Have we ever been busy at work this week.

The government scheme we are working on about compensation to former miners and their families is scheduled to close the end of March. Therefore, all claims need to be lodged with the government by midnight, March 31. We have been working overtime to get all those who have NOT lodged their claim to do so. We have been coming in early and staying late and will continue to do so. Also, we continue to get calls, and we send out the initial questionnaires. The people are a bit lax about returning them; so we have to follow up with letters and calls to let them know that they need to get the forms back, if they want to have a chance of collecting. This scheme costs them nothing but some time to fill out things, as the government pays the solicitors a flat rate. Anyway, it was a very busy week, and will continue to be this way. We are going to start coming in on Sundays and there will be flex hours set up so that more calls can be handled during off-office times. Hopefully we will be able to get the people to realize that they have to fill in the questionnaires if they hope to have any chance of having a claim!

The week was also strange weatherwise. It was warm, then rainy, then warm again, then sunshiny with cold temperatures! In fact, Mike Shaw and I were returning from lunch one day, and I mentioned that it was so bright, and in the afternoons of late you could see the pink lines around the clouds, and that several people had said that was a sign spring was just around the corner. He said, yeah, probably so, but that we would probably have another snow before that happened. Guess what? Today it snowed! I'd gotten up, had breakfast, and I was dressing, when I happened to look out the window! Snow was coming down in sheets! I could hardly see down the River Foss, the wind was really blowing, etc. Just a few minutes before the sun had been shining! Anyway, I thought, I'm not going out in this! So, I sat down to read some more of the paper. In about 10 minutes, it was not snowing, and the sun was back out. I put on my jacket and looked out......snow again! Well, that didn't last long, and I finally got out and about, and did some shopping, then to the movies. I saw Dogville, which was quite interesting! It is quite stylized, as if filmed directly from the stage, but good! Anyway, when I came out, it was snowing again! And people say Texas weather is weird!!

On Friday after work I went to Peter and Gareth's for dinner. They were having a couple of ladies from the village over. Peter said that one was from Glasgow, and the other from Texas. He thought it would be nice for her (the Texan) to meet me, as he felt we'd have lots to talk about, and give her a connection to her home. Well, he was wrong on both counts! The Scots lady is from Edinburgh, and the American is from California! She's from Southern California; so at least we could talk about that, and she was happy to know there is another American close at hand! She does have Texas roots, as her grandparents lived in the Austin area, but we really gave Peter a hard time about his geography!! We had a good time, and it was nice to meet them. They left, then we went to bed, as Peter and Gareth were off to Sitges (just outside Barcelona) for Carnival the next day! I told them I thought they were mad to have people over for dinner the night before they were leaving on a trip! They just laughed and said, "...but we don't have to be there until about 10AM!!" So we were up at 7, Peter made breakfast, and they took me to the train station in Thirsk. This was the home of the author/veterinarian Dr. James Heriot, author of All Creatures Great and Small, and there is a museum there about him. There is also a great Saturday market, but this Saturday was NOT the day to go, what with them having to be in Manchester to catch their flight to Barcelona! I caught the train back into town, and then taxied home. It's about a 20 minute train ride to York. I got home and then walked into town, as the Continental Festival was taking place on Parliament Street. There were booths and tents set up with foods and items for sale from all over the continent. As the sign said, "Bringing the Continent to York". I got some French and Dutch cheese, Belgian waffles, French paté, Danish butter, Czech mushrooms, etc. So it was a fun day!

When I finish here, I am going to the kitchen to fix dinner, then watch some telly and then to bed. I plan to be in the office by 7:30am, and therefore I need my sleep! Ain't as young as I used to be! Take care, all of you, and I hope you have a great week!

Love,