polkadots and moonbeams

Great that Downton's back on Sundays with all its glorious anachronisms and incredible plot twists but one thing is bothering me... Where are Mrs Patmore's specs? Are they lost? Is she perhaps wearing early contacts? Or was laser surgery available earlier than I thought? If there is an outbreak of food poisoning we will know why... And today I am listening to Sting's new album, The Last Ship .

Faces in iPhoto is suggesting that these goats are people I know. Come to think of it some of them do look familiar...

This morning this was a blue-painted wall which collapsed in less than two minutes in two almighty thumps revealing all this lovely lath and plaster work. This surely hasn't been seen since 1879 when the house was built and is a rather beautiful piece of handiwork. Sadly it will all be stripped out and replaced tomorrow with something less interesting and which probably won't last nearly as long.... but I am reliably told it has to be done. And me and the builder are listening mainly to The Silver Seas.

On the bus on the way home tonight I noticed they have finished the lights on Albert Bridge. Wonderful. It really does feel like seeing a dear friend who has been away for too long. Plus the good news is that my journey to work will be halved once he is back in full working order.

Back from Tarragona and this year's fabulous Santa Tecla fiesta. Five days filled with fireworks, giants, dragons, drums, dancing and tiny tiny children ascending the human castles into the sky in defiance of every Health and Safety Act ever passed. All very marvellous and moving and for once my hair didn't catch fire. The Catalans really really know how to enjoy themselves. I should invite them all to Battersea to show us how it's done.

So I decided to wordle it to see if the emphasis is right!! Anyone who has worked with me before will recognise some familiar themes... Wordle is just one of the internet's great gifts to us all - that Mr Feinberg is a genius. Now back to the writing. Oh... And today I'm listening to the Volcano Choir.

...which is great news. Nothing, officially, to do with the imminent visit of the Chinese PM to Europe so it must have been my blog post that did the trick :)

we are in the middle of a drought and hosepipes are banned. While out buying a paper I got drenched this morning and there's been a flash flood at the bottom of the road. Perhaps I am getting the news from another country?

So... I've been told off for being too cryptic with my last blog post. My point is simply that one of the world's greatest contemporary artists and activists was arrested in China on April 3 and that is Wrong. We all know his work - he conceived and then pulled away from the wonderful Bird's Nest Stadium for the Beijing Olympics. He created the Sunflower Seeds installation (below) at the Tate. And his Circle of Animals are currently on view in the courtyard at Somerset House - where I took these pics on Monday. There's lots more about his on the Guardian page here . So now you know... Hopefully just raising awareness of the wrongness of his arrest can help?

I'm busy making a whole lot of changes in my life. Some, like ceramics evening class, are a spontaneous attempt to try something new however hopeless and messy. Others are spurred by outside forces, most forcibly The Archers Sixtieth Birthday "celebrations" which, far from making me feel celebratory, are forcing me to reconsider my lifelong addiction to All-Things-Ambridge. I've listened to the Everyday Story of Country Folk forever. In pre-internet days se once had to drive up a steep and dodgy white track to a hilltop in Provence on a wet Sunday morning in order to get just enough of the crackly signal to hear Lizzie being abandoned by Cameron in a motorway service station. But now, just as I was getting over the death of Nigel we get Biscuitgate and the toe-curlingly awkward Royal Variety Performance this morning. Whoever plays Caroline deserves an award for trying to invest some sincerity in the line "It's just like talking to anyone else" plus...

Spotted this in Venice at New Year last year or maybe the year before...

macaroons Originally uploaded by polkadotsoph Is it possible to say the word "macaroon" without sounding like Alan Bennett..??

brilliant... brilliant... brilliant. Haven't watched one minute of this year's BB and then tonight I stumbled across Nikki and Chantelle embracing and forgiving each other for er ...whatever... and I am already hooked. Who cares about the rubbish weather when we have McCririck, Preston, Nadia, Coolio, Nikki and an alarmingly skinny Ulrika all trying to be natural and nice to each other. Fantastic. All we are missing is Jackie... yeah... Jackie.

Walking on Dartmoor the other day I met this lovely person - reminds me of a great aunt I once knew...

...does it always rain on bank holiday weekends?

After this week's performance on Desert Island Discs I nominate "Kirsty - do you know your pretty face is going to hell" Morrissey, for making me laugh so early in the morning... And my next suggestion is Nikki from the Big Brother House a couple of years back... and in the chef's corner we should, of course, have Delia (and failing her Clarissa Dickson Wright)....

Christopher Lee.