Folks, it's time for October!! Oh yes it is!

So I celebrated German Unification Day by unifying myself with copious amounts of beer and food at the last day of the Oktoberfest! Michaela & I had booked an afternoon table in the Hippodrom tent, and we had great seats upstairs in the cast-iron windows looking out onto the main thoroughfare of the Wiesn, seeing thousands of people milling past in various states of inebriation. We joined them after a few hours of swiling beer, shoving meat and radish into our faces, and dancing along to the oompah music.

A few rides and bumper car experiences later, we all headed to mine to devour what was left of the divine tiramisù that I'd made at Lorna's request a few days before. And I have to say, it was BLOODY good! Everyone at the Stammtisch thought so too, when I brought it (and Lorna and Bénédicte) along even later that night.

October proper started on the following day, Tuesday 4th. "The fun's over", as they say in these parts when, ahem, the fun's over. Only it wasn't! Because I had dinner with Harry & Dieter that night. And the following night was the first (and less scandalous) of two nights of entertainment with work: we had almost all our freelancers from around Europe over for a "conference". Which of course started in the Pschorr beerhall on the end of the Schrannenhalle, just off the Viktualienmarkt.

The big big night was the following night though, which started in the Kleine Schmausefalle (where the food was delicious!) and then went on to the bar called Holy Home just off Gärtnerplatz. Ronald and I left there at about 3.30am, then ended up having some more beers that we bought at the kiosk on the Reichenbachbrücke, and ultimately we crashed at mine - at 6am! On a school night!! How naughty...

After minimal sleep, we headed in to work and I somehow actually managed to function. At least, until the end of the working day. Then I headed to Christoph's place and five of us drove to our choir rehearsal weekend in Blaubeuren. I was only half-alive during the journey - and barely more awake during the two-hour rehearsal that night, to be honest!

Saturday and Sunday were much more awake days. We did a WHOLE LOT of singing - but still managed to find time to visit the Blautopf, an exceptionally blue lake that leads into a vast underground complex of caves and rivers, and the monastery. It was bizarre to walk around in all these little cloisters and to be reminded so strongly of being a student at Oxford. I suppose I'd never realised quite how religious the architecture of my university is/was.

The weather in Blaubeuren was proper chilly! It felt like the official end of summer - but then again, we've been saying that with every (occasional) grey day, only to be stunned by how gorgeous it turns again. On Sunday evening I popped in on Michaela before heading over to Ivi & Rüdiger's to listen to some cool music. A mellow end to a crazy week.

The following week something very special happened: Harry won two tickets to see Kraftwerk live! When he asked me I nearly fell off my chair. I was so excited!! Not that I'd consider myself a huge Kraftwerk fan really, but the chance to see them live - their first concert on German soil in 12 years - really captured my imagination. And OMG the concert was AMAZING!!!!!!!

Their retro 3D visual show was mesmerising - as was the only partially disguised smirk of absolute joy that kept slipping across the face of the fourth band member, a newbie who replaces one of the original four sexagenarians (who were all of course standing there, totally cool). And the music was, well, Kraftwerk, baby! (Hah! iTunes has decided to play a Kraftwerk tune as I write these very words!)

On Friday I flew to London - as you do - and headed straight to the Royal College of Music, for a performance of Handel's Flavio with Hugh. It was crazy seeing an opera with not one but two countertenors, and the costumes were rich and enticing - especially the frock coats! Afterwards we headed back to Hugh's and drank a vintage sauternes, which was ably accompanied by Hugh's mince cheesecake.

On Saturday I had brunch with Hugh & Lee in a little place tucked away in an alley near his place in Old Street. Then Hugh & I spent the whole day just wandering around London. The weather couldn't have been better: blue skies, warm, not a cloud to be seen, but not hot. Marvellous. The views of St Paul's cathedral from atop the new shopping centre that stands where once was Steve & Jezza's offices were great.

After fortifying ourselves with bread & cheese (& ales & alcoholic ginger beer) back at Hugh's we headed across town to Hyde Park and then wandered slowly into Mayfair, to the Coach & Horses pub. This was the venue for our "OMG it's 20 years since we started at Oxford" gathering of a trusty band of Worcesterites: Foggy, Steve, Jezza, Hugh, Justin, H, Rupert, Nick & me. Still going strong, after all these years. Some are married, some are fathers, and all are still up for a huge meal and lots of booze. Friends!

After an evening of reminiscing, Hugh & I felt the urge to embrace the here & now a little, so we headed into Vauxhall for a boogie - ending up in a gay & lesbian R&B disco. Now THERE's something I never thought I'd live to see!! But I suppose if you're going to have an event like that anywhere, it'll be in London...

On Sunday I met up with Em for coffee and a gossip at the Tate Modern, before heading out to Justin & Sam's for a proper old Sunday roast, and then Justin kindly dropped me in Guildford at Chris & Kate's, where I met Sophie's lizard for the first time. Owing to shite organisation on my part, Chris very very kindly woke up at OMG o'clock to take me to Gatwick airport, whence I flew home to Munich and went straight to work. Ouch.

Yes, folks, we're only HALFWAY through the month! But don't worry, it gets less detailed from here on in. I had dinner at a yummy Italian near my office with Silke (she used to live round the corner from there), went to see Ivi DJing in Paradiso club with Stefan, went to a tiny Liszt concert in the Künstlerhaus (that used to be the Mövenpick restaurant) with Béné, went partying with Bernd, sang in an amazing choir concert (Beethoven's Missa Solemnis - we rocked it!), and had schnitzel with Mikey & Fritz.

The last week of the month went like this: badminton, Stammtisch in Haidhausen, gym, choir, dinner with Josef, a Männerrunde dinner in Sendling, helping Edith & Chris move house with Christian and lots of other lovely people, dinner at Béné's, drinks in town, and a day trip to Schliersee with Ivi, Rüdiger, Ivan and Tamaris - followed by my own bodyweight in delicious Bavarian fare at Liebhart's in Aying.

And the last day of the month - unexpectedly a day off, when Anton decided to close the office - I spent with Michaela & Russ, first watching Thor with the boys, and then having a few pints in the Forschungsbrauerei. Then I popped in at Bar Teatro, just to say hi to Ivana, before cycling across town to Schwabing to celebrate Anja's birthday in the Salon Irkutsk, with Erwin, Uli, Heidrun, and a whole bunch of other people. So many parties all in one day! Life's good.