We got up quite early to head across to Chill Factor^e in Manchester to go to Snow & Rock to pick up our skis. As we were there it would have been a wasted opportunity not to have a ski, but we decided to do that before going to get our skis.

It took us less than an hour to get there and we were on the slope for 10:15am. We'd heard it was bigger than Xscape at Castleford, but it didn't seem it. Anyway we had a good few runs down, plus practising some braquage - glad to see we could both still do it! At least it wasn't as busy as it gets at Xscape.

Once we'd finished skiing we headed to Snow & Rock to get our skis. They needed to fit the bindings on mine and adjust them which they reckoned would be around half an hour. So we went and had a coffee. Nikki needed the insole of her boot looking at as well, which they did and got it sorted, plus there wasn't an issue with them refunding us for the bindings we'd been overcharged for at the show. In fact overall our experience with Snow & Rock has been a good one all round.

We came back home and unpacked the car and then caught the bus into Leeds - it was Halloween and we like to go out to avoid being pestered by hourdes of 'trick or treaters' knocking on the door.

After wandering around a few shops until closing time we went for a drink in All Bar One and then had some tea at Pizza Express before catching the bus home again.

Yet more web development reading up today, in fact I spent all day perusing t'internet looking at various techniques and learning about semantics and how to write websites based on them.

I popped round to Kevin's while Nikki went off to do the shopping, but it would appear the bluetooth device in his van isn't working correctly or even at all - it couldn't detect any devices close to it, nor could they detect it.

We watched a few bits on the box after tea and not a lot else.

More web development investigations - namely looking into jQueryUI. I also had a meeting with a colleague about web development standards, jQuery and the like. In the course of my investigations I came across this site, which has some very useful articles.

In the evening Nikki did her usual keep fit and I went to the gym. Once we'd got home and had tea I sent an email to the rest of "Team Saas Fee" about accommodation options for Verbier next April.

Again I continued looking at Deco Grids and putting together some example pages using the various versions - that's 9, 12 and 16 columns.

I also had a look at some jQuery bits and bobs - namely jQuery Tools which provides some useful and standardised user interface functions.

Nikki had a call from Snow and Rock in Manchester to say that our skis had arrived - so it looks like we'll be going across there on Saturday morning.

I had a call from Kevin, he'd got his van back after a rather expensive engine repair job and was having trouble getting his new phone working with the bluetooth hands-free kit. I said I'd pop down on Friday to have a look, but doing some investigation it looks as though the hands-free device needs its firmware upgrading.

We both went to the gym in the early evening before having tea and watching some bits on the box.

I continued looking into some more Plone stuff today, familiarising myself with what's going to be coming up in the forthcoming Plone 4 release (due out early next year). Enhancements include a better editor in TinyMCE - which has much more functionality than the current editor, Kupu. Also the new version won't use tables for laying out pages (hurrah - about time too!), instead it will use Deco Grids - a term I hadn't come across before, so I did some investigation and it seems to be a good way to standardise layout on a web page. Something I think I'll adopt for future projects.

At lunchtime I popped up to my sister Jacqueline's to drop off Ben's birthday card. Ben (15 today) was actually home - and he was pleased to see his "Uncle T" and even more pleased about the money in his card!

Nikki did some studying in the evening, I did some image editing and watched a few bits on the box - including "7 Days on the Breadline" which was yet another celebrity programme - but it's based in Leeds and even more interestingly in Harehills, so most of the places they went were very familiar - including Compton Road Post Office!

It's half term this week, which meant the traffic was a little lighter than usual.

I continued doing some Plone stuff - looking into how to get the spell-checker working in the editor and then documenting it - so I don't forget if I need to do it again later!

It's my nephew Ben's birthday tomorrow, so I popped out to get him a card. I was going to post it, but thought better of it - what with the recent postal strikes and all. So I'll bob round with it tomorrow lunchtime. I also had a look for chalets in Verbier - but couldn't som eup with much, I think the ones I could find were the same ones Nikki had found yesterday.

Gym and keep fit in the evening, plus a couple of bits on the box, plus more chalet hunting.

As the clocks went back last night we had an extra hour in bed. We got up at 9:30am to go to the gym.

Again the weather was fairly poor, so I spent the afternoon photographing yet more items to go onto eBay, it took me long enough to set up, but by the time I'd finished I'd taken around 70 photographs (of around 10 items!).

Nikki continued the search for Verbier accommodation and flights, although didn't appear to be having much luck finding anything reasonably priced!

It was also the men's Giant Slalom from Sölden, we watched the first leg earlier on and then watched the second leg in the evening - along with the film School of Rock that we'd recorded from last night. Which was actually quite funny and enjoyable!

I also started editing the photographs I'd taken this afternoon - I must have done about half of them by the end of the evening.

We had to be up quite early as a man from Coral was coming to replace the glass in one of our front windows. He was due any time between 9am and 1pm.

As it was he arrived around 10am, it didn't seem to be much of a job, he'd finished within half an hour - all done. The weather was pretty poor - wet and windy, certainly not a day for doing anything outside! Nikki did nip into Pudsey for a few bits and then we put the car away!

The ski racing season started today and it was the women's Giant Slalom form Sölden in Austria, we watched the first leg and recorded the second leg.

I spent the afternoon doing some eBay listings and putting songs into iTunes - the only thing was the song details weren't in Gracenotes so I had to enter them all - given it was a 4 CD box set with songs by various artists - it took quite some time!

After last night's discovery that we'd been overcharged I spoke to Snow and Rock, who were very understanding. They said when we go to pick up our skis they should be able to refund us in store. Failing that to ring them back, but not to worry as we would be refunded.

Nikki did a bit of tidying up and then started looking at options for Verbier in April.

Then in the evening we watched the second leg of the women's ski racing along with a couple of other things.

We were both a bit tired this morning - but at least we've only got one day of work to get through before it's the weekend.

I had a one to one with the company that are coming in to do the Java reskilling - basically to find out what level I'm at and to give details of how the reskilling will happen, along with the workshops on offer.

We caught up on some things on the box in the evening - along with having a look at the purchases we'd made at the show yesterday. During which I found we'd been overcharged by £140.00 for a pair of bindings we hadn't bought! I wasn't best pleased - that effectively wiped out the Ski Club of Great Britain discount. Looks like I'll be speaking to them tomorrow.

We had to get up a bit earlier than usual today as we were going to London. Nothing to do with work you understand - we were off to the Ski & Snowboard Show at Kensington Olympia. We were catching the 8:05am train from Leeds and caught the bus at about 7:10am. That gave us time to get some sandwiches and the like from Boots.

Not a very eventful journey down, although I'm glad we weren't going to Stevenage - the train was due to stop there, but for some reason the driver failed to do so!

Also it was results day at work and I got a text while we were on the train to say we would actually be getting some bonus this year - which was good news!

We arrived at King's Cross on time. We'd arranged to meet up with Sandra and Rachel from our Sass Fee group outside Olympia, but Sandra saw us at Earls Court station while we were waiting for the tube to Olympia. No sign of Rachel on the platform though, I gave her a bell when we got to Olympia to find out whereabouts she was and she said she'd been waiting at Earls Court for ages with no signs of any trains! She did arrive on the next train and it transpired she'd been waiting on the wrong platform!

The show was supposed to open at 11am, although it was nearer 11:30 when we got inside. One of the first stands we came across was Profeet, where I'd bought my ski boots from earlier this year. I had a chat with the chap there to let him know that I wasn't particularly happy with the service I'd received. He took my details and said somebody would be in touch, we'll wait and see. Thankfully the boots do at least fit very nicely.

From there we went to the Warren Smith Academy stand to catch up with the lads - they were all there (except Warren who was late!) and were surprised to see us! Tom took Nikki and myself across to the Snow and Rock stand as Nikki needed to get some new boots. We were joined after a little while by Sandra and Rachel, but we must have been there for about two hours in all! During which time we had a coffee and Sandra bought a ski helmet!

Afterwards we had a wander around it was huge and there were loads of stalls! Along the way we joined the Ski Club of Great Britain - it would have been daft not to because of the discounts we;d get, if nothing else.

Later on we had a chat with another chap at Snow and Rock about skis. Tom had had a chat to him earlier and he recommended some Völkl Attiva Fuegos for and some Salomon X-Wing Tornado Tis for me. After much deliberation we decided to go for it and buy them. They gave us a bit of discount on some poles and other bits, plus we got discount for being members of the Ski Club of Great Britain! They agreed to have the skis shipped up to their store in Manchester so we could pick them up from there.

We had some lunch and a bit more of a wander round. I managed to find some salopettes to go with the jacket I'd bought in Saas Fee. Sandra and Rachel left around 6pm. It was really great to see them and we have talked about perhaps doing one of Warren's courses in Vverbier in April - some investigation to do there!

Nikki and I had a look on some resort stalls - while we were looking on the Utah stand the chap there got talking to us. He was a Yorkshireman that hailed from Bradford and had worked in Pudsey. We ended up talking to him more about Austria than anything else as he frequented Kitzbühel and was familiar with the whole area.

It was around 7:15pm when we left, getting back to Kings Cross just before 8pm. The train was at 8:33pm and it was back into Leeds for just after 11pm. We had a little bit of a wait for a bus, but not long - about 10 minutes.

By the time we'd had a cuppa it was well after midnight!

Overall a cracking day out - plenty of money spent - thank goodness for the bonus!

I had a few Plone bits to look at today, which kept me fairly busy, although the day seemed to drag a bit!

We went to the gym in the evening, I spoke to my mum on the phone and we watched a couple of things on television.

I didn't feel too bad this morning but Nikki drove just to be on the safe side!

Weatherwise it was a bit wet later on - in fact it's probably the first proper rain we've seen in ages -which makes a nice change!

I caught up on a few admin bits and bobs today, not sure yet what I'm going to be working on next.

Nikki did some more studying after tea, I was going to do some eBay listing but as she was using the computer upstairs I wasn't able to do so, instead I resized and uploaded some photographs.

A bit after on we caught up on some things we'd recorded on the box.

It was the final project showcase today which went pretty well, with some feedback and comment from those in attendance. The afternoon was taken up with the retrospective, which wasn't just for this iteration, but the whole project. There were a good number of lessons learned that can be taken forward to the next project.

We had an evening out to celebrate the end of the project. We started in the Victoria Hotel (behind the Town Hall) and then went to the hai Cottage for something to eat. The food was quite nice, but the place itself was rather basic. Afterwards we went for a few more drinks in the Slug & Lettuce. Nikki picked me up just after 11.

As it was a fairly late night last night we had a bit of a lie-in and so didn't go to the gym.

I started photographing some things for eBay and Nikki sorted out some of her ski wear. As always it took a while to get the flash gear set up, but I managed to photograph the stuff I'd planned to do. The ski wear will have to wait until I've got a bit more time.

We caught up on a bit more television, including a couple more episodes of 24.

We got up relatively early today, Nikki wanted to go over the Junction 32 at Castleford to ask about some skis at Ellis Brigham. The lad we spoke to was very helpful and gave us some pretty good advice. She also managed to get a couple of pairs of trainers from the Reebok shop.

From there we went to the White Rose Centre as Nikki wanted to get some new clothes for work. We had a look round, but it was a pretty fruitless exercise as she didn't find anything.

In the evening we went across to Holmfirth for a night out with our friend Jonny. We went to the usual Thai place we normally go, the food was nice as it normally is. We had a few drinks afterwards and then went back to Jonny's to meet his new cat Floyd.

We had a couple of parcels to pick up from the Post Office - the protective shorts and shirt I'd ordered lasr week.

It was quite a busy day today, we were putting the final touches to the application - ironing out some minor bugs and the like. The project is effectively finished now - only the showcase and retrospective on Monday.

When we got home I tried on the shirt and shorts - the shorts are fine, but the shirt isn't going to be suitable. It's actually a goalkeeper's protective shirt and doesn't offer the comfort and movement to make it suitable for skiing.

After Nikki got back from shopping and we'd had tea we went down to Farsley Celtic to meet up with Stuart (Nikki's brother) as it was his birthday. We had a couple of drinks with him and also bumped into Trudi and Ian, a couple of our old friends that we hadn't seen for ages. We hadn't intended to be out for long, but it was nearly closing time when we left!

As we're coming to the end of the project, it was a day of fixing defects as we've managed to get all the development work done.

A few weeks back I enquired about coming off out of hours support, essentially because the rota I'm on is not related to anything I do on a day to day basis. I found out today that my request has been granted - making me a very happy chappy!

We did the usual gym and keep fit. Last night I thought about doing some different cardiovascular exercise - other than just cycling. I think a bit of variation is in order, perhaps rowing, running and the cross-trainer (obviously not at the same time!). So tonight I gave the cross-trainer a go. It wasn't too bad - although I only managed 15 minutes (as opposed to the 20 minutes cycling I normally do) but it's a start at least!

I spoke to my mum on the phone when we got home, then after tea we watched a few bits on the box.

Not long after getting to work, Nikki gave me a call to say she'd left her glasses at home. That meant I had to drop the car down to her so she could come back home to get them, and then pick it back up when she got back.

Again the weather was really very mild for October - unlike in Austria where it's snowing like mad!

In the evening we both went to the gym and then after we'd got back and had tea I sorted out some finances and a few other bits.

It's quite amazing how decent the weather has been recently! We've barely seen any rain - it's great (but is obvioulsy bound to change now that I've said that!).

I had a fairly productive day, managing to get quite a bit done, which is a good job as the project is supposed to finish this week!

At lunchtime I popped out in the sunshine to get some petrol.

In the evening I got all the components of the helmet camera that I bought last year. I'm going to put it on eBay as it's too much of a faff to use! The number of wires makes it rather cumbersome to use and the fact that the recorder doesn't have a remote is a bit of a pain. Once it sells I think I'll put the cash towards a proper camcorder which will hopefully be a better option. I also composed most of the eBay listing, just the photographs to do now!

For some reason the traffic appeared a little heavier than it has been of late, which meant we got to work about 10 minutes later than usual.

Again just another run of the mill day at work so nothing to report on that score.

In the evening I caught up on some emails before we did the usual gym and keep fit. After we got back we dug out some old photographs to send to a few people.

Unlike last Sunday morning we did get up and go to the gym this morning!

I put some CDs into iTunes and sorted out some of last year's ski wear to go onto eBay, while Nikki did a bit of cleaning up downstairs. Next weekend I'll try to get some photographs done, plus Nikki needs to sort some of her stuff out too.

We changed the bed with a bit of hindrance from Indie! Nikki did some ironing and I made some fruit salad and caught up on some more 24 and a few other bits.

For the second Saturday in a row we had to get up early. his time it was becaues my car had to go in for servicing, plus Nikki had an appointment at the hairdressers. We dropped my car off at 8:30am prompt and then Nikki dropped me back off at home before going on the hairdressers. The garage had called before Nikki got back, so we were sttaight back out again! There were no problems to report which is good news!

When we got back I fitted the new wiper blades on Nikki's car. Then we nipped into Leeds as I had to pick up a pair of trousers that had been shortened at Slaters. Nikki needed some new trainers for the gym, but it was a bit of a dead loss on that score. We managed to get some more Le Crueset bits in TK Maxx and I got yet another pair of salopettes.

In the evening we managed to catch up on a couple more episodes of 24 along with watching a few other bits.

Another day goes by without much to report.

Nikki did the shopping in the early evening, I sorted out a bit of music to put onto CD to send to Rich, one of our Saas Fee ski group.

We caught up on a number of episodes of 24 after tea and I ordered a pair of impact shorts to go wiht the top that I ordered last night. Again they weren't expensive so we'll see what they're like.

Another early Thursday morning to enable Nikki to get to her morning meeting. Again the weather was fairly decent given that it's October at least!

T'was the usual gym and keep fit in the evening followed by watching some things on the box.

For a while now I've been looking for some protective clothing for our next skiing trip (to save the old arms and elbows) and tonight I ordered a McDavid shirt (aimed really at goalkeepers), so we'll see what it's like - it wasn't expensive, unlike some of the stuff I've seen!

The weather was much better today - in fact it was quite pleasant.

Nothing much to report, we managed to finish work a little bit earlier and the traffic was failry light coming home, which meant we were able to get tot he gym a wee bit earlier than usual.

I spoke to my mum and my mate Andy on the phone when we got back, then after tea we watched a few bits on the box.

It was a rather wet day today - there were a number of pretty heavy downpours, at least it put the new windscreen wipers to the test!

They are doing some work on the toilets at work and that started in earnest today - as a replacement we've got a lovely portakabin, which caused quite a bit of amusement and bemusement!

We should have given blood today, but we didn't make an appointment and the traffic was quite heavy coming home so it would have been a bit late by the time we'd got done. We needed to have tea and I was going round to Kevin's to return his tools that he'd left here on Friday and to set up an email account for his business accountant.

Nikki did a bit of studying while I was out and then we watched a bit on the box a bit later.

We were expecting a chap from Coral Windows to come this morning to take a look at our front window as it gets condensation inside. He was supposed to be coming between 9am and 10am. Nikki went to work on the bus while I waited for him to arrive.

While waiting I put some new wiper blades on my car - which turned out to be a little less straightforward as I imagined it would - it must have taken me a good quarter of an hour to work out how they went on! Thank goodness for the instructions on the box!

The chap from Coral hadn't arrived by 10:15am so I rang up to find out where he was. As I was on the phone he turned up! Anyway it took him all of 2 minutes to look at the window, determine that it needed replacing and measure it up. He said they'd be in touch.

I got to work around 10:45am. It was the end of the iteration which meant showcases and retrospective (which didn't last all that long), followed by the estimating session - leaving tomorrow free to crack on as this is the last iteration and we've got a heck of a lot to do.

In the evening I went to the gym and Nikki to keep fit and we watched a couple of bits on the box.

We should have got up and gone to the gym, but we were both feeling the after effects of the excesses of last night! Consequently we had a lie-in and didn't do a great deal all day.

One thing we did manage to do was to get through a few more hours of 24.

We had to be up quite early as Nikki's car was booked in for its service. We dropped it off just after 8:30am, then came back and went into Pudsey to pick up yet more parcels - this time some book that Nikki had ordered.

Not long after we'd got home the garage called to say Nikki's car was ready to pick up. Before we went to pick it up we popped down to Aldi in Bradford to get some Oktoberfest beer (they started selling it this week). They had two types - Löwenbräu and Spaten. Although they didn't have much. We called in to get Nikki's car. There are a couple of minor things that need to be done on it which will need doing at some point in the future.

We came back home and then went to Aldi at Beeston to get some more Oktoberfest beer - this time three boxes! Well we thought we'd be as well to get some stock in for Christmas. After that we popped into Leeds to go to the bank.

My old cycling buddy Jon was having a barbecue to christen his newly landscaped garden, so we got a taxi down there about 5pm.

It was a good evening and there were plenty of people there.

Not a particularly exciting day at work - but then again they never are these days!

When we got home, I gave Kevin a call and he came round to take a look at our dripping shower, that miraculously seems to have stopped dripping! Anyway he came to have a look, but couldn't find any logical reason as to why it might be dripping. At least I now know how to dismantle it if necessary.

Later on I picked my old Air Force buddy Steve up from Pudsey station and we went out for a few drinks. It was 25 years this September since he and I joined up together! We just went to The Marsh and The Fox & Grapes, not a heavy session by any means.

What can I say, other than us going to work a bit earlier so that Nikki could get to her early morning meeting there is little to report. It was pretty much a replication of yesterday, going to work, coming home. going to the gym (Nikki's keep fit class was cancelled due to the instructor ringing in sick).

We didn't get chance to watch an episode of 24, opting instead to catch up on a couple of other bits.

I'd had an email from David, another of the 'Team Saas Fee' ski group. He said he'd be keen to do a course again - possibly next summer which is good news as we were thinking the same. All we need now is a few other members!