There's a witch in the house, and she's living there still...

 ...Yes, that's right. I'm still here!



 Sorry for the sudden disappearance. The Host and I decided to shut-up-shop for a little while due to some unusual happenings. You see, certain posts were getting an inordinate number of page views from France which started at the same time as that horrific attack in Nice, which was worrying.

Eek! Leave me alone, France. Don't make me take out a restraining order!

 
 I didn't notice immediately as I'd been away from the blog, busy with other things. However, when I did take note of what was going on, the Host said it appeared to be some sort of 'bot fixated on eight recent posts, and probably not some anti-terrorist organisation trying to decipher what on Earth this blog is all about. I was slightly disappointed, as I quite liked the idea of the dignified French ambassador and her contingent of gendarmerie puzzling over !depparT (as I've reverted "!depparT" to draft [see EDIT below], I've linked to a similar post instead) while tucking into a pyramid of Ferrero Rocher.

I've never been so popular!

 I thought, perhaps, that it would stop, but every day brought another forty-odd hits per post. After a few days of it ruining my stats, I decided to take action. The only thing I could think to do other than deleting the blog was to hide it. Not having much luck with obscuration spells (magic and technology don't mix well), the Host settled on making the blog private (I couldn't find a way to temporarily hide it), reasoning that the 'bot wouldn't be able to RSVP as I hadn't issued it with an invitation.

Ha! That stopped you, didn't it?! (Those little blips from the 24th are me just checking in)

 And this is where I must apologise to you, my faithful viewers. Having given you no notice* - other than a couple of comments over at The Very Mistress MJ's, reasoning that most of you also visit Infomaniac (well, she's very accomodating, isn't she?!) - it probably looked like, after you didn't receive invitations to the private party, that I'd snubbed you! So, please accept my apologies for any confusion and feelings of being-the-last-one-picked-for-the-sports-team-at-school.

 So, anyway, we're back! I hope now that it's been a little while, that 'bot has buggered off somewhere else, and before I even think about resuming normal service (if there is such a thing), I'm going to visit your blogs and see what you've been up to.


::EDIT 16:06::
Well, that didn't work. No sooner do I show my face than that bloody 'bot is back causing havok! To counter its advances this time, I have taken advice from The Very Mistress MJ's Official IT Consultant (and Pillow Fluffer), LẌ, and reverted the eight posts to draft.

 


* Yes, I know I could have commented at each of your blogs to let you know what was going on, but I couldn't be bothered didn't have time, what with one thing or another.