Well, that's got to be some kind of record. 4 months and no posts in here. Oh well, so much for good intentions.

So, I better start with some updates.

Firstly, Sarah and I bought the house. We completed on 18th August, so we've now been living together for about 3 months. Living together is great. It's the daily commute to York that is killing me. I leave the house at 6.20am to catch the 6.40am train to York from Cottingham station. I catch the 5.27pm train home and generally get home around 7pm. Roll on the weekend.

The house has been OK, although we've not had a cooker since we moved in. We've now got a new cooker from Stoves, but we need to get some remedial work done on the gas pipe before the cooker can be fitted. Since we've got friends coming for Christmas dinner in about 3 weeks, the clock is definitely ticking!

I've also been having an on-going problem with Sky. We got Sky+ and Sky Multiroom fitted when we moved in but the Multiroom box has never worked. More on that another time.

I've taken over as the Musical Director of the Cottingham Band. I'm enjoying standing in-front of a band again. It's far more rewarding than playing has been for a while and I'm looking forward to hopefully taking the band to the North of England Area Finals in March next year.

I've also left the East Yorkshire Motor Services Band. I haven't enjoyed playing for a while and I think having a bit of time out is going to be in my best interests. I'm not sure what my next playing move will be (there have been a few offers), but I would hope to be contesting again as a player next year. I'd like to wish the band all the best for it's assault on the Areas and the Senior Cup next year.

I'm over the moon that United are top of the league. Their league form this year has been fantastic in the main, and I'm sure that they can build on the good start they've made. It's a pity that this form hasn't carried over into Europe, or the League Cup. I can't describe my anger at them being knocked out by Southend. No disrespect to Southend, but they shouldn't be beating a side that features players like Heinze, Ronaldo and Rooney and there were several players who must now be surely playing for their futures at Old Trafford. On a positive note though, I do hope Freddy Adu comes over to the Theatre of Dreams. He's one hell of a prospect and I'm sure he will only improve the team.

I'd like to pay tribute to the 20 years that Sir Alex Ferguson has been at United. That's a long period of time in any job, and especially one which is as high profile and as stressful as the manager's role at United. He has re-built the club from nothing to one which has consistently challenged across the board for the last 15 years. It would be truely fitting that United win a trophy in this historic season.