London Irish 24, Bristol Rugby 22

Spent the weekend at the Chateau Ingham to meet up with the usual suspects a last time prior to departure. Cath and Dave cooked us all dinner on the Friday. Saturday morning, Sarah and Cath went for a hack in the country side on two of Cath's many horses, whilst Chris and I hit the pavement, with Nana setting the pace on her bike. We did 11k, on lovely country roads. Well, I did 11k. Chris did a lot more, running back and forth waiting for me to catch up. Now, I know it's foolish, but I've decided to do the race on Sunday after all. I haven't got the mileage, but the 11k run felt fine, in my own slow pace. I sure won't beat any records, but it'll be a grand day out, and I like pain.

Cath had got us all tickets for the London Irish game that afternoon who just happened to play Bristol. Cath's dad used to play for Irish, so the family are ardent supporters. I broght my Bristol shirt, of course. The post-run/ride breakfast had started with Bucks Fizzes - so much bubbly left over from the wedding - and once at the stadium the Guinness was flowing freely. The game itself was a limp affair, with Irish owning most of the play. Rugby games are so different from football on the terraces - fans mixing freely and good-naturedly, zero police presence. Afterwards, I learnt, Irish puts up a free concert which was very amusing, especially the (not so) gentle ribbing of the England rugby establishment's adopted anthem 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot', giving precise instructions were the English ought to put their Chariot.

The evening finished with a curry in the hamlet of Twyford and later me and Sarah gave the others a lesson in Trivial Pursuit. We'll see Chris and Nana next weekend, but this was the last time for nearly six months we'll see Cath and Dave. They will come out to ski with us in February, hopefully. Chris is having a second interview today, so hopefully things will go well for him there such that they can come skiing with us, too. Otherwise, Chris can always come anyway as Nana's got a well-paid job :)

And so I've reached my last Monday at work. It's a bit weird, having been here for five years nearly to the day. One day I'd like to tell the story of this place. It's been good here in many ways, and I've met, and learnt from a wide range of talented people. It's a shame the company isn't the success it should have been.

A week and a day until we're on that plane to San Francisco, bust elbow and all.