Thank Darwin It's Friday!

Alicia finished her GCSEs yesterday, so that's a big sigh of relief all round. It's going to seem strange not driving her to school in the mornings, but I'm sure I'll get used to that. I was quite looking forward to a bit of a lie in this morning, but I woke up with a throat like sandpaper and aching bones to the sound of a downpour outside. Lovely.

The centre of Chapeltown down the hill from us was flooded causing all sorts of problems for the traffic and giving Jamie a day off school due to a distinct lack of teachers, so I've had the dulcet tones of Green Day mixed with the petrolicious sound of Forza Motorsport all day. The stream in Foxfield woods is in full flood, with stones and mud flowing down the paths as well. Still, it should be good for the garden.

Work has been the same old, same old with the added joy of filling in some forms for my appraisal next week. I've managed to avoid them for a while, by the dint of my old boss being happy as long as all of the accounting systems were working, but the powers that be are now showing an unhealthy interest in what I actually do. This means I have to rate myself on team working and leadership skills, which are not particularly relevant when I'm in a team of, er, one. I've also had the chance to use lots of exciting words like 'proactive' and 'on going' - I look forward to finding out what they actually mean when I have my appraisal interview next week ...

Doris has been in fine form the last two days, stalking the local avian population and then dragging it in from the rain, dripping wet and leaving a trail of bloody feathers through the house. We had a large starling in yesterday, and two more birds today, although today's offerings came ready killed, which was a slight improvement, I suppose.

Oh, and do I really need to point out that I am really fucking angry about the latest statement from the catholic church? Didn't think so ...