Student Life

One way to get MD geared up for a fast walk is to put his breakfast in his bowl before he goes out on his morning walk. To make him ever faster slip a few of last night’s potatoes on the top. Yep that works, now he’s barking at L to get going, so that he can be back asap. I have tried to do all this surreptitiously but even if he’s out in the garden with the door closed, he still hears the rattle of food into his bowl no matter how quiet I try to be. Then he tries to batter the door down.

I wonder if I could get away with putting his food bowl at the end of the agility course. That would make him fast, though I imagine all the poles would be down.

I drive to my parents' house, leave the car there and then run the 5.5 miles to work. Its hard work and those bloody road works at Raynesway extended my route again. Whether you’re in the car, on foot or on a bike, I'm afraid there’s no chance of anything improving around there any time soon. Nothing is happening because there are no workmen or equipment there any more because the contractor behind the road development has gone into administration. Great.

At least John Grisham kept me entertained. Julia (Roberts) is really getting going on the case now.

L tries to give Son a dress rehearsal as regards managing to survive on his student loan on a weekly basis. She gives him a week's money and off he goes to Poundland... Do they sell food? Don’t they just sell bags of out of date boiled sweets, made by Taiwanese women on £1 a month?

Later he drops off his week's worth of shopping. 6 pot noodles. Oh and a plates and dishes set that he got for a fiver. Which is actually very resourceful of him. I’m impressed. He says he’ll sort the rest of his supplies later and then heads off to meet some friends in the pub. Student life? Seems he's got the hang of it.

The run back the other way to my parents' is much better. I always struggle with morning runs. Unfortunately 99% of races are in the morning.

At the match tonight Derby are even more impressive than they were on Saturday. It's been quite a transformation. They win 3-1 against Middlesbrough, who were a much better team than Crystal Palace on Saturday but we even give them the lead, miss a penalty and still win with room to spare.

(Tuesday 28th September)

Slightly Damp

I'm on the bike today which after yesterdays run probably wasn’t a great idea but it wasn’t as painful as I expected. Almost enjoyed it.

L sees a student in the Co-Op wearing a dressing gown and slippers. Ah, the student life. Not wanting Son to feel uncool she considers equipping him with similar appropriate attire for when he goes next weekend. I wasn’t sure he’d thank her for such a suggestion but... he appears keen, on the dressing gown at least.

Talking of Uni.



The latest photos of student digs for the coming year have been released.



Oh hang on, those are from the athletes village at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

At the end of the day I move back into my ‘new’ old office. An added feature is that they have moved my boss into a glass box in the corner; well a glass partitioned office anyway. So at least we can now keep an eye on him or perhaps the intention is the other way around.

The weather has been a bit iffy all day and when I look out of my window at 5pm, it’s suddenly gone very black... By the time I get downstairs and to the door, the monsoon has started. Thankfully it doesn’t turn out to be as bad as it looks and I get home just 'slightly damp'.

I’m quite pleased with my portfolio of decent shots at squash tonight. In fact, some of the best I’ve played for a while. Unfortunately I alternate them with my other portfolio, the one of miss-hits and air shots, which balances things out.

L walks over from the gym to join us for a pint. Which is a relief, I’m that tired I need someone to lift my pint for me.

(Thursday 23rd September)