Sunny Sunday in the garden

Flowers are out, sun's shining, beers are chilled and it's another glorious sunny Sunday in our garden.

Portuguese photos

There's a blog online I check every day - it's the Sesimbra Blog. Sesimbra is a Portuguese fishing village and because of its secluded position and natural beauty, now doubles up as a holiday spot. The Sesimbra blogger posts at least one picture each day of his home town and it's always a joy to see what's online. The images range from tourists having fun, 1960s hotels, new developments and the locals doing what they do best. Sesimbra is also where we spent last year's summer hols, and comes highly recommended for those who like their sun, sea, sand and Super Bock with a spot of P&Q.

Called to the bar

Being on jury service is something I thought I'd always wanted to do. But now I've been called to the bar.

Not that bar. This bar.

And it's making me slightly nervous.

Snot fair

It's not the worst flu I've ever had, confining me to the sofa in a blanket rather than to bed in a duvet. But by 'eck, it's gone on long enough. And I know it's flu and not a bad cold as the multiple choice competitions on ITV daytime telly prove too hard to work out.

Anyway, that's me blogged. I'm worn out now. So it's back to the sofa, terrible daytime TV, another Lemsip and a Vick's vapour rub. Lovely.

Dave Gorman: America Unchained

This is one of the best books I've ever read. I can't recommend it highly enough. Rush out and buy it now.

PS: Dear Mr Gorman, can I have my £5 now?

Coronation Street Weekly Update, May 25 2009

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street update has just gone live here.

This week the update passes on the badge of feck.

eBay, innit?

Isn't eBay great? Not only is it providing the spends for a long weekend by the sea next month after we sold off loads of tat but something else has just happened too.

I bought a hard-to-find book on eBay a while back, read it, enjoyed, passed it on my lovely man who read and then I got it back. What goes around comes arond so I stuck the book back on eBay and it's sold today for double the price I bought it at.

eBay. Great, innit?

Jesus biscuits

A woman came to the door the other day with a food hamper in her hand. She told me it was mine and she smiled as she handed it to me. Confused, I waited for her to tell me where I'd won it, and why, but she didn't, she just smiled as I looked from hamper to her, from her back to hamper. "It's your gift," she told me, "from Jesus."

I made polite noise, declined the hamper and she left. But if Jesus had put better biscuits in the hamper, I might have been converted.

Always judge a book by its cover

Lunchtime today was spent browsing books in Waterstones.

I've been getting through books like a hot knife through butter having recently enjoyed Louise Wener's The Half Life of Stars (she was the lead singer with Sleeper, now a novellist) and Scarlett Thomas's Seaside. Both of those female writers I highly recommend.

And so I'm browsing and judging books by their covers, as you do. And the ones I put back on the shelves had one of more of these things on the front cover - a champagne bottle, a wine glass, a stiletto, or the cover sparkled or was pink.

To sum up then - if it looks like it might be chick-lit, it goes back on the shelf.

Coronation Street Weekly Update, May 18 2009

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street update has just gone live here.

This week the update comes with a splash of Tweed by Lentheric behind its ears.