We're going to Cambridge this evening, after The Future Mrs Barefoot and CS3 get back from work / school. Yeah, I know. Friday evening is pretty much the worst time to be travelling from Hampshire to Cambridge but we need to be there tomorrow for parkrun (the second half of my Cambridge double), so don't have a great deal of choice in the matter. We're just steeling ourselves for a long and slow crawl round the M25, and have plenty of sweets to keep us happy. In fact, the main components of The Future Mrs Barefoot's shopping list were victuals for the trip.

For my own messages, I've been to the banks to pay some cheques in (two accounts; different banks); had a hair cut; bought a new pair of running shoes (partly paid for by one of the cheques); and been to the Register Office to give my Notice of Marriage.

The Notice of Marriage is a legal prerequisite to getting married and is to make sure that we are legally entitled to marry - e.g. we are real people, over 18, not already married, not related. The Notice will be displayed for 28 days to allow anyone who might be interested to be made aware. But as it will be displayed in Winchester on a rolling display where, according to the registrar, it will be visible for about one minute per day, the chances of anyone (including us) actually seeing it are fairly remote.

In the running shoe shop I politely tried on three pairs, as that's the number the shop keeper brought from the store room, and then chose the first. I mentioned parkrun and he said "Oh, we give a 10% discount for parkrun", so that was a bonus.

I had to get my hair cut as, not only was it looking more and more untidy, but I glanced in the mirror last weekend and noticed the longer bits were beginning to go grey. "I'm beginning to go grey" I said. "Ruby, you've always been grey" responded CS3, who never misses a chance to put me in my place.

Last weekend we had another trip away - this time one of our regular northern trips. The Future brother-in-law's brother's wife and children were away on holiday, so we went to make sure he wasn't lonely and was eating properly. He wasn't and was. On Saturday we went over to Sheffield and met the future parents-in-law for lunch. Part of the meal was pickled hens feet, which were a first for me - and not unpleasant.

In the afternoon we wandered round the shopping centres. CS3 and I soon got bored with shopping, so sat outside and played the People Watching game - basically, you decide on an attribute to look for (red hair, pushing a pram, wearing trainers, carrying more than two shopping bags, etc.) and the first person to spot someone gets a point and to choose the next attribute. Yeah, I made it up on the spot.

We did parkrun in Doncaster - and both scored Personal Bests. Well, that sounds impressive, but as it's over 18 months since we were last there so it would be a bit poor if we hadn't improved in that time. Even CS3 gained a respectable time, having stopped off for a comfort break after the first lap. I ran with her for the last few hundred yards and she gave me quite a sprint for the finish - "I was determined not to let you get in front of me", she said.

On the way north we stopped off at The Ageds for lunch and on the way home we stopped off at my friend, The Prof, for lunch. So a whole weekend of eating at other people's houses.

While we were in Sheffield I had thought about getting my hair cut - there was a manicure and hair cutting salon that Future BiL visited (for the hair cut, not the manicure). The smell of nail polish was overwhelming, so I gave it a miss. I only caught a brief whiff before CS3, who had entered in front of me, turned round and pushed me back out saying, "don't go in there, Ruby". See - she might not miss a chance to put me in my place, but she looks after me as well!

At The Aged's, he asked me to help him back up his computer files. "Wait, I need to watch you do it and make notes", he said. "You don't need notes. CTRL-A; CTRL-C; CTRL-V. That's all you need."

While we were travelling, we were listening to my iPod ("My car, my music. End of.") and American Pie came up. CS3 listened for a bit and then said "this sounds like that 'that'll be the day that I die'" song. I was amazed and impressed by her perception as in all the times I've heard that song, I've never noticed the connection between the lyrics.