Almelo

Over breakfast this morning I found out that my running joke about this hotel being a prison is closer to the truth than I had realised. First, we are apparently locked in at night. The doors and gates are closed and there is nobody on duty! Second, it seems that my Dutch colleagues liked the idea that I wasn't going to be able to run off exploring somewhere.

Mind you, I did do just that at lunchtime. I was determined to get a run in, find the town, and see what it had to offer. The answer, in truth, is not a great deal, but it's pleasant enough, with the ever ubiquitous watercourses and bicycles. It's almost impossible here to take a photograph without either one or the other involved somewhere. If you look closely, this has both!

It's been another very intense day where I've been in great demand to input into all the various workshop sessions going on. It's been fascinating to watch how the levels of concentration have dropped off during the day. In the morning it was all very serious indeed, quiet and concentrated. As the afternoon wore on, groups could be heard breaking out into giggles at regular intervals! Late on, I got an urgent call to join the one group that was making the most noise. I made my apologies to the people I was with and went over, only to discover that they needn't actually need me at all. Apparently, they were simply intent on rescuing me from a session that they deemed had got a bit too serious!

There are some really lovely people here, with a great sense of fun. It was like sitting with a bunch of schoolgirls at the end, waiting for the bell to go at the end of class! But they have all worked very hard. Once again, a lot has been achieved, but now all the fine detail is coming out it is a little bit frightening just how much there is still to do. I'm going to try not to think about that tonight. It's our last night here so there are plans for some bowling and some more pool. There is a decider to play and much anticipation is revolving around that game!