The hamster tank went from an inch thick layer of bedding all over, to a 9" high pile in the corner. I am particularly impressed by the way she removed the sheet of kitchen towel from beneath the layer beneath the igloo, without disturbing the igloo. Like pulling off a tablecloth and leaving all dishes and cutlery in place.

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Books read 65 (2011: 56)
Films watched 153 (2011:126)
Unread books (fiction, not including anthologies): 413. 36 hardback, 344 paperback, 33 large paperback. Books in: 37 (bought, loans etc)
Gigs, theatre etc: 17
Pay: frozen for a second year
Money found on street (which I have been putting into a tin) £22.63, including a £20 note (2011: £14.57).
Rodents: 1 (Revel's second year here)
Age: was 41, now 42. I know where my towels are.
Weight at 12 stone is down a stone and a bit.
CNPS: 732 (started the year at 670)

Spending a bit of time sorting things out, partly in a fit of fin d'annee, partly in preparation for busy month, partly to physically and mentally clear the decks so I can do some bigger and more interesting things in the new year. Was a bit horrified to find an extra 6" heap of miscellaneous papers while looking for a bank statement, but sorted everything out into thirty piles. Then had to re-heap them hurriedly to make space for boardgames.

Had an enjoyable afternoon of gaming, and have now written up the crib sheet for multiplayer Primordial Soup so I can see straight away how many amoebas you get for 3/4/5/6-player games, which cubes you eat, and which set(s) of genes are relevant, without having to cross-check small print in two rule sets. I recall Arkham Horror can be a single player game, I might try to play through that a couple of times in short bursts instead of the 4-6 hour marathons it can take. Though I might find it plays a lot more quickly solo (i.e. I might die really quickly).

There was chilli, and the world didn't end, and then we watched The Goodies which is an absolutely great thing to do with a continuing world.

A thing I learnt today: Graeme Garden is younger than Bill Oddie.

Books read (61-63)
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, Chris Ware (2000) (graphic novel)
The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Michael Chabon (2007)
Pandaemonium, Ben Macallan (2012)

Films watched (143-146) 2 at the cinema, 2 DVD
Skyfall
Cell 211
Berberian Sound Studio
The Italian Job

Gigs (14-16)
Micky Flanagan (London)
Three Bonzos and a Piano (Cambridge)
The Wedding Present (Cambridge) + Toquiwa
Frisky and Mannish (Cambridge)

Books incoming 36 (1 purchase) (read 30/36).

is that you get home and it feels late and it's dark and you think "Is it dinner time?" and you look at the clock and it's a quarter to five :-/

I'm fit for the walk, but it will be very muddy underfoot. Those who thought it might be fun to meet me in a pub at the end - the landlord will be saying "Not in those muddy boots, you're not!" I have brought a couple of stout carrier bags for the rest stops I hope to make, I can't carry much especially a change of shoes.

doubtingmichael warned me last night that the rowers had been called to have their morning rowing cancelled, with the overnight rain and the winds gusting to 24mph. I might have been a little blasé - winds? Pah. It's not meant to be a pleasant walk. But I don't know what winds that strong are like. They look pretty gusty. I hope they're on my back, not in my face.

I get of the train at Ely at 9am and the sun sets at 4pm, which is an incentive to keep the pace up, though the last 2-3 miles are through town so that's less of a worry.

I'm glad I don't have to worry about being homeless in this. <-- shameless emotional blackmail to encourage donations to Shelter.

And thank you to everyone who has given their support, in words and/or money, this has raised £282 so far. Awesome!

http://www.justgiving.com/BradshawWalk

I seem to have recovered and got my walk on again (10 miles today, I think my pedometer is broken, just walked around Cambridge but it thinks I've climbed the equivalent of 70 flights of stairs today - Cambridge, FitBit, really!) and Plan A of Ely walk on Sat 24th might well be back on again instead of postponing. Get it out of the way, eh? It's getting so dark of a late afternoon.

I've been planning and thinking and I shall do SwDrWaMo in November. That's the software testing course I booked with last year's work training budget, making a dress, the sponsored walk with associated training, and month.

But first, laundry...

Books read (56-60)
I, Phone, David Wake (2012)
How I Escaped My Certain Fate, Stewart Lee (2010)
The Duplicated Man, James Blish and Robert Lowndes (1953)
Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume, Jeff Smith (1991-2004, 2004)
The Apocalypse Codex, Charles Stross (2012)

Films watched (140-142) 1 at the cinema, 2 DVD
Life Is Sweet
Looper (rewatch)
The Revengers Tragedy

Gigs (10-12)
Katzenjammer (Cambridge)
John Cooper Clarke (Cambridge)
Salon Rouge again - still not sure if a club night counts as gigs, theatre etc. I think this one does.

Books incoming 34-35 (1 purchase, 1 loan) (read 27/35).

Three films in a month? That's nothing! But I have watched two full seasons of The Sopranos, and would have seen Skyfall if it weren't sold out.