Hello there! I'm back and feeling good! Kris and I (and fifteen other people) are back from Salcombe in Devon where we had an absolutely great time. The train down to London and back out again went according to plan with all the people we were due to meet up with being where they were supposed to. The drive to the house from Totnes station was short and uneventful and the house pretty much perfect for what we wanted (even if the hot tub was broken). Days consisted of getting up nice and early and going for wonderful long runs up and down actual hills into, around and back out of Salcombe and then breakfast. The rest of the time was spent walking around in the brilliant sunshine, kayaking in the estuary, going to Overbeck's (a National Trust property) and sometimes just hanging around reading and playing (get this) Croquet. A real shame about the hot tub but there was a whole barn (seriously) filled with air hockey, pool and table tennis tables as well as a sauna. Not that I got around to using the sauna when I was getting hot enough out on the roads. Food was great although I might have eaten a little too much rich/good food than was good for my waistline (but what're holidays for?) and obviously a lot of people drank a lot of alcohol. The fact that pretty much everyone took a turn in the kitchen making a meal for the rest of the house (Kris and I did fajitas and salsa and other accompaniments which went down really well) meant that food costs stayed pretty low for the most part. Kris and I did go out for a meal one night to a lovely restaurant to celebrate well, us being so happy. Lots done, some photos taken (they'll be pretty Kris-heavy I'm afraid, but she is very pretty so you probably won't mind too much) and a return journey which wasn't too bad considering the lack of booked seats and a very hot Underground. The photos should be up soonish, as well as some older ones of a weekend Kris and I had with her parents visiting Blenheim Palace a while back.

This weekend just gone (well, the Saturday night and Sunday) were spent firstly in a curry house (no-one wanted to cook once we'd arrived home again), rowing with the Dev squad in an 8+ on Sunday morning and finding that the curtain rail below the work I'd had done in Kris' room had come down due to the middle screw just not being bedded in enough and the filler around the edges of the room shrinking and cracking. I've called the builder, again, to see if he can do anything about it all.

Today, just like the weather on almost every day of the previous week's holiday (although one day we had a temperature inversion and a very cool (and cold) bank of fog rolled in for a few hours), has been very hot. Probably not the best day to run 8km at lunch time, even though I did it in a fairly good time of 37:45. I've decided I won't be exercising this evening (unless I decide to go Hashing) and may just work on the photos I have outstanding instead. Kris and I have a Top Gear to watch as well as some other stuff and some more lovely mozzarella and tomato salad to eat for dinner. Not that I'm actually fat, but I could really do with losing a little bit from around my middle at the moment in preparation for some rather energetic activities coming up soon. Perhaps even tonight!

On a final note, Kris and I have been discussing certain issues relating to the fact that she's a US citizen and this is the UK. You know, visas and all that. It's not a simple thing to decide about but I have some thoughtful and permanent ideas on the subject I'd like to mull over for a while. Nothing's certain at the moment and there'll definitely have to be a period of time when she's back in the States and I'm here. On the order of a few months, at least. As and when I know more that's worth telling I'll let you know. Put it this way though - there's a wonderful chance things could all work out in a very lovely way. Maybe.