Just like the rest of the planet, I do not enjoy Sunday evenings. There is the reality of the start of the working week imminently looming on the horizon. I do not have statistics at hand, but I can tell that a there is a weekend peak of television and internet activity during the course of the evening. A wholly unscientific check would be just to check the number of your friends available on Facebook Chat (I bet you go well into double figures). Had a great weekend, which was much busier than I anticipated. In particular Sunday afternoon slash evening, which I had planned to veg out infront of the sofa but ended up meeting the Palanivels for their first ever trip into Wycombe. More on that later (if I can find the words or time). My dearest sister Natalie, flew out from Heathrow Terminal 1 yesterday afternoon on her aid trip to Ethiopia. I miss her already but I know this is a dream come true for her (the equivalent of getting through the the Judge’s Houses in The X Factor – no, much more important than that). This is the job she has always wanted to do, she has a big heart and has patiently waited several years (working without remuneration in the capital) to achieve this aim. The charity sector is extremely competitive, some people think they can make a difference but soon come to realise the mammoth task that lies ahead. Few last the distance. It is perhaps the greatest challenge one can set for themselves. Leave your comfort zone, you friends and family and head to a new country with great deal of problems and try and make a difference from the front line. Sure, we all give generously via charities and the annual telethons, but there is one thing opening your wallet, it is another thing entirely to open your arms and give, not just your heart but blood sweat and tears. I am looking forward to hearing about her trip and reading some of her adventures on the WordPress blog which I put together late on Friday evening. She will be feeling a mixture of excitement and apprehension as she starts her charity work on the African continent this week. It does make me appreciate my life and feel humble for the life of plenty we all have here in the Western world. Sure, from time to time things do not go well, but we have a great deal to be grateful for. Running water, food, shelter. The basic essentials of life. For the children and families in Ethiopia, they need help to achieve these things which should be regarded as human rights. My sister is working for Merlin and any donations will be greatly appreciated, not just by my sister but by the people she is helping in Ethiopia and beyond. My weekend, now actually feels rather selfish and insignificant, after I have gone into the depths of describing the future humanitarian work my young sister is about to undertake on the African continent. Oh well, back to reality with a bump, then I’m afraid. Meeting up with friends becomes harder as your get older. This is one of those hard facts that we perhaps spend a great deal of time and money battling against. Look at this way, back at school and to a certain degree college, you would hang out with the same bunch of friends and see them on a regular basis. At the watershed moment, that is University, you still make time to meet up when you are back in your home time, but for sure, people have moved on and friendships begin to drift. To get together with friends as you hit your late 20s and early 30s is even harder. I think we started planning this weekend way back in late June (that is no joke). People are busy, they have their own lives and to synchronise a weekend when everyone can make it to Reading was not easy. There was still people on the dream guest list that could not make it (Elliott, perhaps the biggest casualty).