With an impending trip to Malaysia and Singapore for work, I had to get a short notice passport renewal. Even though my passport was valid till November, both Malaysia and Singapore wouldn’t let you in unless you had at least 6 months on the passport. So Wednesday May 2^nd I was in Central London on a passport fast track service. Thursday was local elections, and a first chance for Ellie to vote… and she voted for her friend Scott, who was standing as a local councillor. And he won.

Friday 4^th and Tricia and me set off for Hay on Wye. We stopped off for lunch in Ross on Wye, and went for a walk. Then it was onto Haye on Wye. In the evening we ate at the Blue Boar. Good steak J. Saturday morning we headed out to the Brecons. After some confusion over where to park, we were off on foot to the reservoir, then up onto windy ridge and along to Pen Y Fan, which is the highest peak in south Wales, 886 metres above sea-level. We completed a circular walk … it was a proper training session for the coast to coast, lots of hill walking. In the evening we went to Hay cinema to watch the ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’… which was a lovely film. Then off to the Indian. It was also Robbie’s 26^th Birthday. Happy birthday Rob.

Sunday was my book day. Tricia went off on a local walk, and we met up at late afternoon and enjoyed a glass of wine outside. We had been blessed with lovely weather over the weekend. Bank Hol Monday we headed back, I needed to be back for Trolls rehearsals.

Week beginning the 7^th was Trolls performance week. I wasn’t entirely taken with the production, but all went well. We performed Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening. Tricia came to watch with Nikki and Matt and Ellie on the Friday. Saturday afternoon Nikki treated Tricia to afternoon tea at Woburn which they both enjoyed. Sunday I should have been at West Ham for the final game of the season, but I had my flight to KL in the evening, and I didn’t want to chance missing a flight, so missed the game. Didn’t stop Joe Hart making the flight with his family though. I flew out of Heathrow at 20:45 and flew to Abu Dhabi, and managed a few hours sleep. I stopped over in Abu Dhabi for a few hours before catching my connecting flight to KL. Landing in KL I then had to catch a train to KL central. I eventually booked into my hotel around 10:30pm local time.

Next morning my work colleague picked me up at the hotel and took me to the office. A day of presentations ensued, then back to the airport for my flight to Singapore at 7:30pm. I then had 3 days in Singapore, the highlight of which was a visit to the Kranji War Memorial on behalf of Ivy Robinson, to pay respects to her brother who died at the end of the Second World War. Meanwhile on the Wednesday I was away Tricia went to Chatham and took Janet G as company, and they visited Canterbury on the way back. On the Thursday evening Nikki went to the PL darts final with Ellie. Next morning Elllie had her ‘leavers assembly’ she had been working hard on, then in the evening her Year 13 prom.

I landed back at Heathrow on Saturday morning. Royal Wedding Day and Cup Final Day. I know which one I was interested in! Cup Final… which ended up being dull. Tricia was out with Sara and Rachel at a spa, Ellie was half asleep after a late night. But I unpacked, did the garden, found ways to keep myself busy and around 8pm crashed out in bed.  Sunday we (Tricia and Ellie and me) travelled over to have lunch at Deb and Carlos’ … very pleasant. Nikki and Matt made it was well.

A full on week then ensued. Tricia with festival orders had Sally over to help. I was catching up on work I had missed whilst away on business. Friday evening Tricia and me headed for the Peak District. We stayed in Castleton, and over both Saturday and Sunday completed two walks from Castleton. On the Bank Holiday Monday we met up with Ross and Deb, who we had met when doing the Pennine Way a few years before, who took us pp on a terrific walk on Kinder. It was a beautiful day… in stark contrast to the day we had last been there when we finished the Pennine Way.