So, here I am back in Blighty. It's a bit of a shock to the system, truth be told. Images of my past life flood into my consciousness every time I see the familiar outline of a British semi-detached house or double-decker bus. But the best bit was getting to see my gorgeous nieces again! Oh, and their parents of course! (That goes without saying.) I spent a few days in Guildford at my brother's and had the pleasure of walking the girls to school in the mornings.

The rest of the time I have spent stressing about my European travel plans. I really am such a drama queen at times. You'd think the end of the world was nigh, to see me sweating and poring over eighteen separate websites, trying to find the cheapest deals for travel. But in the absence of an honest nine-to-five I have to get my stress kicks where I can.

It was my birthday on Thursday. After the excess of my 30th last year in Madrid, I decided to keep it low-key this year. At the weekend a few folk gathered for a few ales and a proper feed at Cafe de Maya, my top tip for great Thai food in Primrose Hill. I caught up with people and gossip and listened with half an ear to the woes of the workers.

It sounds cruel but, not being employed myself and indeed having left work by choice because I was fed up with it all, I couldn't help feeling a little bit smug about my current insanely happy lifestyle. But the workers will have the last laugh when, my travel funds exhausted, I return cap in hand to seek gainful employment. All I can hope is that that day doesn't come too soon.

On Sunday I met up with my brother and his family in Welwyn Garden City and together we visited our Aunty Mary, my father's last surviving sibling. She really is getting on a bit these days, and is suffering with her hearing and her eyesight. But somehow she manages not to seem overly depressed with life. She manages to find things to be positive about, even if they are limited in scope to statements like "I'm so glad to be able to go to the Day Care Centre - it gets me out of the house" and such.

That evening, I met up with Donovan, an erstwhile colleague from PG. He is happily working in London these days. It was good to catch up. We had some drinks and a bite to eat in Camden. Then I popped in on Justin & Sam. Sam, surprise surprise, is looking forward to finally giving birth in the next month or so. I don't envy her being pregnant in this hot weather!

And now for something a bit different and radical: I'm going to summarise a few days in bullet points, in my best PowerPoint presentation style (if I can remember how to do it):

- Dinner with Kate and the girls at TGI Fridays in Guildford (waitress thought I was dad, and that I was serious when I suggested the girls sit at a table on their own at the other end of the restaurant to give us some peace and quiet!)

- Sport with Nick & Hugh (Nick got us in as guests to his swish London gym, and we swam, jacuzzied, sauna'd and generally pampered ourselves for a few hours before a bite to eat)

- Vegging at Steve's (well, I hadn't had a chance to play Civ for almost six months, and there's a habit that needed feeding. But, worryingly, it wasn't as satisfying as it used to be. Maybe after fourteen years I'm finally getting over it?)

- Frantically packing at Chris & Kate's (it's weird, but after living out of my rucksack for pretty much a whole year, the sudden chance to wear some of my OTHER clothes - the ones I am cluttering Chris & Kate's house with - is throwing me out of my routine. My packing skills suffer as a consequence.)

End of experiment. You know, I might have to try to be succinct more often. Maybe.