Lots to say so I'll summarise.

May 12th-June 12th

Exam period with revision inbetween. I'm 16 and in the UK so it was GSCE's.

June 13th-June 27th

Work experience. One week at solicitors in London (alright; great people and saw a case in London Old Bailey, the paperwork was awful).

Other week at Merril Lynch investment bank; awesome. Sat with traders, watched them um trade on the stockmarket (shares and one guy derivatives ; swaps if i remember), talked to lawyers, did a project on Tanzania and its potential investments (mining, infrastructure) and did a crazy maths model to create a bell curve which is what the stockmarket as a whole looks like over one day or something.

June 27th - July 4th

Scout camp; I help out here as a leader so we survival camped in woods in natural shelters, gave lessons on first aid and firelighting etc and then beasted the 15 year olds around Dorset on a 24 hours hike and survival game. Did coasteering (climb cliffs, jump into sea).

July 4th - July 28th

2 weeks at home. Saw people, played games, watched movies and read books.

GAMES: Warcraft 3 and Throzen Frone, Eternal Darkness, FFX, started The Witcher, bought but not played Shadow of the colossus and God of War.

FILMS: Lots of Ingmar Bergman, HEAT, Godfather 1 & 2, Full metal jacket, Platoon...too many to list actually. Deathnote series too.

BOOKS: The Great Gatsby, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Book Thief, The Cold War, A History Of the Middle East (started) and Shadow of the Silk Road (half read).

July 28th - August 30th

Ecuador: really amazing. 5 days in Quito, then off to a reserve in the rainforest called Bilsa. 9 hour trek through mud; actually the worst day of my life (it was always at least shin deep, some through the dark and one guy collapsed due to low glucose levels).

At Bilsa: pathbuilding, machete work in banana plantations (really fun; brought 3 back to england), carrying palm wood from forest to reserve, digging toilets (we had a mud wrestle in the bottom of the 2 metre pit) and changing water tanks. Also hiked one day through forest, the other 2 down rivers and waterfalls (many pairs of contact lenses may be in the Ecuadorian sea by now ).

Met Antonio (a pirate who gave me his cutlass), Uli (dirty but amusing German guy who was on military service) and Antonio (reserve leader: did NOT shut up...ever).

Then white water rafting: flipped boat twice, swam a lot especially through rapids. Grade 3 water so not too bad but still rough and choppy.

Then 2 weeks hiking. It was like the Peak District on steroids. Got up Coroson (4800m) no problem, ilinizas (5150) fine but tired as we woke up to climb at 4am, and not Cotopaxi due to terrible weather. Really worth the experience though of pushing myself to my actual limit, and I'm pretty damn fit too atm.

Flew home with 200 cigarettes (make me 50£: I don't smoke) 3 machetes and a few pirate dvds in my bag.

August 31st - Wed 3rd September

Got my results back: rather hesitant to post as people get the wrong idea but I got straight grades so that's great. Seeing friends now until school on Wednesday.

6th form options: English Literature, Early Modern History, Philosophy, Politics.

And that, as they say, is that