I've got a new car!

After nine years of trouble-free motoring with my trusty Renault Megane RXE affectionately known as Noel, I've taken the plunge and bought a new car. So what have I plumped for? I now drive a Toyota Auris SR, which looks exactly like this, albeit in black:



We picked it up this morning and have been driving around in it all day so far, and it is absolutely brilliant - I love it. Granted, I've yet to go on a really long drive, but next week I'm teaching in Cannock (Staffordshire) all week so it will be five joyous days of pegging up and down the M6 and slowly going mad, so that should let me know if it is any good or not. So far though it is fab. Has it got a name? Yes - we've called it Guy, as the registration number starts "GY", plus I've got a mate called Guy. We told him about the car's name and he was suitably touched, amused, and freaked out.

Thanks to those of you who commented on "Bondage" (and no, Steve - it wasn't about you!) Lou has now read both "Airport" and "Bondage" and found them both amusing, which was good as I wrote them both with the intention that they would be black comedies. The next proper story in the series, "Chest", is still only developing in my head, but another "B" idea came to me a week or so ago and I decided to deal with that one before I started "Chest". The new "B" story is to be called "Believe" and is again a comedy of sorts, and although I've hit a bit of a block with it which has slowed things somewhat it is proving to be enjoyable to write, which is good. More news soon.

Work is still mad. This week I was in London for two days teaching the Olympics people about the delights of CRM, and then I was off to Leeds for two days teaching SQL 2005. Yesterday (Friday) I was off, using up some of my leave entitlement, and spent the day cleaning the old car before it was sold, and building a PC for my cousin. Woo. Next week I'm in Cannock all week, and then that's me done for the year. Early 2009 looks crackers as I'm back up to Edinburgh, then down to Matlock, then over to Nottingham, and between now and March I have something mad like eleven days in Manchester and about the same in Leeds. Granted, there are a few days of prep thrown in there too but they'll probably turn into courses somewhere. Good job I have a new car then!

The war with Orange still rumbles on. I'm going to ring them next week all being well and go absolutely berserk, I think.

Last time I posted I mentioned that Lou and I were going to Edinburgh to do some Christmas shopping. We went, it was freezing, and we bought absolutely nothing whatsoever, but the place is still amazing in many ways. We did indeed eat in "Mammas" as mentioned, and the waitress remembered me from when I was up there with work a few weeks ago! "The Knight Residence" is still a superb place to stay too, and Lou liked it too although she couldn't sleep, which meant I didn't get much either what with her bouncing around trying to get comfortable, tutting, getting up to walk around and so on. The drive home was interesting to say the least as it was -4 degrees from Edinburgh down to Tebay Services and there was thick, freezing fog.

We've now got a fair few concerts lined up for next year and the latest addition to the list is Morrissey, and we're both tremendously excited about that one as he's just brilliant live. This means that the list is now Morrissey, Lionel Richie, Keane, Take That (twice), Elbow, and Depeche Mode. Fingers crossed that there will be a lot more too. This coming week we're going to see Jim Jeffries at the Comedy Store in Manchester again too.

Talking of Manchester, I was delighted when the congestion charge - sorry, the Transport Innovation Fund - proposals were resoundingly rejected by 78% of the public. Even as a user of public transport on a daily basis I was completely opposed to the plans, and I'm delighted that almost everyone else agreed. Here's hoping they don't come back in another form, and that the council officials who proposed them - especially the amazingly slappable Richard Leese and Howard Bernstein - see sense and resign. Somehow I doubt they will. If they don't they should be poked with sticks. For a long time.

I'll post again before the end of the year with my much-anticipated review of the year - basically my books, albums and concerts of the year. A shocking titbit to whet the appetite: my album of the year isn't what you probably expect...