Things are looking up – we now seem to have satisfactory paperwork so that any subsequent sale of Hels’s flat shouldn’t fall at the same hurdle that this last one did (although I’m convinced that the buyer simply changed his mind and used petty reasons as an excuse to weedle out of it). In addition, we’ve confirmed exchange on my flat for Monday with completion by the end of the week.
So we feel a little more positive today.
UPDATE: evidently the paperwork isn’t good enough. Bah. But we’re working on it, and feel confident we can get paperwork that will staisfy everyone by the middle of next week.

Aishwarya Rai unveils model of herself at Madame Tussauds.
Now, for how long exactly have I been saying that she would become huge??

Parallel.

My solicitor has just called. We have, in the last few minutes, exchanged contracts on my flat. I should be out by the end of the week, or next Monday at the latest. Hurrah!
And she continues to work hard on all the other issues relating to Hels’s sale and our new home too. Top marks to her.

This picture does not show me tied to some railings with clingfilm whilst being soaked with a watering can and garden hose. Oh no.

Thanks to everyone that came along for my stag night on Saturday. Particular thanks to Kristian at W2, and to Tim for putting the whole thing together. A very good time was had by all (I think – I can’t remember!).

I have a new headset for my phone. It comes with a manual that is 225 pages long (or thereabouts), of which only 16 are in English.
So what is cheaper? Putting a slim pamphlet in the box when you know which country it is going to (and, therefore, which language is appropriate), or printing a manual that contains 14 different languages?

Making Fiends Episode 12 – a little bit of politics.

If you plan to set up mail redirection because you are moving house, it pays to be aware that Royal Mail require five working days to set it up, which I guess is not unreasonable. So be sure to set it up more than five working days before you move, ok?

Looks like I’m "go" for moving out on Friday of this week, handing the keys to my estate agent by midday.
Number 188 has been home for almost exactly five-and-a-half years. Not only that, but it has also been the first home of my own. It’s seen a lot of stories unfold within its walls, and I’ll be sad to leave, though not as sad as I am to leave Chichester.
On the other hand, and much more happily, life is turning a new corner, and the future and its opportunities look fantastic.

In other property news, we’re still trying to sort out things with the sale of Hels’s flat. We’re also looking at re-negotiating the purchase price of the house we’re still attempting to buy, as we have received a valuation survey that prices it a little lower than the offer price.
Stress levels are still high.

Dave on conkers.
Hmm. Must call Dave when I get paid for the flat.

So, Michael Howard has made his first speech to Conference as party leader.
Let me make a few things clear. Firstly, I will never vote for a party that is opposed to the euro in the way that the Tories currently are. I have to vote for a government that is going to work in the best interests of me, my business and (soon) my family. For someone that runs a small business that trades across the whole of the EU, membership of the euro is an instrinsic part of that.
Secondly, my personal politics are of the centre, occasionally leaning out to the left on some issues, at other times leaning out to the right – but, on the whole, I’m a centrist. I’ve never approved of Labour’s hand-cash-to-anyone-that-asks-for-it tax-and-spend theories; nor have I liked the Tory don’t-tax-and-don’t-spend theories which seem sometimes to go too far the other way; and I feel a little uncomfortable with some of the micro-meddling that the LibDems propose (ban Chelsea tractors from the school run? too populist and not well conceived).
Thirdly, I firmly believe that this country needs effective government, but also effective opposition. In the past, that rôle has rotated back and forth between the Tories and the Labour party. Increasingly, it looks like the LibDems are going to become the main party of opposition – a fact that has not been helped by the Tories’ adoption of Howard’s Wrong Way.

As I see it, there are three things wrong with Howard’s Wrong Way:

• Firstly, the lurch to the right. When Michael Howard was made leader of the Conservative party, he promised to create an inclusive party of the centre. This, to my mind, was exactly what was needed in the Tory party if they were to stand a realistic chance of being elected. Instead, and in a mildly panicked reaction to the likes of UKIP, we’ve seen a sudden move to the right, particularly to unnecessarily strong and divisive euro-scepticism, not to mention a drift to the right in other policy areas (although it is hard to imagine how any home secretary could be further to the right than Blunkett). I think that this is an over-reaction, and creating "clear blue water" only puts you further from the majority of voters (most of whom, I believe, are centrists too) and gives you more sea in which to drown yourself.
• Secondly, the desperate desire to be trusted which is likely to come round and bite them on the backside. Howard says that he selects people for his shadow cabinet on the basis of their ability to do the job, and failure to achieve or toe the line will result in dismissal. This is very dangerous, in my view, and I would have expected Howard to know better, having served in John Major’s cabinet which was steadily picked apart by a combination of the human failings of its members and the rabid desire of the gutter press to have a poke at each mnister in turn. Sometimes, for reasons of unity or simply to reflect difficult conditions, it is the PM’s lot to keep within his cabinet people that have not reached targets that have been set. Blair has shown this by keeping Prescott on board for all this time – Prescott has not been a shining example in all the positions he has held since 1997, but Blair needs him in order to keep the Labour party more-or-less together and pulling in the same direction. The Tories are well known for certain divisions, just as much as Labour – it may well be the case that it is prudent for Howard to keep on board certain members who are (for example) europhile or eurosceptic in the future, even if their performance in cabinet is not all that it might be.
• Thirdly, the continuing policy of making a policy out of having no policies. Whilst the rationale for such a standpoint (wait and see what the economic climate brings, wait and see what the incumbents do between now and the next election) appears valid and sound, I think that the voters as a whole will wonder what exactly the Tories stand for, what they believe in and, more importantly, what exactly they will do once they get into office (if they do). Having their "timetable for change" doesn’t show any long term or even medium term ideas – in fact, it only just covers the first month. The electorate are not fools – we live in a consumer society, and we like to know what we’re getting for our money, or our vote.

The consequences of all this? Well, I don’t see the current government losing the next election – not because there is little wrong with them (don’t get me started on listing the things that are wrong with the current government!), but more because their traditional foes are not strong enough to win, veering as they are from being on the far right to being without policy. Meanwhile, the up-and-coming foe still does not have enough voter clout or governmental experience to carry it off. What we may see, though, is a much-reduced majority for the incumbent and a new party leading the opposition – both good things, as it will reduce the arrogant surety of the current leaders as well as providing some teeth-cutting experience for the current third party.

Where it will leave the Tories is another matter entirely. Bring on Boris?

Today I shall mostly be moving furniture and stuff.

There will be a webloggers’ end-of-year party. Fact. Webloggers can influence where and when it takes place by employing the FunJunkie editable page which can be found by clicking here. I intend to attend unless I’m moving house, getting married or doing some other reckless thing.

I finished packing and dumping the stuff at the parents’ house very late last night. It would have been later still without the huge help of Tim.
A few minutes ago, I went round to check my mail for the last time and then went to the estate agent and handed over the keys.

So, that’s it. I’m homeless.

Thankfully, a very nice lady in Tunbridge Wells has agreed to put me up.

Pete McCarthy, RIP. Always a fixture on local television in these parts for his take on arts and culture, as well as his gentle and self-effacing humour.
(Bad form by most of the media, by the way, who have not reported this sad news. Only the Telegraph has picked it up, although has not [yet] published a full obituary).

The man from NatWest, he say yes!
We now have finance in place to buy our new home, in spite of Hels’s sale falling through. We are one very relieved and very happy couple. Our solicitor is on the case with full speed.

Not long now.
The weekend was spent settling in. Not that it is really that strange to be here – I’ve lived here for half the time for a quite a while now, but now there is nowhere else to go back to.
On Saturday, we had the wedding rehearsal. I can’t say that either of us remember very much about it – where we are supposed to stand, when to sit down, when to kneel – but we did learn that we can’t expect much from either the chief bridesmaid or the best man – both are likely to dissolve into tears on the day. Great. What hope is there for us? At least we are confident that Reverend Sue will guide us through the whole thing with a sense of humour.
Yesterday, a little safer in the knowledge that it will be our home by the end of November, Hels and I went down to the village where we shall be moving to, went for a quick drink in the local and then for a short walk across the nearby fields. We sussed out a lovely circular walk that will be ideal for exercising the legs of visitors after a heavy meal, or building an appetite in advance of one. It’s a beautiful spot, with gently rolling hills, lots of woodland and the odd bovine spectator.

Mo returns to more traditional blogging style – a good thing I think. I’ve never been convinced by the idea of a separate list of links on this site and have never implemented one. I find the practice that some adopt of putting their "recent links" lists in tiny text particularly annoying and squint-inducing. But each to his/her own, I guess.

I find this disturbing. It should be within the power of law enforcement agencies to close down websites that support or promote violence (which is implied here in relation to anti-capitalism protests), but I feel that any such action should only take place after due process in a court of law, with the presumption of innocence until guilt is proven.
Either way, to target the hosting company seems pretty ineffectual – it is easy to find replacement hosting in a matter of minutes, and not too difficult to find hosting that is beyond the reach of the western authorities. I note that the sites concerned are largely online again already.

A good idea for a European business like mine. It’d save me being called by European colleagues when I’m still in the buff at 8am.

I’ve just made my flight booking for my next trip to the Netherlands – a (literally) flying visit to a trade show in Amsterdam. For the first time, I’ll be flying through the rather excessively named Kent International Airport – what was once RAF Manston – using the services of the very small but very cheap EU Jet. Which will be, um, fun. I like the way that the car park is only a fiver a day, is just 100 yards from the terminal and that there appear to be only four check-in desks.
Anyone else done this route? What were your experiences?

And, to top it off, I’ll be staying in a floating hotel – the Amstel Botel – geddit?

I’ve killed the spam. Having run Spam Guardian on the grayblog server for some time now, and having refined the settings based on the result of over 2500 messages passing through, I’ve now set it to "drop" all messages that it considers to be spam. Suddenly, my inbox is very quiet, but it should mean that I won’t have a gazillion junk mails waiting for me when I get back from the honeymoon.
So, if you send a mail and don’t receive a reply, you’ll know why. However, I think that is extremely unlikely unless you put lots and lots of links in the body, this being one of the criteria for assessing the spam-ness of a mail.

Keep checking the webloggers’ party page – it looks like a plan is coming together.

Well, the weather forecast is good for Saturday.
The last 24 hours has seen us working on exciting things like the place cards, orders of service and seating plan, as well as ensuring that the DJ plays the music we want to hear (no Robbie, no Queen, no Freddie – but Dancing Queen is ok. Plenty of Stones, Beatles, Van Morrison plus a bit of Madonna and Prince as well as a few newer tracks we like too). And I’ve put my foot down over the whole first dance idea – I don’t want everyone staring at me as I tread on Hels’s toes!

Yesterday was the first anniversary of the day that Hels and I met. On Saturday, directly after we are married, we are going to walk the 100 yards or so from the church to the spot where we first set eyes on each other, just outside Trevor Mottram’s Cook Shop (where we have our wedding list). To get to the church, I’ll walk past the café where we had our first coffee and biscotti together.
It’s been a strange year, at times stressful, mostly wonderfully happy, but undoubtedly the best year ever.

Can I confess to being a bit nervous?

Today is my last day officially working. Tomorrow will be spent running around with cases of wine and wedding cake, and Friday is supposed to be a day for relaxation before the mayhem of Saturday. So, I’m working to tie up a few loose ends and put PFE to bed until I get back from the honeymoon.

I’m finding concentration very difficult indeed.

Hair trimmed.
Suits collected.
Cake to collect.
Wine to deliver to reception venue.

Nerves? What nerves? (runs off and hides)

I am, officially, excited.

I’ll try and post a picture or two on Monday. Have a good weekend.

This the only photo in which I’m not grinning like an idiot.
More when we get home from the honeymoon.

And thank you for all your lovely messages.

…and absolutely adored every minute in Sicily. Even if a few places were a bit fishy.

There will be more photos from Sicily and from the wedding. It may take me a few days to sort out, as I have a load of work to catch up on, lots to sort out with the house move, the BBC News archive to catch up on, and I’m off to Amsterdam for a flying visit at the end of the week.