Yesterdays' Sniffles are Todays' Throaty Cough

After a busy day at work with grating discussions, polite arguments and more priorities than you can shake a stick at, it was initially refreshing to come back with two pieces of fish from Sainsbury's at 8pm. However with a presentation to write for IGD and a head that seems now to be creating mucus liberally in both nose and throat, the refreshing glow swiftly glowered into self-indulgence.

Makeila (photo below), an old family friend from Spalding, is staying with us temporarily while she waits patiently for the postal strike and/or estate agent incompetence to produce the keys to her new place. She and Alex have both now sat through my meandering and (endearingly?) neurotic overview of how to work the cat food timer while we are away this weekend. That, and the guide to Max's various meowy eruptions, is enough to put anybody off looking after my cats ... OUR cats! However we seem to be friends with many proud cat lovers, for which we are more than grateful.

A pleasant weekend with Erika, Dan, Robin and Marion in France lies ahead, but tickets need to be printed, hotels need to be confirmed and Ryanair need to be treated with caution for their Machiavellian attitude to luggage allowances.

We did have a cosy evening in with Natalie and Kirsten last night, very good to see them, especially as we have not seen Natalie for so long. She has been running in Munich and the Somme, and is working even more hours than Andrew. So relaxing to sit back with such familiar faces and talk about friends, divorce, cats, jobs, travel and Mat and Gemma's wedding. Also to be able to enjoy Liam's new album playing along in the background, along with my current Kate Bush, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Juno Soundtrack addiction.

So now I need to get down to it and create this masterpiece of a presentation, both content and atmosphere need to be precisely tuned. Must resist the 'SmartArt' buttons!