Apart from uncertain weather, I've had a very nice if exhausting weekend. Met up with my ex twice and we kept things very civil - my daughter was astonished. In fact we had quite a laugh as my ex went up the ladder to repair a broken clothes line while I held it for her - she was in trousers, I was in a skirt and heels and the ladder was rather dirty.

Then I went to my daughter and her fiance's house where I was staying overnight. We dashed off to eat - my treat - thence to the cinema to see The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus a Terry Gilliam film, which is best described as his version of the Dr Faustus legend, which he does in his own inimitable and complete bizarre way. Imagine Monty Python with CG imagery and you get the idea.

First thing this morning, I was packed and breakfasted and off to see some dormice, I hoped; the purpose of the drive to Welsh Wales. I'd promised to take my ex shopping afterwards, so disappointed my daughter who'd hoped I'd go back for lunch or dinner. If I had, I'd have been there now. I was pleased that her fiance was also urging me to come back, although I still had to decline their welcome offers, simply because I'd promised her mother I'd take her shopping, and I try to keep my word.

The nature reserve that was hosting the dormouse event was a fiddly to find and not being one I'd visited before, I felt a bit anxious that I was running late, held up by roadworks and slow drivers. However, my new car ( a 2003 Renault Megane 1.9 dci - turbo diesel) went like a rocket, except on the narrow lanes where I crawled carefully, there was barely room for two bicycles to pass. Eventually, I got there and was in time, in fact, three cars arrived after me. Then after donning walking boots, and waterproofs, we were off for a very muddy walk up hill and down dale.

A group of about ten of us were led by Jan, who knows an awful lot about dormice and this reserve (expect to see some of it Bike when things calm down again). They have two hundred boxes up for the dormice, and have a colony of about thirty or forty animals. We eventually found a nest box with a young male in it and he was so cute it made Micky Mouse look like a has been. I took some photos, and one or two are actually in focus, quite an achievement for me.

After which, we did some searching for dormice nibbled hazel nut shells and most of us found some - the hole is quite neat and with a lens, one can see almost spiral tooth marks on the edge of the hole, whereas squirrels split them and other mice make rougher holes, generally speaking. Then came the deluge and we tramped back up the hill to the cars through the increasingly viscous mud.

Lunch with my ex and then a trip to Asda - part of the Walmart family (vomit). Finally, with my car laden with tins of cat food and bags of cat litter, I came home trying not to speed too much in my new limo, at one point I realised why I was overtaking everyone, I was doing 90mph!

I've attempted to attach a dormeece photo.

Angharad.