Hi all,
Some good news at last, Paul was allowed home to the UK over the new year for 10 days from the 29th Dec til 9th Jan. 
He has to return to his bail lodgings in France by the 9th Jan (this Sunday).
The French have said that this 10 days is a test of his trustworthinesss and if he returns to France by the deadline then that will prove that he has nothing to hide or run away from. He will then have to wait for about 3-4 weeks until all the paperwork comes through and when that’s done then they will release him on bail to the UK. This is not set in stone but if the French are as good as their word then it should happen. One small down side to this is that he will have to return to France every 2-3 weeks to sign on the dotted line at the local gendarmerie as the case is still ongoing because there is now a European Arrest Warrant out for the [zb] that stitched him up in the first place so the French need to keep track of Paul’s whereabouts in case they need to question him again if and when they catch the other guy.
As you can imagine, this was brilliant news for Paul, myself and the rest of the family and we all got together for 4 days over the new year to toast his return home. A good time was had by all and we all got merrily drunk, especially Paul, as not having really touched a lot of alcohol over the past 16 months, 5 or 6 pints and he was half plastered.
The occasion was a happy and quite emotional one but Paul enjoyed it as much as the rest of us, it was just so good to see him and he looked really well and it was the best xmas present we could have wished for.
Hopefully, 2005 will be a better year for Paul and his fiancee Sarah and they will be able to start and rebuild their lives together.
A Happy New Year to you all
Steve Watson