great idea

Robert Smith should do a cover of Coldplay's 'Clocks' so when he sings 'Am I part of the cure or am I part of the disease' we can say 'ooooh we know this one'

8 things you might not know about me

I was tagged by my fab pal Louise and so, somewhat belatedly here I go:

(The idea is that you reveal 8 random things about yourself then tag other people who reciprocate with their own revelations)

1. There aren't many foods that I really, really dislike. But honey is right up there, I can't stand the stuff. Even the smell of it - bleurgh!

2. I have a birthmark on my inner right thigh that's in the shape of a broken-heart. Hopefully it's just a birthmark and not a curse

3. I used to be arachnophobic but was cured using hypnotism. I was so impressed by it that I then learnt hypnosis

4. I have a tattoo on my lower back that I'd love to get rid of but it would scar. On balance, I'd rather have the tattoo than a big old tattoo-removal scar.

5. My first record was Boney M's double A side single 'Rivers of Babylon' and 'Brown Girl in the Ring'. This was the summer of 1978 so I wasn't quite 5 years old at the time. Blimey, I loved that record. It took me a few years to realise why my parents used to laugh so much when I did my dance and sang to them with my record on; I used to think the lyrics were Brown Bear in the Rain...

6. The first even football game I went to was when I was about 7 years old, Dunfermline at home to Aberdeen. Not a happy experience; it was bitingly cold and I was too small to see anything.

7. I have climbed two active volcanoes, one in Indonesia and one in Guatemala. I love a volcano!

8. My first dog was called Suki (when I was a very very little tot). Apparently my parents 'gave her away' when they decided to move to Hong Kong....except we never actually moved to Hong Kong. My second dog was called Goldie and apparently she 'wanted to go and live on a farm'. I've never brought the subject up because I don't actually really want to know what happened to them, but I think we both know that something sad and/or horrible happened to those poor pooches that bears no resemblance to the very poor stories that my unimaginative parents palmed me off with.

So, there you go. Now I'm sure that everybody has already done their '8 things you may not know about me' because I'm quite late to this party but one person who definitely hasn't is manwritesblog so consider yourself tagged...

Light at the end of the tunnel...

So I finally have a scaffolding-free house. It's been a long-time coming and yet all of a sudden without it, the place looks kind of undressed - like a living room at the start of January when the Xmas tree and fairy lights have just been despatched.

Apparently I'm going to get home tonight and the bathroom will almost be done. Now, from past experience I think we both know this won't actually be the case but the whole project is all so tantalisingly close to being finished that I've taken the bold step of booking the fitting of my new carpet and assuring them that they'll be able to come in on that date and I won't need to postpone. I choose to think that this means I'm pathologically optimistic rather than just plain stupid.

So the flat's nearly done and now to help lift my mood, the sun has kindly put in a very commendable performance over the last week or so - life's good.

Apart from the one inevitable thing that this burst of summer brings along with it....garden envy. All of a sudden, having an upstairs flat, no matter how nice and newly done it is, seems so very last season....