A week to end all weeks - read on....

OMG - I am just so ANNOYED with this week - have I got any planning work done? Answer - extremely little.

The reasons for this are:

two conferences to attend (one in Bristol, the other in Swindon where I was doing a workshop for 80 people in total - see later)

The Monday morning 'incident'

This is the main reason for my frustration.

I was almost at the office on Monday morning, in the queue for the roundabout in Devizes, when some CRETINOUS girl drives into the back of me. Quite violently. And shunts me into the car in front (though I had my brakes on so no visible damage to this car).

The excuse: "I was late for work, looked up and saw your car": Rubbish. I now have a cracked rear bumper panel, dented boot, cracked rear number plate and dented bonnet. And for those of you with Swiftcover, I would strongly suggest you switch to someone else. It states on the website that someone will contact me within 4 working hours. Being at a conference all day in Swindon, and running two workshops, I did try and check my phone regularly - no messages. Then, driving back, they call me. When I get home, they have closed for the day. Humph. Finally, through communication via email, and a phone call this morning, my car is now going to be picked up sometime, and I have just collected the hire car.

And, at last, I have managed to report the incident to the police. The reasons for this are: I experienced a tiny amount of neck pain (I did see the Doctor, so no worries), which is reportable, and the CRETINOUS girl said she was driving someone else's car and "might not be insured" - all I need. But my insurers looked her up on the online database and got her details from there - though she flatly refused to give me any details about the car owner or the insurance company. So, I phoned up the police - go and make a statement - Salisbury Police station closes at 4pm. Devizes police station - after my conferences when there was no chance whatsoever to report it - closed on Fridays. So I have only just managed it. Phew.

So, besides from that palaver, yes, my workshops did go very well on Wednesday at the conference we organised about the NERC Biodiversity Duty (for those who don't know - look it up!). There was some moaning that there was not enough time for them to create their sustainable development in the time available, though most people seemed to have lots of fun, which is the main thing - my special thanks to Rachel from NE for letting me nick her idea!

Final point of GREAT interest - found out I'm a semi-finalist in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year (see Facebook and/or Flickr for more info) - though the winners have already been decided, I am well chuffed that at my first attempt with a proper camera I have got this far - who knows how far next year???!!!! Whoohoo!

So a spark of happiness in an otherwise stressful week!

"That's what comes of going away for three weeks"

Those were the words of my boss when I got back to work to a massive pile of applications! So, this week has been very quick and jam-packed with work (though I did go out and about in Swindon today, of which I have to thank said boss).

It was worth it though, as Italy was brilliant. We started off in Florence (2 hours queuing for the Uffizi art gallery - quite nice though nothing spectacular; beautiful buildings) then to Abruzzo National Park for lots of walking (lots of wildflowers including lizard orchids, and beautiful mountain views. We then spent four days in Rome (when Stephanie flew in - all went well thankfully), seeing all the sites, before we set off for Sorrento in the Bay of Naples. There we visited Capri (totally beautiful) and saw the relatives (really nice to meet them - we got on really well - excellent English Claudia!). We then went back around the bay to Herculaneum and Pompeii, which were just so amazing and complete - you really could imagine moving in! We went back via the mediaeval town of Castell'Arquato for a lovely meal amidst thousands of swifts before going back over the Alps via the Mont Blanc Tunnel and Chamonix.

Too many pics to sort through now, still trying to identify what we saw spp wise, but here are a few of my favourites!

Dependent on whatever order Blogger decides to show them, pics are of: various views from Capri, semi-wild wolf in Abruzzo, Abruzzo views + butterflies, Pompeii and Herculaneum; Spanish Steps, Circus Maximus and Pantheon in Rome; Ponte Vecchio views in Florence and Villa D'Este fountain in Tivoli, just outside Rome