Shared a lovely early Christmas lunch with Steph, Hamish and the boys on Sunday afternoon. Thomas and Arthur are still super Star Wars fans, and there was an emergency situation when we couldn't find Arthur's mini light saber when it was time to leave! Safely found under the sofa. Thomas gave us a beautiful rendition of his Christmas play song (he's a shepherd) as well as demonstrating some of his karate moves, while Arthur played out various Star Wars scenarios! Steph is looking glowingly pregnant at 5 months, and Hamish is settling back into life in the UK after his tour of Iraq. They're spending Christmas in France this year, hence our early celebrations.

And continuing our outings to the theatre (dahling) we saw the stupendous and much raved about production of Richard II on Saturday afternoon at the Old Vic. Superb! It was the freshest production of Shakespeare I have ever seen. The use of TV screens to enhance the drama, as well as the majesty of the pomp and ceremony of regal processions, references to modern-day terrorism, the breaking down of character speeches into not just dialogues directed at other characters but into interviews to an on-stage camera crew following the events of the attack and subsequent downfall of a King, oh and Kevin Spacey in the lead role of Richard II was incredible. The man can act.

Two likely lads....Geva in blue and Vytas in red, two of my uni buddies - Geva is the statistics god who got me through the stats exam last year, Poor baby had got up at 4am the morning I took this photo to get to work for the early shift, he works at Heathrow. This was taken in our Social Psychology class last Friday. We've moved onto Health Psychology which I found really interesting - it's the psychology behind physical, not mental illnesses - the psychology behind things that make you ill all the way through to how illness affects psychology. It's definitely a field I am going to investigate further.

We saw Guys and Dolls last Wednesday night, starring Ewan McGregor as Sky Masterson and Jane Krakowski (from Ally McBeal fame) and it was absolutely wonderful. I grinned my way through the whole show, easily one of the best musicals I have ever seen. Ewan, not a powerful singer, still sang on tune, threw a few sensational dance moves about and hit those high notes beautifully in Luck be a Lady. The choreography, costuming, staging, live orchestra, all were a delightful journey from beginning to end. I tapped and shuffled and shimmied my way home floating on a cloud of tangos and laughter. I wanna go to Havana!

This mast is all that remains of the pub Stu used to go to near his work! It was one of the boats used in the evacuation of Dunkirk.

Stu made the yummiest seafood risotto last week - salmon, squid, prawns and marlin, was delicious!

Trying out some B&W shots at Highbury...

Watched a champion's league Arsenal game last week where we were 12 rows from the pitch and got to appreciate Henry's breathtaking skills up close and personal. We won 3-0 :) and even though it chucked it down with rain and it prolonged my flu, I would have done it all again!

Where did the last 12 days go? I don't know. What with study and work and study and work and study and work...and a few training courses at work and an assignment at uni and Christmas just around the corner...

why can't anyone invent some cough syrup that works AND tastes like something other than boiled rats????

No one put a bet on Maykbe diva for me did they?? Curses!

It's been a heck of a few days. Apparently I have been voted president of the new Birkbeck Psychological Society even though a) I wasn't present and b) on Friday of last week I told all parties involved that I was taking no further part in the organisation. Huh? I have to untangle this sooner rather than later as I don't have the time to be referee, peace-maker, mediator, whatever for the warring factions who decided a neutral president would be ideal and that that person would be me.

Oh, and I was told about my new post via email as a fait accompli. What the??

Dinner, stats revision, then bed.

One more thing: if you live alone, don't lock the toilet door. It's just silly. No one is coming in to the bathroom. Cats can't open doors that are just closed and not locked. Why? We had the police around at 1.30am this morning to kick in the front door of the lady upstairs, and then kick in her bathroom door, which had locked and jammed on her. I'm sure the police enjoyed kicking in doors without drugs, guns or knives being involved, but it was fecking noisy and now I'm exhausted!

A friend I have been helping through a very difficult time wrote a poem for me that is one of the best presents I have ever received. Little Miss Sentimental that I am, it has really touched me:

My Beacon

Like in a haze,
Eyes can't focus straight,
But it's not too late,
So I seek,
I stumble around,
Get my bearings,
Get my aid,
Concentrate,
Get a perspective,
Not be dejected,
Like a beacon,
On a stormy night,
She is there to guide me,
To avoid the rocks near,
To dock safely at my pier,
She makes me comprehend,
She is Jodie,
She is my friend.