As aarayan has mentioned we’ve finally clawed our way out of the Hell Of Incompetent Tradesmen and emerged into the sunlight, bloodied but unbowed. After unbelievable delay and the most incredible excuses – including “I was at my Solicitor’s all day waiting to sign missives” – the floors are finally finished to a satisfactory if less than stellar level. What could we expect though? The job was done for free and we only asked for it to be touched up, we weren’t expecting miracles.

Not that it matters though; the rest of the flat, thanks largely to Sarah’s Herculean efforts, looks utterly amazing, to the point where it’s going to be damn difficult to actually part with the place. The rooms are dressed, all the walls and woodwork painted, curtains hung, new doors varnished, the works. On that note, if you are ever faced with the dilemma of whether to wax or varnish new doors I highly recommend the latter – waxing the buggers is a pain in the arse of Joe Pasquale proportions. Anyway, we are having the flat photographed and measured at the end of this week with the aim for hitting the market the week after. If it doesn’t sell quickly and for a decent price I’ll be amazed (not to mention panicked and depressed 🙂 ).

So we’re finally free to relax and actually do some enjoyable things for a change. I’ve got a packed diary over the next few weeks and can’t wait to get stuck into it. This weekend coming is Dead By Dawn, the annual horror film festival running from Thursday night to the wee small hours of Monday morning; booze, caffeine, shit food and sleep deprivation are the order of the day, with a touch of wifely disapproval on the side. The next weekend brings a trip up north to see the in-laws and hopefully witness some overbearingly cute interaction between Meg and Cara, both of whom are apparently getting on like a house on fire after a rocky start. Finally the weekend after that is a friend’s 30th and he has booked out a self-catering hotel in Grandtully. I’ve been there a couple of times before and it’s a great place – you’re own bar with no closing time, mountains of chili, rafting and paintball nearby, generally a paradise for overgrown boys.

Man, it feels good to be able to chill out for a change.

PS – Best mention something about Thailand. This’ll do…