The summons

Right, I'm back and I have some time to myself for what seems like the first time in an age. An explanation for my absence for the past few days: Various systems were scheduled for replacement last week at work, and though it was originally agreed that I wouldn't need to be down in London for the event, the powers that be decided at the last minute that they'd be more comfortable if I was on site for the transition. Cue the hasty booking of flights and my sudden absence from Edinburgh. I should be flattered really - it's nice to be wanted, although it's nicer to be wanted and to be warned that you're wanted. Everything went smoothly in the event, although remained in the office until 2am - remind me not to repeat that again anytime soon (although the free pizza on offer went some way to mitigating any hard feelings).

The next few days passed in a bit of a blur, as I was accosted by a considerable number of people anxious to take advantage of my unexpected appearance in the office. I think on my next trip I'll take my cane along in order that I'll have something with which to beat the hordes. It certainly gave me an opportunity to flex my multi-tasking skills as I flitted from one task to another and back again.

Fortunately, as is always the case with my trips down south, it wasn't all work, and there was some play to be had. Those of us who stayed late the previous night, or started early the following morning made an early escape from the office and decided to go off and do something more entertaining instead. Given the limited options on offer, we ended up 10 pin bowling again. Thanks to the early hour, we managed to book a lane for a couple of hours for as many games as we wanted. The lack of pressure made for a refreshing change, and we took the opportunity to forget the competition and experiment and just have fun. Remarkably I even managed to win a couple of frames (after a somewhat less than impressive start), equalling my highest ever score in the process (126, if you're curious), after discovering that I find it considerably easier to throw the bowling ball palm down. Much fun was had by all, particularly during the final frame, when we dropped any pretence of seriousness and started throwing the ball down the lane any which way and competing to see who could achieve the greatest ball velocity (I only managed a paltry 18.5mph). I'm almost proud to say that I wasn't the individual responsible for bouncing one bowling ball onto the adjacent lane.

There's plenty more I can and probably should write about, but I'm past the point of doing justice to anything I describe, so you'll have to hope that I remember to fill you in on those particular details another time.