Too much chocolate

Back from the Easter break. I don't feel rested, but it wasn't a bad holiday. We went to my parents' place in Devon. The trip usually takes 2-3 hours but was substantially elongated due to the extra passenger. He's getting better at feeding and consequently the gap between feeds is becoming more bearable. Four hours is not unheard of now. I do look forward to the day when I can have a whole night's sleep again though. The parents were really pleased to see their grandson however and it was worth the trip.

Tom Cruise seems to have had a daughter called "Suri". I keep reading odd snippets suggesting that he was expecting his partner, Katie Holmes, to give birth silently. It's a scientologist thing apparently. Having been through this, I can honestly say that I don't think anything could have been done to keep my wife silent during the birth. What's the idea behind it?

I was most interested to read that Abby's initials spell a "bad word". You know this is exactly what sparked an argument between my parents and myself over the naming of their grandson. They thought that my choice of name spelt something unfortunate. In fact it only spelt the first three letters of a four letter word and I still can't see the problem with it. No one else even noticed it when I told them. It doesn't appear to have given Abby too much trouble however. She even commented on the comedy factor when filling forms in.

The dragon is almost back to her old shape now that the baby has come out. Well she still has a few extra pounds, but she looks the same as I remember her. One part of her that doesn't seem to have returned to original size however is the chest area. While I am quitre pleased about this on one level, it does mean that a new set of undergarments are required. This resulted in me waiting in Marks and Spencers with several other embarrassed looking men outside the fitting rooms for some long time yesterday. New garments have now been selected and I am charged with going back to pick them up. Apparently we have gift vouchers to use when purchasing these items. I quite like buying women's underwear. It's something that some men find incredibly embarrassing, but I take it in my stride and I think of myself as accomplished for this reason. I have the same feeling when buying feminine hygiene products.

I managed to cut the grass yesterday and plant some sunflowers out in the garden. The dragon is worried about giant sunflowers looking like people when she looks out of the window at night, so I have to arrange curtains. I'm hoping for good results. I even spread cow poo over the beds. I have some primulas to put in too, provided by my mother. I think the first white radish seedlings are showing their heads now, but still no sign of the spinach. The tomatoes are going strong and we even have a couple of flowers. The chilli trees also look good.

Friends Ryan and Helene came round yesterday with baby gifts. They are nice people and they even took the trouble of reading about traditional Taiwanese customs. They brought a red envelope for his one month anniversary. Ryan also bought me a cigar, though I don't smoke anymore so it will be largely ceremonial.

Apparently a list of salaries for BBC presenters has been leaked to the press. I can't believe Terry Wogan earns £800,000 a year for a 2 hour radio show. He could be back home again for morning coffee. He doesn't even need to do any research or learn any lines for it! It seems like Chris MOyles and Chris Evans also command huge salaries. Both of them are juvenile and Chris Evans must be the most obnoxious and disliked man in broadcasting. Usually I wouldn't care, but I have to pay £70 a year for the privilidge of receiving BBC stations and I don't listen to any of these people, ever. I say reduce the salaries and in turn my licence fee, and then let them go off to independent radio. It wouldn't be any great loss.