14th January 2012

One afternoon, Charlotte, Sarah, Ellis, and I decided to go geocaching between Rothwell and Desborough. Sarah has been meeting up with Charlotte quite regularly, finding caches all over Harborough, and this time, they invited me along. Earlier, I had been out cycling in the wilds of Leicestershire, and, growing impatient waiting for me, Sarah drove to Rothwell herself. I join them after a shower.

Our first cache was at the end of a lovely woodland walk. It took some searching, and much to Sarah’s annoyance, Charlotte swooped in and found it first. The second cache required a short drive followed by a long walk, during which we were harassed by some very inquisitive, hungry, and pushy horses. The third and final cache eluded us completely, sitting on the bank of a stream that had flooded in recent weeks. We guessed it had been washed downstream and was gone for good, so much for my burgeoning career as a geocacher.

A few days later, Sarah and I went geocaching again, this time at the canal basin. The cache was cleverly hidden, but after solving the clues, I managed to find it! I was chuffed. Unfortunately, water had got inside, leaving the notebook soggy. I took it home to dry out and returned it later that afternoon. My GPS is now loaded with every local cache, and I’ve resolved to find them all, come rain or rogue horses.

On Sunday, Sue, Charlotte, Jamie, Sarah, and I attended the christening of Ethan Johnson, Jim and Brigitte’s grandson. The church, tucked off Knighton Road in Leicester, had a marvellous priest who explained every part of the Catholic service in an entertaining way, keeping us non-Catholics fully engaged. Afterwards, we enjoyed a buffet at The Cricketers on Grace Road, with a magnificent view over the Leicestershire County Cricket Ground. It made the day feel extra special.

In domestic adventures, I moved the WiFi router from my study into the lounge. BT wanted £205 to do it, so I took matters into my own hands. I bought a 25m extension cable off eBay for £2.39 and a 20mm x 400mm masonry bit from Screwfix for £6.10. With Nigel’s help and his heavy-duty drill, I drilled holes, reconnected everything, and, voilà!, it works perfectly. Up yours, BT!

Just before Christmas, I experimented with router positions around the house, including one upstairs socket that required disconnecting the house alarm. I plugged the circuit back in, but forgot to switch it on. This only became a problem after Christmas, when the failing internal battery triggered an alarm at 6 a.m. Thankfully, Sue and I slept through it. Sarah, however, was woken and promptly roused us. I disconnected both sirens and noted that most of the neighbours had their bedroom lights on, either impressed by my technical prowess or contemplating early work starts.

Sarah has also been busy personalising her Ka with eyelashes and, secretly, as a joke, did Jamie’s car.

On a chilly Monday morning, after bidding Charlotte farewell, Sarah returned to Sheffield, only to call moments later asking if we could post a folder she’d left behind. Sue kindly did so that morning. That afternoon, Sue and I went to Jamie’s for tea, where he produced a delicious lasagna. No ill effects so far, and we cheekily asked if this could become a regular Monday tradition; he just smiled sweetly.

For Christmas, Sue received a steam carpet cleaner. I promptly visited Jamie’s apartment with it to tackle a stain under a radiator, and it vanished in minutes.

It wasn’t until 9th January that I finally reconnected the house alarm system. The SIM card in the main console had expired, requiring a call to O2 to reactivate it. Mystery credit vanishing aside, it now works perfectly… until my next tinkering, no doubt.

A couple of weeks ago, the NHS sent me a letter requesting a “check-up”. I dutifully attended on Friday. Disappointingly for Mr. Cameron, my blood pressure, BMI, and heart rate were all excellent. The nurse, holding my hand at one point, suggested I was “quite fit”; I took that as a compliment! I also donated a syringe full of blood and will receive results in a couple of weeks.

Sarah is applying for Camp America and sent me her personal statement to review. I hope she gets in; I’m sure she’ll have an amazing time. Fingers crossed!

On Sunday, Nan treated Sue, Jamie, and me to lunch at The Bell, now an upmarket Indian restaurant. The two-course lunch was excellent. Like Jamie, I pigged out, but, unlike him, I couldn’t eat another thing all day.

This morning brought the first snow of the year, making my bike ride a tad more interesting. I paused to photograph a herd of gypsy ponies, but the cold defeated my camera.

Tomorrow, Sue and I are taking Nan to Wales to visit her sister and see her mother’s gravestone. We also plan to catch up with some of Sue’s relatives and a few of my friends. With more snow forecast, we’ve booked a hotel for our stay, because nothing says adventure like driving through white-out conditions!