Good evening, one and all, and welcome to post number 341. You probably think I was slacking last night, as no post appeared, but let me put your minds at rest and tell you that I had, in true Kipling manner, been filling every unforgiving minute of yesterday pm, first by dashing 120 miles down and 120 miles back from Dorset and back to collect our younger daughter, who'd requested a visit home, back with moments to spare before attending Doc Harksin's marvellous play, grabbing a bite or two of elder daughter's delicious lasagne that she'd made for the family gathering, rushing up to the Thornhill bus station to collect son and heir and his girlfriend, who were meant to be with us much earlier in order to enjoy the family meal but had been delayed and inconvenienced hugely by the protests in London, and then, by the time it was 10.15pm I thought that it might be a little more prudent to write the remaining half of the sermon I delivered this morning, rather than a late-night blogpost. Anyway, eventually I was able to turn in - and then to remember that the clocks were going forward and that the extra hour was not going to happen. I must confess that as I don't have a printer over here I e-mailed my sermon to myself and printed it out just minutes before the service, hoping and praying (appropriately) that there hadn't been another computer outing. (I do love that expression: camp computers on a coach trip ..... Almost as good as Our Leader's 'We shall eventually splash out on the outdoor pool', to which my ears were treated a couple of days ago.) To Newton, then, and to tell you that tonight's festivities have gone well, and that the Krispy Kreme doughnuts, kindly donated to note one of our member's birthday, were absolutely delicious, and to say thank you very much to our generous benefactors. In addition to the aforementioned, were Jaffa cakes (loved by some; depsised by others), fruit, in the form of apples and bananas, and see-in-the-dark carrots. (No, I don't mean that they were radioactive, or that they glowed like Mr Music-Price's new conductor's baton, so proudly displayed for all to see in the choral concert rehearsal this morning.) I now need something to keep the levels topped up, having enjoyed a fine roast lunch prepared by Mrs C, which was accompanied by a very fine '99 claret. All the family were together for a rare gathering, which necessitated a bottle of equally fine bubbly to be consumed pre-prandially, in the garden. So there we are. Just a few days to go now, and much to look forward to. Goodnight.