Return of the Blog.....

Hi All,
I know it's been a long time, but it's also been a really busy year! Since getting the tick, summer came and went (although it was fairly rubbish weather wise and nobody really noticed......). So for a quick summary:

1/ Managed a weekend break in little Brum cruising Austria, Italy and Switzerland. Bad for the environment but good for the soul. Had the chance to meet up with our Italian pals. It was soooo hot down by Lago di Garda (31°C at 11PM) it was a relief to get back to the cooler climbs of the alps, although Little Brum struggled with the tight bends on the Passo do Spluga.
2/ Holidays were spent in Scotland: Three weeks spent shivering in August.... Dumfries, Inverness and Pitlochry. Actually Fi and I had a great time visiting castles, walking, cycling , dolphin spotting and shivering ;-)) Not sure if Hertz will ever rent me a car again after returning it with mud all over the roof......
3/ Work was mad, as always. Fi has started making me wear suits and stuff to work as she thinks that it will enhance my career opportunities. Actually I look like a bit of a tart, but it might help me to survive the company downdizing in 2008.
4/ Just for "fun" I've started an MSc in Information Support Management from the University of Liverpool. (http://www.uol.ohecampus.com/programmes/msc_ism.phtml) The course is 100% on-line so I don't need to actually go anywhere near Liverpool until I (hopefully) graduate! Work are paying for half of it so that will keep the pressure up. Twenty hours a week studying a week is really going to challenge my time management skills!
5/ Christmas was spent back in Crawley. We had a nice time and managed to see almost everyone we wanted to. Back in Switzerland this morning it seems fairly quiet! Whilst in Crawley I managed to crack the 200 geocaches in Goffs Park no less. Maybe Dad will start doing this when he retires?
6/ Kept my Lufthansa gold card for another year..... with trips to Singapore (x2), Bangkok, Brazil (x2) and US. Hopefully I will travel less next year.... I haven't been anywhere on business since October, which has been heaven!
7/ And next year? Plans are to have a main holiday in Northern Spain, perhaps following the pilgrim path to Santiago..... no religious meaning, just read a book about it once...... I also plan to do a bike tour of the Alsace around May time and do some serious cycling again (entered the Raid Cristalp (http://www.grand-raid-cristalp.ch/index-ENG.html) already). I'm hoping for a work trip to Japan, so if that comes off I'll probably stay on for a week and visit the peace park in Hiroshima.

So hopefully I'll keep thing a bit more up to date this year!