I love my new work mates

Working at the University of Birmingham means I get to work with the loveliest, funniest, most handsome and beautiful colleagues in the land of schools liaison. There's Thom, a young hunk of raw manhood; Carolyn, a delicate and pretty flower; and Ansar, the epitome of talent and masculinity. They're great. I love them. Coming to work these days is like looking forward to a fabulous holiday in some kind of paradise. I often find myself skipping with joy on my journey to work, and at the end of the day it's so hard to leave them behind.

Ahh.

Reading material

Anyone interested in politics (particularly the last decade of British politics), but also who likes reading, should have a go on this: The Ghost by Robert Harris. I've never read him before but this is compelling ... see it here

New Year, new blog

This is a lovely Christmas house near us in Brum. Mmmm.

Well. That was 2007. Not very successful in terms of blogging; perhaps I will try harder this year. Even reading back to my first entries makes me cringe though. Better when I don't write about myself really :) ... fat chance of that happening though. Which is why I found it so easy to give up making entries ...

It's the 2nd of January 2008. I was being a bit reflective yesterday - thinking about the year 2K as we all said, how eighties! - and all the hullabaloo there was about the end of the century, and the so-called inevitable collapse of all software - which never happened. Funny to think that was 8 years ago and I was a mere 32 with no idea what the next few years would bring - an acrimonious separation and a life of moving and changing jobs after years of being settled in London. I didn't predict that my ex (who never wanted children with me) would go on to have children with someone else. I didn't predict that at 40 I'd still have none. I especially didn't predict moving to Birmingham - a place that wouldn't have crossed my mind in my lifetime I think if circumstances hadn't made it happen.

I have to say though that Birmingham is great. Full of interest and character, and not being the financial centre means it's still got its own communities and isn't filled with yuppy like (ooh, there's the eighties again) people just trying to make money and move on. It's less crowded, it's historic, it's interesting and in social flux, it's mixed economically, socially, industrially. It's emerging. It's attractive and ugly and fascinating. It's like London was for me when I first got there. And we were able to buy a house here, which was out of the question in London.

On the subject of London though, can I just recommend the video (available widely in trainspotter shops) of the 'Driver's Eye View of the Northern Line', which is wicked. Christmas present bonanza!