Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water............

It has been almost three weeks since I have updated this. You all know that I am 'back at school'(American)'have started my course'(BR) It is hard work; fortunately, very interesting. I'm reading about Napoleon and the French Revolution. It seems that there were about 39 different countries in need of subduing. Some were no bigger than Oxford and were eventually incorporated into the larger ones but in the meantime, they all have kings and they fight constantly. And I'm supposed to know what they are and who is in charge. My next essay is due in about three weeks and this one counts. I have my first tutorial on Tuesday to talk about the first essay. By Tue evening I will be either very pleased or ready to quit. I will let you know.

Oh dear!!

(this is a copy of my post on the GoalsRUs blog)
I slipped up on Friday evening. I had some people round for a meal and by the time I had cooked it, it just seemed too cruel to deny my self a glass of Sancerre. Strangely enough, that lead to another and another. On the plus side, it was an excellent evening. I'm back on the wagon again. I was looking after Rosie and Adam on Saturday and driving Chloe back and forth to Bicester for her ballet. Had it not been for those tasks, I would have spent a good deal of the day resting up. Rachel had a birthday drinks party for herself last night. Depending on your point of view, it was a great success because the last people didn't leave until 2am. Adam and I went home at 9:30 so we would be able to get up for the Star Wars movie this morning. Now I have to get back to work. I'm going over to have a meal with Nancy tonight and I will drive so there is no chance of my being tempted by a glass of anything.

At the beach

I'm in Brighton and having a relaxing time. Little Harry continues to be the most wonderful baby. I looked after him on Friday so Alison could go to work (he had the week off creche due to a slight illness). You can plan your day with a child like Harry because he is on a schedule. We all went in to town on Saturday, dodging rain showers but, nevertheless, having a good time. I love shopping in Brighton. I found a beautiful chest of drawers for my bedroom. This, after buying some Ikea junk the week before which is considerably cheaper and considerably uglier. Now I have to convince myself that I can afford it given the dodgy financial climate. I'll be happy to hear from anyone who wants to assure me that it is okay to spend 800 pounds instead of 250. Now I'm off back to Oxford to continue reading history. Until I got involved in a British academic course, I thought it was pretentious to say, "I'm reading history." Now I understand it.

H1

Ian Hacking came to town on Saturday to visit his child and grandchildren. I put him up at my house and I cooked a big Sunday lunch for everyone on Sunday. He went off to London to attend a conference on Monday and Tuesday. I went up to meet him yesterday when the conference finished. I arrived just in time for the drinks party and then we had a meal and then I went home. It was an interesting visit. It is the first time I have spent more that about 10 minutes with him in 40years. We did a bit of catching up. He doesn't have any corneas but otherwise he's in good health.