Well blow it, damn and blast, I carefully take my notebook computer that I have not had long, on the train to London, so I can work and get the lecture ready for the Hawk and Owl Trust meeting tomorrow evening. I find a seat with a table and plug it into the socket on the train and work away. I am doing well, all is coming along nicely, I am trying to merge three PowerPoint programmes, then with about five seconds warning the computer tells me the battery life is critical and then immediately hibernates! The flaming socket on the train is not producing any power - well just great!

The meeting went fine, it was very interesting and I met some kindred spirits and learnt a great deal, I hope it will lead to other things. I left before the afternoon session as my part was over and so this time I find a socket on the train that is working. My computer comes alive again and asks me if I want to save my work, not surprisingly I say yes, but the computer says, well actually you can't, I am going to lose it!! And promptly does so. So nothing daunted I start again, its a lovely afternoon, and what the hell, and guess what it loses it for the second time, well hoobloodyray! So I gave up and read a book instead.

It was a misty (doesn't that word misty evoke such pictures, trees looming up through the mist, autumn smells, dusk coming early, consummate autumn everything slightly out of focus, fire lit in the office!) when I got home, the owl day had gone well and all the birds had behaved beautifully, Adam had a good time at Neil Forbes course and had been to the Hawk Conservancy as well. The two injured wild birds that he took with him for check ups are doing fine and the peregrine can now be registered, trained, flown, hunted and released. The Hobby will have to winter with us and we will see how he does in the spring. Simon's visa is through, the torches are here for the Owl evenings, all in all everyone seemed happy and the dogs were very pleased to see me.

All I have to do now is the third attempt at the lecture for tomorrow and the day will be done!