2008 - a summary

It feels as if there's been a fair amount of 'moving' this year. Since Arti returned to Cambridge from Birmingham, we've moved back in together after a brief spell occupying Jon's spare room. We now rent a modern two-bed flat on Cromwell Road, which makes it easier to accommodate guests. As property prices are expected to drop in 2009 we're toying with the idea of buying a place of our own.

I'm really pleased to have given skiing another go, twenty-four years since I went to Bardonnechia on a school trip. I enjoyed the New Year's Austria trip (with Fred, K, Sveta, David Larkin, Jon and Anthony) so much that I persuaded Michael and Fred to hit the Three-Valleys slopes in April. I hope to squeeze in two skiing trips in 2009, one of them maybe in Canada or the US. Other holidays this year have been Tenerife for one week, where I was thrice thrashed on the Golf Del Sur course, and to India for a fortnight, where I was taught a lesson on the Jaypee course by Arti's uncle, Sunil. I have commandeered a couple of Jon's clubs and will make a New Year's resolution to visit the range once a week. I relish a new challenge and as I've stopped playing competitive table tennis, and because I've never played enough five-a-side football to get any good at it, acquiring basic golfing skills beyond pitch-and-putt at Cambridge Lakes may provide me with a suitable sporting goal for the upcoming year.

At work I've consolidated my role as product manager, leaving my original remit as test manager well and truly behind, although in practice I still have my finger lodged in a multitude of pies, which suits me. Despite approaching the size of a 'meduim-sized' company (reinforced by our new shiny office space) , we're still working hard to preserve the small-company culture, and it still feels like an exciting and dynamic workplace where anyone can make a difference.

I'm pleased to report that my B&Q bathroom saga is now put to bed for good, with a small yet psychologically important victory for me in the small claims court, although I don't believe that the trivial compensation judgement was sufficient enough to deter them from carrying on with their practice of appalling customer service in future. I would hereby appeal to everyone I know to avoid using B&Q as much as possible! As I now live next door to Ridgeon's, I've found it fairly easy to boycott them. It's a shame, as prior to this unfortunate saga I'd been an extremely loyal customer. As you will have gathered by now, they have really wound me up the wrong way and caused me stress that has taken years off my life expectancy. I've noticed a handful of grey hairs that I'm sure weren't there this time last year. Over the last eighteen months, I've been to the Magistrates Youth Court once (regarding the Midsummer Common assault) and the County Court twice (B&Q small claims hearings). I hope that I've now filled my quota and I can get on with my life in peace!

But all in all, 2008 has been a year with many new experiences and positives to put under my belt. Bring on 2009!