It's a pretty scary time to work for an investment bank in the City. RBS's shares dropped 20% of their value today and I have been siting at my RBS/ABN Amro/EDS desk with not much to do. Time to be worried?!

Flying And Poo

Parkes went flying on Saturday morning from Manston airport under clear blue skies. She had a great time and Beth and I witnessed it from the Thanet Flying Club office area. Pictures will be posted as soon as I get our laptop at home working again.

On Sunday a herring gull pooed on me as I walked along the Westcliff. It is meant to be good luck but earlier that morning my motorbike decided it wouldn't run properly and later that day my home laptop stopped working. Not good.

I spent a very nice evening in the company of Deano on Thursday night. I used to live with Parkes and Deano in Greenwich and it was nice to have a couple of beers back in my old stomping ground. The evening culminated with a lovely Nepalese curry and a pint of Kingfisher. Beautiful!!

Britney's Back!

That's nice.

Iggle Piggle doing a little dance. Or maybe he is hailing the Ninky Nonk. My Ninky Nonk has been playing up recently - I really must stop scratching it.

In The Night Garden...

Whilst Parkes was away in Spain last weekend Beth and I spent a lovely long weekend together. I felt sad when I had to return to work on Tuesday. One of the things I enjoyed most about the weekend was watching In The Night Garden together just before her bedtime. It is a lovely program and Beth really seems to like it - it is in the mould of Teletubbies but better.

Parkes bought a second-hand infant carrier on eBay. We tested it on Sunday afternoon with a walk down to Dumpton Gap. Beth seemed happy in it, so much so that she fell asleep.

Minster Munch

Beth, Parkes and I had Sunday lunch at the Bell Inn in Minster. Parkes had a ham ploughman's and I had a cheddar ploughman's. Beth had bits of both meals for her lunch. A very nice pub with good food - ideal for a winter afternoon.

Yomp

I spent a lovely 9 hours walking around the Isle of Thanet on Saturday. Steve and Kaiser Keith's company was special as always and the weather held firm and allowed us to complete the walk without getting wet. We were all blister-free by the end of the walk too!!! Discussions will be taking place about what format the 2009 Yomp will take. Doing it in canoes has been mentioned.

Give Us A Kiss

Fatigue

I'm very tired today. Beth was up quite a few times in the night.
Check out my dark rings. Also this picture has brought two other
things to my attention; a wonky nose and the fact that I appear to be
boss-eyed. You looking at me??!

Inspiration

My creative blogging juices seem to have run dry this week. The days have been grey and dull and I cannot find the inspiration to post my usual rubbish. Even considering this is my 800th post on this blog - you'd think that I'd have something decent to write about. But no.

The Yomp is something I am looking forward to. It appears we are now down to three yompers as Deano will probably be working on Saturday. This is a shame. However, on the positive side of things, the weather looks like it will be okay :@)

Beth's First Word...

...was spoken at approximately 5pm on Saturday. "Mama!". She can repeat it as well - it made her Mum and Dad very proud.

Unfortunately Parkes' flight was cancelled due to poor weather. It will now take place at the end of September.

I spent a nice couple of hours in the Monty on Saturday night with Colin, Debbie, Chrissie, Damien, Eddie, Andy the Landy and a host of others drinking strong cider from Broomfield near Herne Bay. It seemed like a good idea at the time but I felt a little off-colour on Sunday. Colin had also prepared a buffet and should be congratulated on his cheesy buns.

Flying High

Today sees Parkes having her debut flying lesson from Manston airport
in Kent. The weather conditions currently are far from ideal so we
will have to wait to see if the lesson goes ahead. Chocks away!

Ilkley: Nice family shot.

Ilkley: Strings and Beth.

Ilkley: Get me away from this strange man.

Ilkley: Strings, Beth, Nat and Rosie. My old Alsatian legs are starting to give way.

Ilkley: Nephew Nat looking splendid in his stripey top.

Ilkley: Brother and sister.

Wingham Wildlife Park: '80s Soft Rock Chicken!

Wingham Wildlife Park: Beth trying out her new Cherie Blair impression.

Isle of Thanet Yomp 2008: Wrong Way Around

The Yomp is upon us. On Saturday 13th September Steve, Kaiser Keith, Deano and myself will be walking around the hallowed Isle of Thanet. This year we will be starting in Ramsgate but going anti-clockwise through Broadstairs, Margate, Birchington, St Nicholas-by-Wade, Monkton, Minster and finally back to Rammers. Hopefully this year the Kaiser will make the correct footwear choice and hopefully the weather will hold. 28 miles of idle chit-chat and fresh air awaits us.

Weekend

Parkes, Beth and I spent a lovely weekend up in Ilkley with my dad and Liz. My sister Rosie also showed up with my nephew Nat - what a fine lad! Pictures will follow.

North Sea: On the ferry back from Oostende we were awoken from our slumbers by a Belgian Coastguard helicopter with a man dangling from it's base. It proceeded to land two men on the deck in front of us in rough seas/weather. Maybe they needed the toilet facilities. Or perhaps they wanted to try the delicious selection of hot and cold snacks the ferry had to offer.