My boiler packed up the other day leaving me with a rather cold house. For any budding plumbers out there here is a video showing what happens when I attempt to fire up the heating if you want to hazard a guess at what is wrong.

A plumber has been called so we shall see what the actual cause of the problem is when he comes out to the house and takes a look.

Driving home last night I found myself stopped at traffic lights on one of the large roundabouts on the Great Western Way and I as I glanced idly upwards waiting for the lights to change I saw an amazing sight.

What must have been hundreds of small but certainly similar birds were flying in a huge cloud in a circular motion over the busy roadway below. In the fading light it was impossible to see what type of birds they were but their hypnotic motion and the way in which they stayed together and responded to each other to maintain movement in an almost perfect circle was truly remarkable.

Silhouetted against the paling evening sky it was one of those moments when I wished I’d been a pedestrian with my camera rather than a motorist stuck at the lights.

So it’s fast approaching the end of the noughties and the festive cheer is upon us. I’m spending Christmas in North Wales and despite the poor weather on the roads all the family have made it here and the surroundings are really festive.

The mountains are snow capped, the sunshine is warm and low in the sky, we have real fires burning in the various grates and a real Christmas tree that I had the privilege of cutting down myself from a local grower. Keep on the look out for some fabulous photos of the country scenery that I’ll be popping into my gallery in the new year!

After relaxing over Christmas with my family I will make my way across country to Leeds where I will be seeing in the new year with the old crowd. It will be fantastic to see everyone again - I certainly do miss the regular social activities when I’m down in Swindon.

On the websites and communication front, I’m going to be a little less contactable over the festive period on account of my travelling around and the lack of connectivity in the countryside. While I will be receiving and reading e-mail on my BlackBerry I don’t expect to reply to any of it until the new year. If you need to get in touch with me urgently you can call my mobile - those who might need to have the number already.

Keen readers will have noticed that I’ve closed my forums until the new year. This is only a temporary measure and has been done to prevent people thinking I’m ignoring their queries - it’s Christmas and I won’t have the time or the inclination to answer technical questions. Please save up your issues and ask for help with them when the forums re-open and I’m around to answer.

Above all I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all my family, friends and regular blog readers a very merry Christmas and prosperous new year.

I’m back in Swindon after taking a well needed break from the daily grind by heading off to the East Coast for the Saturday and lunching with my family on the Sunday.

The weather was most pleasant on Saturday and the atmosphere in the marina was wonderfully peaceful compared with the hectic nature of my last couple of weeks at work. I spied a couple of fantastic photography subjects but unfortunately had neglected to bring my camera - I’ve made a note of them for next time.

As far as the family catch up goes, Hannah is settling in well at Law School and has already been able to explain some of the more interesting points with me which is great. The positive difference it makes in academia when you are truly enjoying what you have to study is immeasurable.

On my way to and from work today the set of traffic lights that allow traffic to cross the busy dual-carriageway and into Lydiard fields business park were out, thus necessitating a rather hair-raising dash in front of two lanes of fast moving traffic in order to get to the office car park.

I must say that I really hope the lights are fixed tomorrow morning (I saw a repair van there on my way home) as my experience today is one I’d rather not repeat any time soon.