I'm Back

Haven't written here for a few days. I took some time off last week because my sister in law came visiting. She is Taiwanese, of course, but she was in Italy with her new boyfriend and the plan was that they both come to see us. It's only a two-hour flight. Things didn't go quite to plan however. The boyfriend, whom no one has yet met, got scared and refused to come. Sister in law was forced to fly alone.

We had a good week anyway. I hired a big-arse Peugeot car to drive around in. My old Subaru is making some quite horrific noises currently. He's booked in for a wheel-bearing replacement later this week. Then next month he's going to have a full service and MOT. We went to Somerset where we met my mother, and we went to Bowood House, amongst other places.

It was fathers' day on Sunday and we went to Roves Farm with the boy. It was a pretty good day and I got in free because I am a father. It's an urban farm where you can feed the animals, pet the donkeys, race goats, etc. There's also a really good maze. I found a four-leaf clover. I think it's a good omen. Fathers' day didn't happen properly for me until yesterday however. I was presented with a card and a Flymo strimmer which I took for a test-flight yesterday evening.

We have a new speaker in the House of Commons. His name is John Bercow and he appears to be universally disliked throughout all parties. So that is likely to end in disaster then. I'm just pleased it wasn't Margaret Beckett or Anne Widicome that won.

I'm writing this at work and it's quite difficult to concentrate because my old boss is bellowing down the phone in German. Apparently his daughter had a flute exam today. She has an oboe exam later this week it seems.

Because, as earlier mentioned, my car is not really drivable right now, I've started using the train again. I didn't want to, but the car is making so much noise that it's becoming impossible to drown it out with the stereo. It means that I have time to read books again. I've read almost nothing in the last month. I have bought a book called Greed, by Richard Girling however. I'm not really sure where it's going, but it's quite funny, in a very highbrow sort of way, and it considers the evolutionary element of greed. It's really quite good.

Here's an interesting one for you. The far right BNP party, and the closest thing we have in Britain to the Nazis, has been ordered to accept ethnic minority members or face prosecution. They are a political party that don't allow non-white members or staff you see. Their manifesto includes a plan to repatriate non-white people to their countries of origin. They oppose mixed race marriages. I could go on, but I won't, it makes my whole body ache.

I mentioned in the office this morning that Silvio Berlusconi has denied paying for sex. Apparently he stated on a chat show, "I never understood where the satisfaction is when you're missing the pleasure of conquest." Alan, who sits opposite me says it all depends on whether you catch anything. Deep man, Alan, deep man.

I see Spanker Mosley has agreed to stand down as FIA supremo at the end of the season. Good, the man is a twerp.

Today the government has managed to defeat a Tory move to make the Iraq war inquiry "public wherever possible". Not only that, it's also succeeded in ensuring that the next publication of MP's expenses will be censored like the last one. Your just making things worse Gordon. All this will do is make a Tory victory inevitable at the next election.