October 5th
Jeanette and Brian up for lunch, we got creative in the kitchen and served up Sardine pate and toast, followed by a lamb and apricot tagine with lemon grass and green pepper couscous, finished off with another epic Des Desert .... Key Lime Pie .... except it wasn't, no Key Limes, so it was a "Lime Pie in the Style of the Florida Keys" Lots of Sicilian wine to wash it down. Very Pleasant
October 6th
Ted's teeth have been giving him a lot of pain since mid Sept so off to the dentist... missed the appointment tho'. Why? Because lots of silly brain dead drivers have decided that the UK national speed limit on a single carriage way road is 40 mph IT IS NOT you IDIOTS it's 60!!! Read the Highway code! and as a side issue to the pillock who I nearly hit up the back on a dual carriage way the other day.... 70 is the limit on derestricted Dual Carriage Ways ..... so don't slam on the anchors to get down to 60 for speed cameras! Dolt! Imbecile! Maybe that's why we get traffic lights on roundabouts...
If you want to drive at less than the speed limit fine, just make it easy for those who wish to travel as quickly as the road permits to overtake...
Friday 10th October
Autumn has arrived I noticed as I dash around the Kent and Sussex country side. Nice colours this year I must try for some photo's....
Saturday 11th October
Ted went to the Arethusa Venture Centre in Rochester to see if they still run a sail training ship, sadly they gave up 2 years ago. A bit of a blow, still might still use them as my charity for the year. For Readers from outside of the Kent area, the Arethusa I remember was a square rigged sail training sip used by Shaftsbury Homes as a home for "lost" boys. The ship was decommissioned in the late 70's but is in a sail museum in New York as the "Peking" or so I found on the web.
In the evening Ted went out and watched England's rather scrappy draw with Turkey in the Euro 2004 qualifiers. Meanwhile Des, Vicky, Linda and Erika went to play Bingo! Arrrrrgh if you catch me there take me out and shoot me!
Later they all came round and had a few drinks and nibbles.
Sunday 12th October
A sad day after much um'ing and ah'ing Vicky has decided that her beloved MG is not really practical and is trading it in for a rather tasty looking Ford Fiesta special edition......
Ted finally obeyed instructions and put the garden to bed, I treated the timber table and covered it up, I painted the Chiminea black, I cleaned the Barbeque and put it in the shed, cut the grass and felt sad. So I went out and took a few photos, OK so it's not New England but old England is producing some great colours this autumn.
As usual the photo's aren't as impressive as the real thing, and the real thing maybe better next week so I'll drag the camera around with me just in case.... I took a few other so here is one of my favorite views of Rochester and a real tourist shot of Rochester Cathedral...
October 16th
Busy .... I have organised a special white table meeting at the Freemasons Lodge... so just for once Des can come to a meeting! On the way We and "John the Bass Man & the Lovely Glenda" call in at the Selsdon Park Hotel the venue for my Ladies Festival next April, so that they could see what I'd got us into. Then what should have been a gentle drive across town turned into a traffic nightmare! Only just reached Clerkenwell in time for the meeting.
Still it went really well lots of people seemed to have enjoyed themselves so it was worthwhile.
October 19th
Jimmy the Ant was supposed to be dropping in sometime since he was possibly in the UK to attend a school reunion, not a trace. Shame that.
October 23rd
Bye Bye Vicky's sports car 
October 27th
Interesting day at work, had a day looking after one of the European Marketing team for Fresenius Kabi, Birggita Hummel. I showed her the sights of Southampton, Winchester and Guilford Hospitals all along the M3 and it did mean circum navigating the dreaded M25 to pick her up from Heathrow and take her to her hotel!!!
October 29th
Evening meal with the new (temporary) Sales And Marketing Director for FK, Wilna Stapelberg, a very astute lady, who normally does the same job for FK in South Africa. Pity they can't get her to stay long term. The meal in Browns Restaurant, Winsor was satisfactory.
October 31st
Worked hard all day then off to Bournemouth for the Aedile Lodge Ladies Festival at the Elstead Hotel. Ted and Des end up in a tiny room, I could walk round the bed, but only if the chair was tucked under the dressing table! The meal was OK but not great, the company was tho'. Present were Kevin & Vicky, Kevin's Family and Linda 'n; Erika.
