Bank Holidays are a bit like buses in that you wait ages for one and then three arrive at once. Not the most original thought in the world I know. Although this year it seems as though every other weekend from mid April to the end of May has been a bank holiday. This is because we had a late Easter.

Having worked most of my lunch hour I was able to get away from work early on Friday and jump on the train heading for another fun packed weekend in the north of England.

All the details are not locked in yet. I intend getting to Preston to do a bit of pubbing, stay with friends and have a word with my piano. I plan to drop by Blackburn briefly to visit family, oopse not sure if I told my mother I am on my way. I am intending to go to Leeds to collect on a bet about the outcome of the FA Cup final. If I have enough energy left then I would like to visit Manchester on Monday to have lunch with my sister.

May has been a pretty productive month at work. I am closing a greater number of support enquiries compared with April. I am also getting involved with other aspects of the business, and it is very exciting to see the evolution of Dolphin’s Windows Mobile products. I have also done some work with marketing, sales and the product design teams. Some of the projects I initiated during my first couple of weeks at Dolphin will be coming to fruition in the foreseeable future, and this is hugely gratifying. Moreover it is a massive privilege to be able to make a modest contribution to one of the world’s leading developers of screen reading software.

The break this weekend is most welcome though. It will be tremendous to touch base with the good people of Preston, as well as crisscross the north of England in order to call on various family and friends.

As an aside, anyone know of anywhere I can catch The Da Vinci Code audio described?

Pip pip.

That’s what the good folks over at Beer in the Evening think. Here are a few findings of my own now I have lived in Worcester for nearly 8 weeks.

The Berwick Arms on Bath Road – Guinness is ok at £2.65 which seems to be about average for Worcester. Manager Todd is a good lad and enjoys a bit of banter. Girls behind the bar are helpful and talk to you like a human being. cigarette machine is the cheapest I have found at around £4.60 for 17 fags. Occasional live music, no Sunday lunches. I managed to piss off the landlord by saying I hoped Leeds would get beat in the playoffs. He evidently does not do banter. Shame, I had worked hard to like this pub in spite of it having no real beer and even fewer customers. Oh and Leeds got stuffed! So I am prob not going to spend any more in there at least until it changes hands or I get really desperate. Frustrating as it is a minute walk from my front door.

The Toby Carvery – Bath Road Broomhall – As well as having no real beer and average Guinness, is full of people paying over the odds for dried up food which has been left out all day. The staff seemed embarrassed and apologetic.

The Timberdine Bath Road – As far as soulless out of town family friendly eateries go, this Harvester is not too bad. Do not expect any real beer or log fires, but you should find a decent 16oz steak, friendly staff and even a Braille menu. Although the Braille menu is out of date and does not include any of the alcoholic drinks. Why would it? Blind people do not drink. Sorry that should be, blind people do not drink drive. I rest my case.

Horn & Trumpet, Angel Street – Essentially this is Wetherspoons plus. Not sure about the beer selection as I did not have time to check. Food was on the decent side of standard. If you go for a Jimmy remember where you were sat as this place is pretty big for a city centre pub.

The Dragon Inn, The Tything – I cannot say enough positive about this pub. no football, no lager, have to go outside to the toilet, a fabulously morose landlord, massive packets of pork scratchings, plenty of real beer and single malts, ah the list goes on. A breath of fresh air in Worcester. Slightly disappointed it appeared to be closed on a Sunday afternoon when I returned for my fourth visit. Guess they must have heard I was on my way.

Postal Order, Foregate Street – Sticky little Wetherspoons full of the sort of people who frequent whetherspoons the world over. Handy if you have time to kill while waiting for a train. But that’s the best I can do by way of a recommendation.

Ye Olde Talbot, Friar Street – In a good location near town. Service varies from average to excelent. Competitively priced Sunday lunch, meet a bit chewy. Usually guest beers are available, Guinness ok. Worth the second and third visit. Had a tremendous chicken and vegetable pie in there, although it was only backed up with frozen peas and over salty chips.

Oakapple, London Road – Good pint of Banks and a solid Sunday lunch, quality roast potatoes and good selection of starters. Service seemed spot on. Can get busy and a touch rowdy toward the back. Only been once and this pub is a bit out of the way so it may be a while before I can return for a second look.

More amazing to me than the crime itself, is the fact that this guy was able to get away with this level of embezzlement for such a long period. Hopefully this conviction will provide sufficient motivation to all organisations working in the blindness field to plug any further gaps in their financial security.

Outstanding piece concerned with the state of screen reader access to the web. I am not sure I support all the asertions in this post, but plenty of food for thought.

“I am not sold on the significance, or indeed novelty, of blogs and pods, but they are with us. Yet equally I believe that the death of print is being overstated, and it is timely to have a little evidence that this is the case.”

“on that different planet called Express, the inhabitants have just three main interests in life – house prices, absurd examples of political correctness and Princess Diana.”