It’s been a funny few weeks. Not all of them together either. Firstly I have to sing the praises of all the staff in the Sunshine Ward at St. Johns hospital in Chelmsford. This is the children’s ward, where my 2 month old baby went recently. He was treated so well, the staff were excellent and the care both mother and baby received was second to none. Let’s hope the high standards continue after St. John’s is closed later this year.

This leads to a first note on car parks. I managed to find a nice free spot near the entrance and avoided paying about 30 quid in parking costs during the time my son was in hospital. That was nice. Why are hospital car parks so expensive? Why do we have to pay at all?

I went on Jury Service 2 weeks ago. It was a great experience. Sat in 2 cases, one where we found a woman guilty of arson, and another which was thrown out by the judge due to the terrible evidence and the fact that the police failed to follow their own rules of conduct. Basically some chap was being prosecuted based on the fact that he lived up a certain street and wore a particular colour of shirt. He was then thrown in a police van, and while sitting in a cage, a highly emotional witness was asked if he was the man that did it. For the record, this is not the proper procedure!

I have finally decided to take more drastic measures to get fit. I have ordered a Reebok cross trainer which is setting me back 400 quid (was 600 quid in JJB Sports, cheaper from an online store based up north). I have a dodgy ankle and very tight Achilles tendon which is making running or kickboxing more difficult. Managed to arrange good delivery rates with the excellent “Essex Man With A Van” service that I always use for my run arounds and deliveries in Essex.

What else? Hmmm, not much.