I had been looking forward to last weekend for quite a while and, sure enough, it was a cracker! My son Lee had arranged to come down from Northampton to see me and the missus for the weekend - she knew, but it was a complete surprise to me.

Regular readers will know that I have two sons. Craig is the elder of the two, and he lives in Plymouth and he's in the services, and Lee is a warehouse manager in Northampton. They're great lads, and both Jackie and I are very proud of both of them.

Lee's always good company. He's got a wicked sense of humour, and he's always got a one-liner for every situation - just like his mum! So when he arrived, it was a great surprise for me. You'll remember that it was Lee who came back from Canada recently with a genuine ice hockey jersey for the Toronto Maple Leafs, which I'm wearing today. He had another surprise in store for me. He said: "I've got something for you!" and put what looked like two pieces of paper in my hand. I looked at it, and I was thrilled to see two tickets for the Swindon Wildcats ice hockey match against the Guildford Flames that evening. I was chuffed to bits!

Now, I love ice hockey, as you're probably beginning to gather. Football I can take or leave, but the speed, agression and thrills of ice hockey really get the adrenaline going for me. I used to go quite regularly to watch the Wildcats, but the first opportunity I'd had to see them in the Premier league, and the playing standard is much higher than it ever was. In the past you'd get high scoring games - I remember seeing 'us' beat Cardiff 13-8 in one game - but these days it's much tighter. Last Saturday, we got the first goal, but it fell apart after that. The game finished 3-2 to Guildford, but there was plenty of excitement. I was out of my seat cheering...it took me a bit longer than many of the supporters...and Lee really got into it too. There was a good sized crowd, the rock tunes created a fantastic atmosphere, and I loved every minute of it. If you get the chance, check it out for yourself.

Lee had to get home that evening, but I was delighted. Thanks, Lee! It was a great treat.

Bringing me back down to earth a bit, I had another chemo session on Tuesday. It's funny, chemo. It feels fine at the time, but by the evening it starts kicking in, and yesterday I was whacked out on the sofa for the whole day. That's not my idea of a day's rest. It doesn't feel restful at all, but it's a price worth paying if it means I've recovered enough to get to Day Hospice on Thursday. And that's where I am now.

Today, I have finished a painting that I will tell you more about at some point in future. I don't want to be secretive, but you'll understand when I explain why.

One good piece of news this week is the end of the political conference season. Frankly, it bores the life out of me. I'm not making a political point, because they're all as bad as one another. In my view, anyone that wants to be a politician is the last person that should be a politician. The sooner they're off my television, the better.

Right. Rant over, that's my lot for this week. I'll be back in Day Hospice next Thursday, and I'd hope there might be a comment or two for me to respond to - even if it's 'get-off! take your blog somewhere else!'

Take care, Paul