It's a hard life
As of Monday I'm off on a technical training course for 2 weeks. Which involves being given a hire car to drive there and back(there incidently is a mansion house in a little one horse village between Reading and Basingstoke), staying in the mansion from sunday night to friday morning, being plied with free food (mmmnn big brekkies every day ) use of the "executive center's" pool, jacuzzi, sauna etc and there may be some drinking involved.
Unfortunately the course also involves being bored rigid with technical details etc of a new colour copier / printer for 10 days

Film Review (this review may contain spoilers)
The w/e before last I managed to see HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban and after looking forward to this film for ages I have to say I was a little disappointed. That's not to say it was a bad film, it's not, it's very good I just thought it wasn't as good an adaptation as the other two films. Gary Oldman is, without doubt, one of my favorite actors. it's a shame that until the fifth book, his role is quite small.
I much preferred the darker look, this is in keeping with the more serious nature of the story. The new look of Hogwarts and surroundings is ok, the location of Hagrids hut is more convincing, the special effects are much better and the acting is good.
The main criticisms I have are that some key plot points were left out (they may address this inThe Goblet of Fire), the opening scene, at the Dursley's, felt very rushed, Harry's disappointment at not being able to go to Hogsmeade wasn't really conveyed nor was the suspiciousness of Crookshanks the cat and there was no explanation of who Messrs Moony, wormtail, padfoot and Prongs were or the fact that they became animagus, deliberately, in support of their friend Moony/Lupin. Also the book has a very uplifting ending which was not in the film at all.
Having just finished reading the book again it is very easy for me to make comparisons that I may have been able to make otherwise.
Overall,  I liked Prisoner of Azkaban and I would recommend it to any who has seen the the two previous films although I would say if you have never read Harry Potter you should make this a priority. It's not just for kid's you know!

PartIII
On Saturday my Dad left a message on the answer phone;
"hello, just me, just phoning to give you an update on what's happening with us. Give us a ring when you get a mo'"
2 things struck me about this 1, I didn't know anything was happening with them and 2, the complete lack of "phoning to see how you are , how the boys are, how wifey's pregnancy is going".
I phoned on Sunday to be told that my step mother (the wheeled Behemoth)has been up the hospital with a grotesquely swollen foot which, I found out after an epic story, is a DVT. They spent 5 hours in Oldchurch A&E ,after being sent there by the community nurse for a scan, alternately being told that she didn't / did need a scan. When the staff decided she should have a scan they were told it was too late and they should come back tomorrow (last Thursday). After the scan they were told it definitely is a DVT and my stepmum would have to be on wharferin for the rest of her life.
During the visit for the scan they were told by the nurse that the 2 previous clots she had (1996 and 2003, due to being in a wheelchair) were classed as "life threatening" and "near fatal" as the 2nd one had started to move. Neither my dad or stepmum had been told this before.
Now given that they were sent to hospital by a nurse who knows the history and who also phoned the hospital to say they were coming and the hospital had the notes detailing the previous clots, I think it is disgraceful that the scan clinic turned them away first and told them to go to A&E and then the Triage nurse assessed her as "low risk" hence the 5 hours in A&E with a potentially fatal DVT!
Now that the wheeled one is on Wharferin she is a lot less likely to have another clot.
I'm ashamed to say that when dad said "near fatal" the first thought in my head was that dad's life would be so much easier without her. I don't mean that I wish her dead because I don't, I'm not that kind of person. I just feel sorry for the way my dad's life has gone, my mother died when I was 7 (although for many years I thought I was 5 when she died) then when I was 12 dad married the wheeled one (although she fully functional at the time) Big Bruv and I have never really liked her, it's not a "you can't replace our mother" kind of thing it's just because she's not very likeable.
Anyway I never really feel comfortable talking about my real mum ( I might post more on this another time)so I'm out of here.

PartII
As it's been a few weeks since I made the post below the impetus for continuing a summary of my family has gone. All I will say now is that they are the least caring grandparents I have ever known, they show very little interest in our kids, they don't always buy them things for birthdayts etc (when they do, we have to tell them something specific and where they can buy it and the price!) but if you listen to them talking you'd think they are the best!. The immense generosity of my in-laws just serves to highlight the failings of my own family.
You can choose your friends but you can't choose your family.