A Summer's Lease

It's been a summer of organised chaos - literally. Firstly, August was completely written off as I headed up to Scotland for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, as part of the reviewing team for The Stage. It was a real challenge but an exciting one, epitomised by some great theatre and a quality team. Bit by bit, the shows are trickling down to London and I am seriously looking forward to catching Penny Arcade again next week with her show Longing Lasts Longer.

After Edinburgh, I had a single rest day before heading into a new temp job, helping install the festive lighting at Canary Wharf. Hard work but again, working with a great team makes all the difference and Dave, Craig and Mark have been great fun. I even got to wear a high viz jaket and a harness, and I've not done that since the early 1990s - ahem.

Being in Edinburgh meant that I was out of town for my 50th birthday, which I celebrated at the Gilded Balloon's Loft Bar. I had a great time - from what I can remember - but the real surprise was when I got home and Sean had booked the two of us into a luxury room at the Asfiya Sea View Hotel in Kalkan. A week of sun, swimming and delicious food. Below is a picture of Mustapha, who spent much of the day posing for me by the pool. 

So as November hits and the clocks have well and truly gone back, I am finally back to 'normal'. My job at Canary Wharf is over, save for a few days later this month when the Christmas trees arrive and I have now pretty much tied every weekend before Christmas in events.

'Sober October' was a complete wash out and 'Mo-vember' seems fairly pointless when you have a beard. To prepare myself for the holiday season, I am off to a Gym Re-focus session tomorrow morning at Crystal Palace. I managed to swim in Edinburgh but the gym evaded me and has done throughout the whole of my time in Canary Wharf, so a Re-focus seems appropriate.