Gainesville was fun. Sophie won girls 11-and-under, Steve came in fifth again - but his category is always huge, and this time he beat two kids who've always beaten him in the past so he's very pleased - and Ems came in second, much to her dismay : pipped to the post by a long-legged brunette. I would like to get to know this girl's family; she seems like a nice kid, and, judging by the anti-war stickers on the back of their car, their politics are like ours. Hopefully we'll see them in two weeks' time at the next competition in Jacksonville.

Church this morning felt a bit flat, somehow. Time dragged during the sermon and I would have been checking my watch if I had one. Very different from my normal Sunday experience. I think my disconnected feeling stems from our impending move. Even though we've told only a few people that we plan to leave this summer, in our hearts, we're already starting to move away. It's hard to be whole-hearted when you know your future lies somewhere else. I am going to try to avoid drifting away, though. We still have probably three more months here and I want to make the most of them. Sadly, there aren't any UU churches in England; the closest they get is Unitarian. Which is not the same at all. We have made so many wonderful friends through our church here ... I hope we'll manage to stay in touch with them. I haven't been terribly successful at staying in touch with South African friends. I've kept some, but, four years on, many people have drifted out of touch; even out of Christmas card touch. It's sad.

Lots to do this week. Several homeschool field trips, an appointment with the endocrinologist, horseback riding with the Brownies, and moving chores. I need to get quotes from removal companies, and I need to help Bobby with a few job applications. We are currently considering living in Bristol, so I also need to do some research about house prices and school quality there.

Time to go to bed I think. Have to be up early tomorrow as Bobby needs to leave the house at 6.30 to be at the ridiculously named town of Howey-in-the-Hills by 7.45. He is not happy as, not only will he have to get up early, he will also have to wear a jacket and tie. He managed to change the dress code at his current work by sheer stubborn intransigence. Used to be, the guy who owns the company wanted them to wear a collar and tie at all times. After a little while, Bobs introduced "casual Fridays" for his team. They started off gently, just a leaving the tie off sort of thing. Gradually, things got more and more relaxed, till jeans and t-shirts were fine on Fridays. And, eventually, fine on all other days, too. Bobby hasn't worn a tie in several years now, unless meeting new clients. Funny to think that even Em and Steve used to have to wear ties as part of their Penzance school uniform. They seem such incredibly archaic items of clothing - utterly useless, and uncomfortable too.