Today I actually had time for lunch - and all the better for the fact it was with fellow Yorkshireman Mark Ryan. The last time we sat down to eat we were joined by Kerry, Messers Ray Winstone and Jason Connery in sunny California, but this time it was just the two of us in damp Doncaster, his hometown. We set the world to rights, discussed the changing moods in both countries, the state of the industry and tucked into to steak and ale pies with a nice glass or two of white wine. All very civilised. It certainly beats the usually rushed Subway 6" Meatball Marinara on the move.It's been a busy...

Just back from Cinema Days, that thrice-yearly excuse for regional journalists to get together and watch some upcoming films ahead of release. As usual, there's an air of jet-lag after it as the weekend usually involves sitting in a darkened room/cinema, watching around fifteen films over four days, having a few drinks in the bar afterwards and being well fed by the catering staff in the marquee. Yes, I appreciate that doesn't sound like hard work, but it IS a genuine strain on the eyes and the body clock. I avoided the usual obligatory too much alcohol and I've been particularly mindful of the...

So... the Expectations about a certain incoming US President make the Great ones of Charles Dickens fame seem positively minor. They are, of course, impossible to attain and even before the honeymoon period has begun there's a somewhat unnerving reminder of Tony Blair's trumphant, landscape-changing arrival in Downing Street in 1997 to the tune of 'Things Can Only Get Better...' and bluebirds swooping from tree to tree with garlands of flowers (only, of course, the US version has a better-looking...

So, it's been a week since I got back and, as expected, it's been straight into relatively hard work. Plunged back into my taxes, vainly searching for some old bank statements until I worked out that I never got them and then had to organise dupes from the bank. *sigh* Three-quarters done, but can't do any more until I get them. So back to doing Impact articles and the ocassional Xbox 360 foray with new games. However already planning the next US trip in April...In the meantime, my brother has run a 'sixteen little known facts about me' list on his own official site ( http://www.theleftroom.co.uk/...

Though I'll deny it later, the common legend about me - or at least one of them - is that I blew up a hotel room.Despite what Jill McDole and Libby Shaw may tell you, it wasn't quite that way but as the great man once said 'print the legend'. It is true that while in a hotel room that will remain nameless and timeless to protect the guilty, I did something that led to all the lights going 'fizzz' and ceasing to work. I'm not proud of damage in general, but yes, at the time it was quite impressive. At the time, I merely blinked a lot and lied through my teeth to the staff. (Though in my defence,...

Home again, home again. And, gazing out from the train window...I'd forgotten how green things could be. Not even a hint of snow.I'm now back in Yorkshire after a pretty reasonable homeward journey over the last day. Bags arrived intact and where they were supposed to be throughout and though I didn't sleep on the plane, I have no doubt I will do so tonight (or, more likely) before. I still live in hope that the last-minute tickets I bought for the Iowa Powerball Lottery will pay off and that I will soon be able to be kept in the style to which I should become accustomed. If not this time, I'll...

Tad, Jill's brother drove us to the airport this morning and after a brief detour for errands and a slight hiccup finding the right airport entrance, everything worked well. Nearly left my itinerary on the counter, but then again the lady behind the desk also forgot to give me my travel ticket, so we came out about equal. My luggage is checked through to Heathrow. Supposedly. We live in Hope - a small town just outside Desperation.I'm currently at MSP airport. The flight from Sioux Falls to Minn.,...

Well, it's mid/late-afternoon Tuesday, Iowa-time, and that means I'm finishing my packing and will be off back to the UK tomorrow. I'll leave here about 10:00am and be on the 13:15 for an hour to MSP and then after a suitable 3hr lay-over, I'll be whisked back to Heathrow - and in Leeds around 12:00-1:00pm UK time Thursday. While part of me will, of course, be glad to be back at the family estate, there's something vaguely depressing about repacking for any homeward leg.Jill's demanding work schedule...

It's the ears, isn't it? Walking up from Jill's house to her work tonight (about ten minutes in a straight line - gotta love the American grid system even outside the major cities) I was wrapped up well, but the cold, biting breeze got the ears first. Like some temperature radar or as if someone, somewhere was griping about me (what are the chances?), the burning sensation of the cold starts on the ears first. Then possibly the nose. Thankfully all other parts of torso and limbs were covered by...