Regular household news brief

I thought I update everyone on minor news and current affairs. Consider this a laundry list of things you'd rarely bother to post separately.

SAAB break-in
While I was away in South Africa, the SAAB was broken into. Well, sort of. Garry forgot to lock it after going to the Supermarket. Someone later got into the car. Fortunately they only stole loose coins from the centre console and the old speedometer sitting in the boot. I'm sure the theif will be disappointed to learn that the speedometer is useless in the UK - its calibrated in kmph. All things considered, we consider ourselves lucky!

Air-conditioning bliss
London's in the grip of a heatwave. We've had days when London has been hotter than Athens, Rio or other traditional holiday destinations. After weeks of of this unrelenting hot weather, Garry's resolve finally faltered. On Tuesday he purchased a portable air-con unit for the house. Our new toy arrived yesterday, the hottest day so far this summer. Last night's sleep was peaceful thanks to our new artic zone in the bedroom. I should mention that Garry secured the unit at half-price off the web. The man loves a bargain!

The Met Office is predicting temperatures in the high 20s for the next ten days. At least three days this week having already hit the low-30s. We reached 36.3 C on Wednesday, the hottest July day since records began. The average temperature in Britain in July is 22 C.

London sights and sounds
A couple of weeks ago, my CEO was in town. She was also celebrating her 40th birthday. To help Aedhmar enjoy the day, myself and one of our external advisors met her for drinks and then whisked her off to Sketch for a late supper. Sketch is one of London's funkiest new venues. The dining area sits in an enormous hall and consists entirely of white furnishings. Every is white; tables, chairs, leather sofas and so on.

The bathroom is something else to behold. Each cubicle is its own self-contained pod. A dozen of these white egg-shaped pods are then randomly scattered around a central dome. The entire space is uni-sex, so any pod will do. The entire concept makes for a most memorable bathroom visit.

The following evening we arranged drinks for senior staff at a pub on the bank of the Thames River in Richmond. The view was a treat with swans in the river and the graceful Richmond bridge sitting in the distance. This was my first trip to Richmond. I must say that I was impressed. I'll definitely be taking Garry back there before Summer is over.

The table looks like new
You'll recall that our new dining table arrived from Australia with a prominent scratch across the surface. Our removalist paid out on our transit insurance and introduced us to a reputable furniture restorer. The table is finally back and looks like new. It's an incredible result. You'd never know that it had ever been damaged. I've looked and looked for the original mark but haven't found it yet.

The Air Show cometh
This weekend we're off to Farnbourgh to experience Europe's largest show. I know I'm excited!

And finally, a week from today, we fly to Prague to celebrate our friend Heath's 40th birthday. Garry and I then fly to Japan and on to Sydney for our first trip home since October last year. I'll also drop into New Zealand to catch up with my family before flying back to the UK via our office in South Africa. Three weeks after we're back, I'm off to Istanbul for an annual planning conference with my region's management team.