2012 where is time going?

Ages since I last posted and with a new Government in Gibraltar, the 2012 Europeans coming, extortionate hotel prices included  ..can you believe Platini is whining Mr Gravytrain himself? Any I thought I'd diary my journey for the next 6 months as an added incentive for myself. a motivational sort of diary if you get my drift.
I've tried to practise the martial art of Shotokan Karate now for more than 20 years. I first kissed the knuckles back in 1982 under license from the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB). After about 14 months the club dissolved as the instructor was posted (Derek Frame) from RAF Coltishall where I was and I concentrated on football. I'd always wanted to practise karate not Tae Kwan Do or any other and shotokan being the most common it was natural I'd end up there. After a lull of some 7 years I ended up in Portsmouth and started again under license to the then South of England Karate Union, now the Shotokan of England Karate Union (SEKU) around autumn of 1991. To cut a long story short I've been involved ever since taking my 1st Dan in 1995. The move was on to take my 2nd Dan by 1998 latest but unfortunately I had a few setbacks namely ruptured disks, 3 to be precise lower back. It takes around 6 months focussed training and me being the size I am I attempted twice to run up to the exam the first in 19984 months into left me with about 3 weeks in spasm. the second attempt was in 1999 whilst training in London under Sensei Enoeda and his assistant Ohta. This ended in more than a month without sport. It seemed I was doomed.
I have seen all my sempei and kohai move along but travelling around like I did, I end up more often than not training on my own or in some other styles. For example in London alongside shotokan I was studying Ju Jitsu, in Australia for 6 months I studied ju jitsu but also dropped into dojo's far and wide to dabble in Goju Ryu, Pen Kat Silat, Aikido and best of all 90 minutes of a knife defence lesson in Ninjitsu at a dojo in Adelaide. Her ein Gibraltar I spent ages at the Shoto Kai club until my back went, again. But throughout I have kept teaching when asked and trained alone when needed. I'm not giving up yet.
My good friend Stacey Crowe (5th Dan) has been nagging me to take 2nd Dan ever since I nagged him about taking his 4th Dan. so I promised I'd try for a fourth time and I have been up until November 2011 when work interfered with my routine long 11 hour days leave little time when you have a wife to spend some time with. However in February my mate Mick Dewey (8th Dan) came over, i asked if we could do some training so for the next 4 days we did just that and it was the kickstart again I needed.