Back!

I am back from my trade union's conference. Go me! I got out of London Bridge Station yesterday, straight into one of the worst thunderstorms I've seen in years. The rain was lashing down, and thunder and lightning were right overheard. I've not been physically out in a thunderstorm for years, and it was quite frightening.

Having said that, I had a good time at conference with my friends, but got very tired towards the end.

I am walking very slowly because in addition to my normal problems with my legs (I fell out of a pub in Belgium in 2000 and my right leg never fully recovered) I also have tendonitis of my right ankle. So walking with me is very much of a trial right now, and I felt it very much as we limped between conference centre, restaurant and hotel.

I was so tired I passed up the chance to see the comedian Jeremy Hardy live. With very great regret, because he's often on the Friday Night Comedy from the BBC and is very funny. But I couldn't face another hour awake at that stage. Or with people. I run out of patience with having to make conversation quite fast, too. Comes of being an introvert, I suppose.

So I'm very glad to be home with my little Smokey and am giving and getting lots of cuddles. The cat sitter I got this time weren't as good as the first lady I used. They didn't notice, for instance, that she'd hawked up a hairball on the bedroom carpet, and it must have been there a while because it had dried in place. Yuk. And very hard on the poor kitty, too, I'd think.

Luckily for the kitty, my next trip anywhere isn't until August. So she's got a couple of months where it'll be me to look after her and that should give her some confidence. The cat sitter did say that she has noticeably more confidence when I'm there than when I'm not. Which is nice to know.

So I'm back. Did I miss anything important?