I'm sure you'll all have noticed that it has been far too long since the previous chapter of Somewhere Else Entirely was posted. I've finally managed to get the next one up... I ought to be back to a reasonable schedule now, although these days you never know.

I thought I'd explain why there's been such a long delay. Oh, all right, this is a grovelling apology combined with specious excuses why I haven't been writing. Satisfied now?

I got the latest chapter under way the same day I posted the last one. Everything seemed to be going well... you just know trouble's out there waiting for you, don't you?

Firstly, I lost the best part of a week organizing a man to come and concrete the 1 x 0.5 x 0.5 meter hole in our kitchen floor where the water leak was.

Then there was a power cut which took out half the Ethernet switch all my gear is plugged into (and nothing else). That was a fun one to figure out, and naturally I couldn't do anything else until it was sorted.

Then I got a serious personal problem right where the sun don't shine, and sitting down wasn't comfortable at all... long enough I could skim the stories and posts but not to write much. Very messy and the house reeked of Dettol for a week.

Next, my sister got married last weekend and we've spent months preparing for it. She knows about me but didn't want me there in a frock. Actually, considering how cold it was, that might have been just as well. However, the partner needed a full outfit so we've been haunting shops looking for things that match. Do you know just how many different shades there are called 'plum'? And how many other shades there are, exactly the same but not called 'plum'?

Of course if I couldn't go in a frock then I'd have to go in a suit. I have a suit, one I last wore 11 years ago the day I started the last IT contract I did. I can get into the jacket, but after 11 years parts of me have moved about a bit and there's no way I could do up the trousers.

But, there was absolutely no point buying a new suit, however cheap they might be these days. I'm just never going to wear one again. Ever. (OK, possibly to my parents' funerals. We'll see.) (I did end up buying a shirt and tie, which I'm sure I'll never wear again. Them's the breaks.) So, I decided to make myself a corset.

Now, I may have mentioned making this corset previously, but for various reasons it kept getting put off. I decided to use the deadline of the marriage day to get on and do it. Of course, that garment will get much more use out of it than anything else. It's not quite perfect but it's certainly very close. I can wear it for a full day without feeling uncomfortable, but of course there are some drawbacks as with any clothing. It helps my back, and provides support when I wilt. In addition, I've found I can get into skirts I own but are now too tight for prolonged use.

I've been wondering if anyone here is interested in my corset experiences. If so, I might start a set of blogs with information. I'll not bore people with the manufacturing details here but let's just say it has been an unqualified success.

Finally there's been more plumbing problems. The central heating decided to super-heat our water, and the engineer came yesterday to fix it. Now the whole house sounds like a cement works. Sigh. One of the taps downstairs has a bad washer and no service valve, which means I'll have to drain the whole hot water system down to fix it. Oh, yes, and the tap is siezed, which means replacing the whole thing.

So, there's more than enough going on to keep me away from the screen but I'll attempt to carry on. It doesn't help when my muse distracts me with things like Are Those Yours. But you all know about muses, don't you?

Add into the mix a lot of good, indifferent, bad and really bad health, and you could say the last few weeks haven't exactly been fun.

Enough of my meandering. Back to the typeface!

Penny