Sun Shower

Because the blip experience has been more relaxed for me recently the amazing generosity of your comments yesterday caught me a little by surprise. It's been easy for me to forget how many of you lovely people follow me quietly, or not so quietly. So, I've been overwhelmed by your love and have been glowing with pride today. It would be crazy not to admit to that feeling, despite being someone who has always had difficulty with praise, much better at giving it out than receiving it.

That glow has helped get me through a difficult day. We've had to relocate one of our systems so that it is now hosted on the client's infrastructure, and it's developed an intermittent problem. It's proving very hard to track down. We're convinced that it's a connectivity issue but it's very hard to prove. There are just so many points of failure these days.

Because it was my blipday yesterday I never got around to mentioning Andy Murray's win in the US Open, the first British Grand Slam win since 1936. The first in my lifetime. History was made in the early hours of Tuesday morning and the three of us were witness to most of it. It was an amazing match, with ebbs and flows like only tennis can produce. There were a couple of long rallies in particular that I've never seen bettered in terms of sheer aggression and incredible defence. It was positively gladiatorial at times.

We all felt quite confident that Murray was going to win this one, and we really wanted him to win, despite none of use here actually liking him very much. Things seem to have changed for him since he hired Ivan Lendl as his misery coach and succeeded in wiping out any last vestige of cheerfulness from his game. But it's all about belief. After winning that Olympic gold medal he believes that he can now triumph at this level and that makes all the difference. At his previous Grand Slam finals there has always been this feeling that, when it came to the crunch, at the very bottom line, he didn't believe he could win. Now he does. I think he may well be set to dominate men's tennis for the next few years.

I have some small experience of the power of belief myself. For a good few years I was never able to get under the hour for running 10 miles on the road. Then, finally, I sneaked under the 60 mins and from that moment it seemed easy. In my next race I did a 57.17 (still my PB) and it was hard to imagine why it had before proved so difficult. Once I believed that I could run that fast I had no problem actually doing it. It's a good thing to be reminded about. I will try to get in a more positive state of mind around work tomorrow.

I took this photo just outside our office, as the sun came out momentarily. I've taken no other shot all day. I'd been invited around to dinner by Muddyshoes, so rushed straight from the office so as not to be late. I guess I had a feeling this morning that opportunities were again going to be limited. Back home now after a delightful evening full of lively banter, I have to prepare for a special day tomorrow for No.1 son. Thanks for making me feel a bit special today!