To Boldly Go...

Greetings one and all (and you at the back there)!

Two apologies required: one, for the long gap in posting here in Bonkers. Normal service will resume from this date. Two, for the continuation of the Star Trek theme. Never fear, it won't last long. Just until the end of this entry.

Unfortunately, I've experienced the best of both worlds this summer. On the one hand, I've had some great fun! My birthday kicked things off nicely after the major wedding in June, and then a successful job opportunity lined my pockets with some spare cash (and made me some new friends). More recently, Dad's birthday surprises went off without a hitch: who said a fifty-year-old was incapable of lighting up and getting all excited, eh? I completed The Da Vinci Code with a little help from puzzle-brain Mum and am now looking forward to a triumphant return to Newcastle on the weekend of September 9th.

On the other hand, however... well, let's just say that the next picture sums things up nicely...

...a complete and utter nosedive into disaster, pain and injury for myself and others. First, I attempted to complete some heavy lifting at work on my own. The industrial sacks I was using, capable of carrying tons, ripped under the weight I shifted. My back was in agony, I could barely move. With Mum off work feeling rather unwell, we tried to cheer ourselves up by testing a new garden shredder. When it didn't work, Mum started to investigate with, unwisely, the power still on, and I promptly cut the end off Mum's left index finger (in short order: excuse the pun). Hospital folk are so nice... to attempt to feel better, I decided to take in some sea air, and so sat in a comfortable two-man canoe in Devon with Dad, Matt and the ever-hillarious Uncle Tony. Refusing Dad's so-weak-a-light-breeze-would-wash-it-off Factor 4 sunscreen, I recieved serious burns to my legs which, added to my back injury (which the sea air did sod all for), made sure I missed the end of my temporary work placement. Ankles swollen with fluid, skin still peeling away to expose red raw flesh and back still painful, I sit here, typing to you folks.

What a summer it's been. But now I'm feeling better, and Mum's got a week of holiday starting today! So perhaps there's some more stuff to add to the Good Stuff list before I leave. Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest is on the cards, as is tea and cakes with Jill, Adam and the girls tomorrow.

And on the electronic entertainment front, I'm very excited by the prospect of a new, previously hidden, Star Trek game for the PlayStation2, due out by Christmas! Called Star Trek: Encounters, it will feature all five eras of the television series' and allow players to take control of famous starships such as the Enterprise NX-01, Voyager and Kirk's classic original Enterprise and generally kill dead hoards of alien species that now occupy endangered lists. Oh, happy days!

Look at that... August 19th and I'm already excited about Christmas... anywho, I've got some PlayStation2 time to myself now, so I'm off the claim the tellybox! Live long and prosper, madcap Bonkers fans, and I shall endeavour to return very, very soon (for some political chat)!

Peace out, ladies and mentalmen!