I am only one week away from my micro-sabbatical! For a whole year, I have been battling to persuade my employer and our client to grant me six weeks leave over the school summer holidays. Why? Well, I have been on the battle-front at work for twenty years now and with the prospect of another twenty years of serfdom still required to stave off penury in my old age, I felt it time to draw the line and take a real break.

Six months would have been nice, but financially not possible, so six weeks while the children are off school sounds like a great idea, especially as my wife is working now. I can't begin to describe the hand-wringing and angst that my plans were met with both at work and at home! The fear and suspicion I was confronted with could hardly have been greater if I had suggested we try to teach children to juggle kitchen knives and hand-grenades.

Anyway, whether by fair or by foul means, I have managed to line everyone up. All that I need now is to sort out the loose ends at work, welll the big ones anyway, and scoot. The plan is, one week at home with the kids doing stuff with them while D is at work, two weeks on holiday in St Lucia (hopefully the local hostility to Brits will have died down now that Amy Winehouse has gone home), a week back home, a week camping in Cornwall and one final week recovering before returning to the hell that is being a wage-slave. :)

I really think I'm counting the minutes now!