Hello, Busy week as usual. Hope you liked the owls - I was entranced! I am going to write this blog in reverse....Just to amuse myself...

Thanks for the emails about my health - I have my next appointment at the transplant outpatients department up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne next week..

I am ok - I don't think I will be in any transplant games soon... But my next aim is to be fit enough to play volleyball by November..

I am really looking forward to just getting awayt from it all in September for a week - providing everything goes ok in Newcastle.

I am doing gig avoidance at the moment, avoiding Stafford last weekend to avoid V - the lastest of my plan to avoid as many festivals as possible this year...

On Saturday I went to the stadium for my physio and then to Willenhall for a curry with Erik, Diana and Mark (althought he was obviously asleep!) I was meant to play cricket (again!) (I was only going to stand in the slips and chat!) on the Sunday - but it was rained off.

It did mean I was able to go to Derek's 81st b'day - At Rugeley Power Station Club...

I seem to go from power station to power station - with Rugeley and Fiddlers Ferry don't I?

Perhaps as someone who has had a double lung transplant this is not a good idea!

We saw a pair of herons at Rugeley - which was lovely. The whole area reminds me of a long-forgotten Eastern European factory site....

I left in plenty of time to avoid the V traffic on M6 and M62... I was thinking about leaving first thing Monday instead - but that would have meant missing my Monday morning swim...

I thought if I put my job title on the top of this blog I would more likely to get more hits - and I bet it works.

I did 'Friday night shopping' in 'theee Asda' last week...I thought the supermarket would be empty - but it seems to be quite a social occasion - very bizarre. Hmmmm. I suppose it is safer than the nightlife..

I then watched Midsomer Murders with the sound off, listening to the Grinderman album and chatting on MSM - how middle aged I have suddenly become!

Press officer life is busy this week (as ever) - with the usual press enquiries to deal with, statements to put out and the usual of getting as much free publicity for events coming up and things the council is doing, without having to pay for advertising....

It has been a hard week to get much stuff out this week as so many people are off - holiday central. And not long til I go to the Suffolk cottage with Sarah.

We are going to book ourselves into a spa day and get pampered for the day down there.....

Fridays in generally are odd as the papers are winding down for the weekend so there are fewer enquiries and its just really spent getting background to stuff I want to push next week.

It is hard to imagine a council not having a website now isn't it?

Inside Halton - our magazine which goes to all residents is also about to go to the printers.

One of the more pleasant things I had to do this week was take some pictures of those birds of prey at a Runcorn school....Fantastic creatures... (the birds, not the kids!) I have been continuing with the exercise - despite feeling a bit run down this week. I feel much better if I do go swimming or play table tennis.....

But by the end of the week I feel like death warmed up...Tell me a solution...

Talking of medical matters I had to have blood taken last week - I had to not eat or drink for 12 hours beforehand...

Then had blood taken and had to walk to the post office and post it to Newcastle myself...

I got some strange looks when I went in and asked for an envelope to post off some blood.... Shocked some poor pensioners in the queue!

Pixie Luv!