Thursday Jan 19th- day 13

My mobile phone seems to have died. I tried to recharge it, but it just whimperd "not charging" and carried on sitting there. I ask in a store, and they tell me that maybe as well as an adaptor, I need a transformer- perhaps the difference in voltage is a problem. I guess I will just live without the phone, as I am not really using it here anyway. I realise that this weill disappoint those of you who campaigned long and hard for me to get one, and I will use it back in the UK, I promise.

I heard about the fortunes of Centralians (the football team I play for in Sheffield) today. Ross (current player), Adam (past player, now with another team) and Nick (manager) have been keeping me abreast of developments. We have lost the two games of 2006 so far, but were 1-0 up against the league leaders with 10 minutes to go, only to lose 3-1. A familiar story. I would like to say that if I were playing, the result would have been sooooo different, but I have been on the wrong end of enough late goals to know that it's probably not something I would have prevented. It's been a frustrating season so far- I have been substitute more often than not, and usully get 20 minutes at the end (when a game is already lost). I have been used in a Peter Crouch type role so far, i.e "stand up front and let it bounce off yer head". It's good fun playing up front, but I can't pretend that I am a natural. However, it seems like the manager doesn't think I am any use anywhere else, so I have to make do. It does feel a bit like the end of an era though, as I don't suppose I will play regularly next season. There are yonger (well, almost everyone is younger!) and fitter (ditto) lads than me, so maybe it's time to look elsewhere or to change direction. Maybe with my new flashy trainers I will become a champion fell runner. Hmm. On the other hand, I could try my hand at darts...

Bit worried about Roger. He is not shrinking back to his original size. I wonder if he will ever be as small as he once was. I feel cheated. But I will stand by him, and perhaps I will just put him back into some water and see how he copes with that.