I've decided that it's time to start blogging again. Or rather I've decided that I have time to blog again. I'm currently on-board a GNER train from London to Edinburgh (presently in York) and taking advantage of the wireless internet access. I had already decided that it would probably be worth paying the £10 to use wifi for the who journey, but as it turns out, it seems to be free of charge. Not complaining. Except that the service is provided by a company based in Sweden, meaning that I have a Swedish IP address. Not a problem, except that banner adverts are targetted at "Europeans" and I can't watch the live streaming of the Open Golf from the BBC. Damn it!

Five months after my debut as Cow, Friday night found me back inside a furry animal suit. This time I was dressed as a rabbit, for the ICU Easter Carnival.

Most people thought I was crazy to spend a Friday night (stuffed with the cold) sweating away inside a furry costume in a venue full of 1100 drunk students. But I can honestly report that it was a lot of fun.

I've invested in a new toy. The new Mac Mini with Intel Duo Processor. It's very sexy and, in fact, I'm posting from it right now. It's just so... nice.

Don't know if anyone is actually reading this now. Don't suppose so. If you are, you'll be pleased to know I'm home (in North Berwick) for Christmas now.

Some time ago now, I performed for four days as a Highland Cow, as part of a promotion for a bagel company in London. Now, by the wonders of the internet, you too can enjoy 40 seconds of this delight.

Enjoy...

It's 10am UK time and I've been back for a little over an hour now. I'm still fairly dazed from the journey. Still moving. I guess it will just be a day of unpacking, washing stuff... oh, and discovering more stuff that was stolen in the burglary. Like a bunch of computer CDs. Grr...

I probably wont write much in the next week or so, although I'll upload lots more pictures soon.

Nice to be back.

I'm afraid to say that I don't have anything remarkable to say about New York this time round. Maybe I'll think of something...

This evening (29th November 2005), while I was touring the grand sites of Washington, I got a text message telling me that my flat in London had been burgled during the day. I'd just like to note my thanks to Tom for informing me of it and I'm thankful that he has dealt with it so well. Tom lost his laptop and camera. I lost my pda. Who knows what else would have gone if the front door hadn't been double locked and they hadn't been limitted to the tiny bathroom window through which they broke in.

It seems obvious now, but I hadn't fully realised that Washington, DC literally is the ten square miles around the Capitol with the sole purpose of housing and facilitating representation, government departments, memorials, museums and a huge security presence.

I spent time in the National Archives viewing the original copies of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. I toured the inside of the Capitol Building in all its palacial grandeur. I visited the Washington and Lincoln Memorials along with War Memorials for the Second World War and for Vietnam. The latter consists of the names of the dead inscribed onto a black marble wall. It was galling to see how long this list was and to know that even more died in WWII. The names were also on display in printed books, thicker than any telephone directory I have ever seen.

Last night I saw the Dutch Apple Holiday Show again and I honestly felt that it was 100 times sharper and more energetic this time. Both Sonny and Sarah maintain that it was because everyone was so happy to have a day off the next day! Afterwards we adjourned to a bar, sang some karaoke (including a dire rendition of Rainbow's "Since You've Been Gone" on my part) and generally had a great evening chilling out.