Those were the days my friend

This is my penultimate day in my job. On Thursday I suffer the ritual leaving do, with all the accompanying speaches and flattery. Am I happy to be going? In a way I am. I will really miss the people and I will miss the job. I wish I had had the chance to do this job with more resources, or indeed with the resources that my successor will be getting (on my recommendation). It wasn't to be.

But I am so very tired, and I will not miss my commute. The new job, let's call it 'Envirocash', is a massive new challenge. If I don't do my job, people lose theirs. I am ready for the challenge. It is time to stretch myself and reawaken the potential that I know is inside me.

As one door closes another opens. My cricket team call me 'cliche man' because of my on-field verbosity. I suppose I have just proved the truth in that nickname.

Could be worse!

Feelin hot hot hot

We are in the middle of a July in a Summer that is destined to be known as "The Long Hot Summer of 06". In my office the temperature is currently 27degreesC. Outside it is 32 or 33. In my garden I am having a constant battle to keep this season's plants alive whilst battling the weeds that perversely don't seem to require water.

Not so long ago I was a tourist in !Paris . The temperature was around 27 every day and it felt too hot. Now I long for such moderate temperatures. At the weekend I played two cricket matches and it really took it out of me. The first wasn't too bad, but yesterday we spent 3 hours fielding in 30+ degree heat. So what? you cry. Well in my case as a wicket keeper that meant 3 hours of squats in 30 degree heat with the (more than) occasional dive for the ball. Despite two drinks breaks during that innings, at tea I worked my way through over two litres of fluid and was still thirsty when I went out to bat. Lucky then, that I wasn't batting for long. My dehydrated body was unable to cope with a delivery that would have probably beaten me at my peak. As it was I stood statuesque as the ball swung like a banana and took out my leg stump.

Apparently we might be due a drop of rain in September. Here's hoping! For the foreseeable future there doesn't seem to be much chance of relief from the heat. It'll be 36+ on Wednesday and I'll be commuting to London. Hurrah

Peaks and troughs

It's been a while since my last post. That's not due to a lack of things to write about, in fact quite the opposite. For the friend who asked what my new job is, I suggest that you google my name. I just did and the bit about me by my new employers featured on the first page of results.

So what has been going on. Well for the past month I have been working part-time between my old and new jobs. It's been a killer and to be honest I will be glad when I am full-time at the new place. It's not that I dislike my old place - in fact I love the people there. It's just that I am working 2/3 days a week there and trying to do a week's work in that time.

The new job is a challenge. One hell of a challenge. It looks as if it is not just my job riding on my ability but those of the other staff. There is some breathing space before things start getting dicey but this is very much the real world!

So amidst all of that, I went on holiday last week. Paris was the destination and we had a hotel in a fantastic location near the Arc de Triomphe. We did all the sites - Eiffel Tower, river trip, Notre Dame, Les Invalides, EuroDisney, Louvre and had a great time.

After 17 years my schoolboy French was a little rusty. I'm sure my grammar may have been poor (it always was) and I was told I speak French with an English accent (well duh) but I managed to engage in numerous conversations and make myself understood.

The French people were wonderful. They were helpful and hospitable. French schoolchildren obviously undergo a metamorphosis at some point because they were loud, rude, pushy and jostly. It is hard to believe that they turn into the courteous and polite adults we encountered.

The holiday was a real high in a tough few months, even though an accident on the motorway near Charles De Gaulle airport meant that our return was a whisker away from being thwarted. We made it to check-in with 90 seconds to spare!

An hour or so after arriving home last night I watched the second part of the West-Wing election. One of the main actors died earlier this year and this episode dealt with the death of his character. I cried, I'm not sure whether the tears were for the actor or the character, probably both. It was a fitting send-off.

The World Cup has been an obvious major factor in the last few weeks. Tonight England went out. We've been poor throughout the tournament but I felt that today we got rough justice. Portugal were cynical and it hurts to see them progress. But we would not have made it past France/Brazil anyway. So after the holiday high the football provided a real low.

That low was followed quickly by a punch-the-air brilliant episode of Doctor Who. The first episode of a two-part season finale was so good it gave me an immediate lift.

So where does that leave me? A cricket match tomorrow and then back to my temporary job-share. Au Revoir for now mes amis.