Monday 14 November 2011)

NAMASTE (means Hello in Nepali). Today was the start of our Nepali Language Course, all I can say is it wasn’t too bad, we had to learn how to say the letters of the alphabet their way.  We have 26 letters in the alphabet, they have 36, we have 5 vowels, they have 13 vowels, how they make some of their vowels is using double letters like ii, aa, ai, etc.  Unfortunately for me, even though I am technically on course, I still had to go into work to make sure that there was nothing urgent that needing doing, however, with my job it is always busy, and as I have some visitors due out next week I am constantly getting emails or sorting out the programmes, so it was a late finish for me.

There were only 4 of us on the course in the end even though there were 7 of us down to do the course.

I do know one thing though, this week I shall not be doing PT in the morning even though I start my lessons at 0830hrs.

DAY 116 (Sunday 13 November 2011)

Well the lie in, that sort of did happen even though the neighbours were up and banging around in their kitchen which is next to my bedroom, when they designed these flats they really didn’t think about it.  Anyway, Charlie and I went to the Remembrance Service which was different to the Friday one, but then the Friday was was a parade not a service as such.

After the Service we did our shopping, went for a meal and then came home to chill out for the rest of the day, oh yeah, still had the letter writing and ironing to do.

Tomorrow is going to be different, both Charlie and me are on an Introductory Nepali Language Course for the week, so let’s see how we get on.

DAY 115 (Saturday 12 November 2011)

I can’t believe that I agreed to get up at stupid o’clock to be out on a bike ride with the Everest Runners (they were running, I was biking) on a Saturday morning.  Anyway, the destination that we were headed for today was a route that I had never done before and to be honest, I don’t think I shall be doing it again in a hurry, I will do it again, but not anytime soon.

We all met at the CHAUTARA (location on camp), my bike got put into the back of the minibus (the start point was out at BHAKTAPUR) which was too far for the runners to get to, plus it would have involved them running down the actual highway, yes KATHMANDU actually has a highway, anyway, we got to the drop off point at BHAKTAPUR and then it started, the long, and I mean long ride to NARGAKOT, that was at least a 3000ft ascent around some winding roads to get there.

I must admit I was near the back, ok I was at the back for the majority if not all of the ride up there, Nicky did walk most of the hill, but she wasn’t feeling her best and I struggled on my bike, I was all for giving up and wanted to get in the minibus, (Nicky wouldn’t let me), and to be honest I am glad that I didn’t as the rest point at NARGAKOT was just around the corner. 

Before me and Nicky got in the minibus

After we left NARGAKOT it was another hill which there was no way I was doing on my bike, so me and Nicky both got in the vehicle and we past the others on the way to the next check point, and to be honest what made my day was that even the RAO (Maj Kevin Thorpe) even had to walk the hill, now this person is very fit.

DCOS with a brew provided by Nicky

The minibus left us and turned around at the top of the hill as he was not able to follow me and the runners down the mud tracks, (I love downhill), so he went to our next meet up point, this is where we would decide whether to get back on the minibus or to run back to the drop off point, it was decided that they would run back to where we were originally dropped off, it wasn’t really that far, it was about 5km to get there, it took about 45 minutes to get there before people were able to stop get a cup of tea and have a well earned rest on the bus heading back to camp.

At the pick up point

Jim, Steve, Steve, Kevin, Foxy & Nicky

When we eventually got back to camp, I gave my bike a well earned jet wash, (it got quite mucky really), then I headed home for a well earned shower and then I haven’t really moved for the rest of the day.

So peeps, that is it for today, I think tomorrow I shall be having a lie in before I get sorted for the Embassy’s Remembrance Parade, a bit of ironing and my letter writing, this weekend there will be no cake baking.

DAY 115 (Friday 11 November 2011)

Remembrance Day, today was a day for us to remember our fallen, I have not only lost family in times of crisis, I have also lost some good friends too, so I shall definitely be remembering them for the sacrifices that they have made to try and make this world a better place to live, I just wished that everyone felt the same and not cause the hardship that comes from the wars that happen.

There was a good turn out at our parade, not only were there the regular service personnel there, (except for the Embassy Staff), there were the retired Gurkhas and of course families that came.

 Some of the SPS & GSPS personnel & wives

Me looking all smart in my No 2 Dress

Members of the RAO department

After the parade it was round to the Badminton Court for a bit of Tipan Tapan before people disappeared off for lunch.  After lunch it was back to work for some of us, however, the ones that didn’t go back were the normal culprits who don’t normally work late.

I had a meeting to attend to do with the Mess Committee as I am now the Mess Secretary (Oh the joys), but at least it is a tick in the box for something that I have been involved in, and one thing that came out of that meeting was that I was going to be 1 of 4 people who will be organising the Christmas function this year and the Theme for the night will be ‘Santa’s Little Helpers’, so it’s about time that I got myself on the internet to see what fun outfit I can get for that function.

DAY 114 (Thursday 10 November 2011)

PT today, what a farce, all today really involved was putting up the tent for the Remembrance Parade for Sunday, (now bear in mind that this is for the Embassy Parade and where were the Embassy Staff, nowhere to be seen, that is where), the Everest Runners were out doing their training so they weren’t there, some people were away on the Repatriation of a fallen Gurkha Soldier so in the end there were about 10 of us (if we were lucky) to put the tent up as the rest that were available didn’t bother showing up (how rude), anyway, fortunately for us, the LECs (locally Employed Civilians) showed up and gave us a hand, after that it was a quick session in the gym, which admittedly I got excused from so I could get into work earlier than normal for a Thursday to crack on with my work, but again the system was down, it even took me nearly an hour to log on to the damn thing.

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day and the date this falls on only comes around once in a blue moon, which is the 11 day of the 11 month of the 11 year (so to speak). My No 2 dress is all ready and sorted so that is one less thing for me to do tonight when I get in, and thanks to my hubby, my shoes will be done.

I have been wearing my poppy for almost 2 weeks now and it will be a shame to take it off when Sunday is over, as that is another day that we will be having a Remembrance Parade.

DAY 113 (Wednesday 09 November 2011)

Well, what can I say, I went to the dentist for my clean up this morning and the machine that the hygienist tried to use on me was one that she admitted she hadn’t used before, let me just tell you, when she tried to use it on me I almost crawled the wall to get away from her, it was awful, she tried again and again I crawled the walls, I ended up saying to the hygienist that she was not using that machine on me and she ended up doing the work by hand. It turned out that she had a problem with the machine the day before to and another patient was the same as me, so you would have thought she wouldn’t try to use it again.

Anyway, dentist out of the way, it was back to work, but the system was playing up so not much got done, even emails wouldn’t get sent, so we shall have to see what tomorrow brings regarding the good old computer system.

DAY 112 (Tuesday 08 November 2011)

PT today, whoopee, another session in the gym with BK, this one wasn’t actually too bad, there were only 18 of us, so there wasn’t that much body heat flying around, but still there was no chance of not sweating.

DAY 111 (Monday 07 November 2011)

OMG, had to go to the Dentist today for an inspection, we have a dental team that comes out every 6 months, which is good in one way as I never really want to go back to Healthy Smiles if I can help it, went there for a filling and I am sure the dentist is a sadist, she put the needle in my gum for the injection and instead of just pushing the plunger down, she insisted on moving the needle around inside my gum, that my friends is why I don’t want to go back there.

Anyway, I had my check up and have to go back on Wed for a clean up, not sure if I am really looking forward to that either.

The only other thing that I had on today was a meeting in work which lasted the majority of the day, even though I had to leave the meeting to go to another meeting, I’m telling you, there is just simply no rest for the wicked.

DAY 110 (Sunday 06 November 2011)

Today was a relatively quiet day, just a bit of baking, letter writing, ironing and sorting out my Number 2 dress ready for REMEMBRANCE PARADE next Friday.

DAY 109 (Saturday 05 November 2011)

Today, at 0630hrs, BK, Charlie, me and Marion all went for a bike ride, we actually went to the BOTANICAL GARDENS so I could show Charlie the route that I did on Thursday, I do ask if Charlie wants to join me on a Thursday but he doesn’t, anyway, when we got to the GARDENS there is a little tea shop nearby where we all stopped for a cuppa and a rest, (it took about an hour to get there), after the brew, we headed off to do the same route as Thursday.

I may have to buy one of these Garmin Forerunners so that I can plot the route that I have done and then down load it , that way you can see where I have been.  When we were at the tea house, BK showed a road that he has done up to a place called PHULCHOKI, it’s a bit of a climb and it is doable on a bike so Charlie and I are going to try it one day, we could actually see the top of it from where we were sitting at the tea house.

DAY 108 (Friday 04 November 2011)

Nothing exciting to talk about work, but the evening involved another curry supper because there was a function for the arrival of the COS, even though he has already been here since the end of August, they waited until his wife arrived to join him before having this function.  This was definitely an informal function, it was outside for starters where it is starting to get chilly on a night time, however, as me and Charlie only live around the corner from where the function was being held, we took a big mug of coffee each to keep warm.  We snuck off early though and skipped the curry supper; I am seriously fed up with curry.

DAY 107 (Thursday 03 November 2011)

PT was a ride out on my mountain bike for me, the Everest Runners left camp at 0545hrs, but me and BK were going out with the normal PT group as the Everest Runners were going to be out for the best part of the morning as part of their training, well BK and I set of at 0600hrs to get to the BOTANICAL GARDENS front gate by 0700hrs as that is the time that we were due to meet the other PT group, we passed the Everest Runners en route and I don’t think I have pedalled so hard as I did that day as I had never been to the GARDENS before and I wanted to be sure that I would be there before the vehicle, I was, I made it with a good 10 minutes to spare before the rest of the group arrived.

I rode the route that the PT group were running and then when they got picked up by the minibus to take them back to camp, me and BK had to ride back, we had left the pick up point at 0800hrs and it took us just half an hour to get back, I was also determined to get up this certain hill before the transport had caught up with us, but to my happiness and astonishment I had actually beaten the transport back to camp, to me I have now decided that I must be getting better at this riding malarkey. 

Back in work was just a normal busy day, but that is the way that I like it, being busy.

DAY 106 (Wednesday 02 November 2011)

Today was my MATT 3 training day, for those who don’t know what MATT 3 is, it’s something that we in the military have to do every year, MATT 3 is the Battlefield Casualty First Aid test that we have to do, but to be honest, I’m in an environment that I am not at war, well at least I don’t think I am at war.  Anyway what was supposed to last all day finished an hour before lunch, so at least I was able to get back to my office for the rest of the afternoon to work, but I had knock off on time tonight as we had a ‘Hail and Farewell’ to go to tonight, a hail and farewell is done as the name suggest, hail a welcome to those who have just recently arrived and saying goodbye to those on their way out of here. 

We normally do this sort of thing late afternoon, but as it was Jill’s last time ever for being officially in the Mess, we had a casual dinner night for her, Jill had been accepted for redundancy within the Civil Service sector.  Charlie had to wear his suit, the only problem he found is that he has lost a lot of weight and when he did his trousers up, they fell back down, so he had quite a bit of gather at the back where his belt had gathered; looks like he will have to get some new trousers. 

The only problem with functions at this place is that you can guarantee that the meal each time is going to be curry, now don’t get me wrong, I do like a good curry, but over here they more often than not keep the bone in regardless as to what the meat is, so if it’s a chicken curry, you could end up with a bit of splintered bone in the meat, needless to say, all I now eat at these functions is the rice and veg, they have done a boneless version but to be honest I am not taking the risk.

DAY 105 (Tuesday 01 November 2011)

PT was a swimming session as it was the first Tuesday of the month, however, I did not have faith in the outdoor pool being warm like it normally is, especially when someone gets in before you and gives a little aarrgghh because the pool is colder than normal, we soon warmed up though, the pool wasn’t full like normal either, probably because the rest of the PT group had sense and went to the gym instead.

DAY 104 (Monday 31 October 2011)

Managed to get through my final duty night without any phone calls and I managed to get my duty successfully handed over to Nicky as it was her turn this week.  Next duty will be January 2012 which will be the week after I have had a long weekend at CHITWAN SAFARI PARK, but that is another time to explain about that.

Today was also the first day for us to wear our uniform out here, we are in CS 95 instead of the new MTP (Multi Terrain Pattern), the stuff that the guys are now wearing on Op Tours, and apparently everyone is supposed to be in the new MTP stuff by next April.......we shall see.  The one thing that I can’t believe that I have to do with this uniform to have to wear the Cross Kukri badge, so not only am I wearing my TRF (Tactical Recognition Flag) on my right arm I also have the other one too.  Oh well at least after all this time in the Army I am actually getting to wear my beret and not the unit beret.

Well that is all that is really worth mentioning today.

DAY 103 (Sunday 30 October 2011)

Not much has happened today as I really couldn’t be bothered, didn’t even go for a short bike ride, did do a little bit of Flapjack making today so that I have something to go with my coffee on and evening.

I don’t want to jinx myself but other than one phone call on the duty phone that could have been dealt without me I have had quite a quiet duty, in fact it’s like I have also been on leave these last few days.....but not. 

DAY 102 (Saturday 29 October 2011)

Well this morning I decided to risk it and go out on the bike, there were only 5 of us, there was me, Charlie, BK, Kath Thompson and her brother (sorry Kath can’t remember your brother’s name).  We set off at 0630hrs and got to the tea house out our destination about an hour or so later.  Most of the road that we had to travel was along the highway, that wasn’t too bad as it was a Saturday and that is the quietest day for traffic, I actually think that is why BK chose that day to do this particular ride, after we left the highway (basically it just peters out to a normal two way road and guess what, it was completely tarmac.

On the way up to the way up there was a golden statue of SHIVA.

 

SHIVA

 We finally made it to our destination and stopped for a good half an hour for a tea break before heading back down the hill to the highway, going back downhill was so much more fun than riding up the thing.  Charlie even managed to get up to 52 kmph going back down the hill (which equates to about 30 miles per hour and we actually travelled 41km which is a Marathon or thereabouts.

SHIVA in the distacnce

Once we got home, it was the normal, shower, breakfast, put the washing on and this one is new, sorting out my uniform ready for Monday, oh the joy of getting back into uniform, I won’t have to decided each night what I am going to wear the next day.

Well it’s late so tootle pip as I am off to bed, don’t forget though as you change your clocks back by 1 hour, I shall now be 5¾ hours ahead of you all that are on UK times.

DAY 101 (Friday 28 October 2011)

Well to be honest I did a quick check again of my emails, but again, wished I hadn’t bothered. Normal duty checks done then it was home for some DVD watching and waiting for the duty phone to ring, happily it didn’t.

DAY 100 (Thursday 27 October 2011)

No news to report, all still quiet on the gambling side of life for TIHAR and my emails weren’t worth going into work for.

Did my duty check in the evening and went back via the badminton court where the gambling was being held to find BK there playing a game of cards.  He asked if I was up for going out on Saturday at 0630hrs with him and a couple of others (including Charlie) for a bike ride, told him I would think about it as it would be sods law that I would be out and the duty phone would ring and I would have to get back to camp, basically if I said to BK that if I was there I would be there.

DAY 99 (Wednesday 26 October 2011)

Well today was the first day of the TIHAR stand, the gambling started at 1030 and did not finish until 2230hrs, I can’t believe that this will go on for 2 more days.  There are card games and this one game (no idea what it is called) but it has 6 cubes that have different symbols on the 6 sides, all you do is place your bet on the symbol that you wish the cubes to land showing upwards and if more than one cube shows your symbol then you are a winner, there was another game that involved numbered pegs, and again with that you throw your 3 pegs and if the numbers add up to what you are allowed as a winning number then you win, there is a little bit more to it, however, I am not sure what it is, I may have to Google it and find out.

Other than the gambling, doing my normal duty checks and popping into work to see if there was anything that needed actioning in my emails that is about it for today.

DAY 98 (Tuesday 25 October 2011)

Other than the usual day in work, nothing has really happened.  Tomorrow is the first day of the TIHAR stand down so let’s hope it’s all going to be quiet on the Western Front and there will be no bother from the gamblers.

DAY 97 (Monday 24 October 2011)

Well, today is my first duty that I have had to do since I arrived here and it looks like my duties only come around every 3 to 4 months depending on personnel availability, so I am well happy with that.

Work will be quiet this week as we have got TIHAR and that means there will be no one in the office from Wednesday onwards, let’s just hope that I have a quiet duty as TIHAR is actually a time where the Gurkhas here are allowed to officially gamble. TIHAR actually means festival of lights, and you can certainly see that because everywhere down town is getting donned with lights. I can’t wait for the second day of the TIHAR, this is known as KUKUR PUJA otherwise known as ‘worship of the dogs’, this is a day that even the street dogs will get offered really delicious food and place garlands round the necks of the dog and also place a red TIKA on the forehead, I hope to get out and get some pictures so that I can show you.

Not much else to say so, hopefully a quiet night tonight for my duty.

DAY 96 (Sunday 23 October 2011)

I was supposed to get up to go for a bike ride at 0600hrs with the Everest runners, but the warmth of my bed got the better of me, (it’s starting to get a little chilly on a morning) so instead Charlie and I went and did the same ride as yesterday.

After that it was an afternoon of catching up with my letter writing and then chilling in front of the TV.

DAY 95 (Saturday 22 October 2011)

Wow, I can’t believe I have been here 3 months now, and the fact that we are almost into November, where has the time gone? Anyway, life has been pretty boring this week, all I have done is worked and no play, what is that all about.

Today was just a normal Saturday, Charlie and I went out for our usual bike ride, got home, sorted ourselves out then later I got on and did some baking, this time it was a Weightwatcher Banana and Raisin loaf, that was posted on the website by someone else. I can safely say I shall be making that again. The other thing that I made, I won’t say baked as it gets done in the fridge was a Banana, Peanut Butter & Chocolate flapjack…..oh my word, how scrummy, this would you believe I also got from the Weightwatchers website.

DAY 94 (Friday 21 October 2011)

No news to report today.

DAY 93 (Thursday 20 October 2011)

No news to report today.

DAY 92 (Wednesday 19 October 2011)

No news to report today.

DAY 91 (Tuesday 18 Octobe 2011)

Today I got a letter from my friend Vikki and she placed a little surprise inside the envelope for me, it was a little wristband with Snoopy on as the charm. I have put it on and wear it everyday, however, on 31 October we are going into uniform and I am not supposed to wear it, but I can hide it under my sleeve so no one will see it.

There was something else that happened today and it makes me feel like my job is worth it and appreciated, one of the Duty Trekkers, (Maj Corker from 1RGR) actually made the effort to come and say thank you for the hard work that I had put into his programme for his visit to Nepal. It’s not often anyone does that but when they do it is appreciated on my part.

DAY 90 (Monday 17 October 2011)

No news to report today.

DAY 89 (Sunday 16 October 2011)

Today was a little busier than yesterday, Charlie and I went out for a bike ride again and we did the same route as yesterday, the good thing about today, even though my butt was a little saddle sore from yesterday was that there is one hill that always manages to get me to get off my bike, but not today, I was determined to get up it. Can I just say one thing about this hill, it’s not like a normal road, this road does not have tarmac on it, it is all bumpy with rocks and dried mud and though it may only be a short hill, it’s steep. Once you get over the bumpy uneven part of the hill then you come across tarmac but it’s still steep, however, I did get my gears into what I thought would get me up the hill and I was right, yes I was absolutely knackered, but I did not stop, as I knew I had another short, sharp hill not far after this one, all I can say is thank god for camelbaks, I was able to drink without stopping.

Later this morning I went out with Nicky for a quick bit of shopping, I was quite impressed, even if I do say so myself as I had a mission as to what I wanted and I got what I wanted with no side tracking or getting anything else extra that I did not really want or need.

Once back from my shopping with Nicky, it was back to the ironing, but greatful that it didn’t take me long to do and then it was time to settle down in front of the telly before I had to go and make tea.

That, my friends, was my day today.

DAY 88 (Saturday 15 October 2011)

Today Charlie and me went for our own little bike ride, we only did a short route which was up and around the University Hill route, I was quite happy as it took us just over an hour to complete the loop, I have done it a few times before but I am normally out with the Everest Marathon Runners.  Whilst we were coming back in along the PFT route, there was this young female dog that decided to run after Charlie on his bike, but she gave up the chase when she turned and saw me coming, I had to stop rapidly as she ran straight in the path of my front wheel and I didn’t want to hit her, she obviously had an alternative motive for stopping me and it was because she wanted a fuss, me being me (and I broke my rule) I gave her a bit of fussing, that was my own downfall as she decided when I tried to cycle away follow me.  She did so for a short while because when I turned off the PFT route I was on a hill and fortunately for me I was going downhill so I released my grip on the brakes and just let the hill take me down, bless, she did chase me for a while but it was a long hill and I managed to get a good speed up to leave her behind. 

Eventually Charlie caught me up as I had passed him down the hill and he asked if I stopped to fuss the dog, because not only did I have her coming full pelt after me, I also had a friend that she picked up en route after me. She was such a lovely dog too, but no doubt I shall see her again as we will no doubt be doing that route again soon.

Nothing much else has happened today other than my weekly letter writing and this time I made Flapjacks.

DAY 87 (Friday 14 October 2011)

No news to report today other than the fact that I managed to get out of the office an hour early today, ok it was only an hour but to me that hour meant a lot as it very rarely happens for me to get an early knock off.

DAY 86 (Thursday 13 October 2011)

Today was a very good day indeed, well there was PT but that is much of a muchness for a Thursday, no the best thing that happened today was better than Tuesday, instead of one choccie bar turning up on my desk I had 2 more, these were a gift from a member of the DIIF (computers) team, I had a lot of dealings with him and today he showed up in my office and gave me some more chocolate as a thank you for the hard work that I had put in over the past couple of weeks in getting him and his team sorted over here.

DAY 85 (Wednesday 12 October 2011)

No news to report today.

DAY 84 (Tuesday 11 October 2011)

Well there I was thinking that the best thing that happened yesterday was waiting for my Cheerios to arrive but today actually topped it off, I had a big Galaxy chocolate bar dropped off in my office today as a thank you from an outside agency that I have been dealing with in getting their guys accommodation and internal flights sorted, I should really see if the Domestic flight / hotel booking clerk wants to share......ok maybe not, me share chocolate, no chance.....sorry Kabita, but your help is always appreciated.

PT today was swimming, I never knew you could actually get up close and personal with a water jerry can, but guess what....you can.  BK (yes there’s a surprise) took the pool session today and he thought it would be fun for us to try and sit on a water jerry can partly filled with water so that it would not just have air in and make it more difficult to attempt to sit on.....well the COS has finally found something that the RAO struggled to actually do, but I think I struggled more as trying to keep the water jerry can between your legs without you let your legs rise to the surface was flaming hard work.  It was supposed to get you used to using your core muscles, but by the time I had managed to get on the damn thing and skull around the pool, it was time to change exercises.  Oh well, at least we now know what else BK has up his sleeve for another time in the pool.

DAY 83 (Monday 10 October 2001)

Woohoo the best thing about today was that my long awaited boxes of Cheerios arrived from Amazon, the only problem was though they had been sat at the depot for over week because of the DASHAIN last week at the rats, yes rats had got to them.  One consolation was though that I had ordered 5 boxes of 4 packs of Cheerios and the rats had only managed to destroy one box, with the price that I paid (got them on special offer) I didn’t mind too much as I still had 4 boxes of 4 packs.

I think that was the most interesting, if annoying thing that happened today.

DAY 82 (Sunday 09 October 2011)

Other than catching up with some letter writing I have really no news to report today, which is quite a surprise really with it being Sunday, actually had a pretty quiet day.