Well you asked me to post.

Dave here. Following Barbeque and copious amounts of white wine Val, Cherry, Alison and Jessica are just about to depart leaving me with a glass of white wine and a surfeit of solace...no James Bond comments please!
It's very pleasant to be sat here with clear bue skies knowing that later on I shall be retreating to my Joe Hill short story anthology '20th Century Ghosts'. For thise who are interested I would recommend Joe Hill. His novel 'Heart Shaped Box' while not treading new ground is well written and paced and the anthology I am currently reading explores greater depths. For those who may be interested he is the son of Stephen King but has a voice of his own. I for one think he may end up more down the Ray Bradbury/Neil Gaiman line than following the Father's furrow but that can't be a bad thing can it?
I understand that Joe Hill's next book is going to be a graphic novel. No bad thing. Greater distance from Dad and ploughing a rich genre. Talking of graphic novels,I have just read 'Watchmen' at the behest of my brother (who is now in his 6th decade) --- and I loved it! Big issues dealt with in knowing terms and full of intelligence. If only all novels I read had as much soul. I will certainly not dismiss graphic novels in future. They are not a sub-genre to novels! Might have to investigate some Neil Gaiman in the graphic field. He wrote one called 'Signal to Noise'. I wonder if there is any relation to the Peter Gabriel song of the same name?
Anyway, family are all well and great. We had a fantastic day with Jessica in Bristol centre yesterday where we mooched, had an ice cream (flake and sauce included) and took a ferry ride in the harbour. Jess loved it.
Jessica comes on in leaps and bounds. She is trying to assert her independance more and more but loves stories, cuddles and someone to play with as much as ever. She is a star with her own fully defined character and personality....even if she does mix up Ribena and ballerina!
On a more sober note, the MPs expenses row has cast a long shadow over the political life of this country recently. It is so frustrating to hear those who represent the people try and excuse their behaviour in terms which do not connect with the electorate. The political system is rotten to the core. Even if it isn't against the rules the level of claiming and the items claimed for are unjustifiable in moral terms...particularly by those who would advise the manner in which we should live our lives. Hypocrites.
It's difficult to think in those teerms when listening to a blackbird's song and children's laughter in the distance. I just hope that they can pull it together, live by conviction and sort out the difficulties that face us economically and possibly more importantly, environmentally in the forthcoming years.
Back to the wine. I have recently signed up to Twitter and will be testing the value of that forum over the forthcoming weeks. I like to keep in touch where I can. Reminiscence is great but does not solve problems and keep you up to date with reality. The sepia tinted world has left - taken by the Langoliers perhaps?