Welcome to my perfumed garden

'Songs Your Godmother should know'; 'Chris Difford and Tom Robinson tell the story of the musical education of Times classical music critic Hilary Finch, courtesy of her goddaughter Tamasin...

Hilary stopped listening to popular music in her teens, at the start of the 70s and there's a ton of stuff she's never heard; Queen, Deep Purple, Radiohead, Nirvana, Prodigy - all this is new to her. Just listening to her reactions; what she likes, what she doesn't like, her take on everything she's hearing for the first time, her disections of each piece of music she hears... She loves Radiohead but remains unimpressed by the Arctic Monkeys and Bohemian Rhapsody.

An absolutely rivetting documentary that'll hopefully crop up on Radio 4's listen again page soon.

Well, it's nearly the weekend, which is usually of little importance to me, since I work from home and make my own hours, but I do feel this Friday through Sunday deserves particular consideration.

1. It's Mark's birthday today.

2. My submission to my agent is all done; 1st 2 chapters, a synopsis and the sales pitch/aka begging letter; all parcelled up and on its way to Soho.

2. I have finished my fic. Not just any old fic. This is a fic I've been writing for Moonridge 2006. At just under 30,000 words, it's not even all that long by my standards but it's really taken it out of me; quite the hardest thing I've ever written. But it's done, at last. I always get iffy at this point; scared that, when I start to read it through, it'll be utter pirate's-balls. Hey ho... steeling myself as we speak. T'will be beta'd and winging its way to Mariojoe, she with the patience of a saint, by the day's end

So I'm all tanked for a relaxing couple of days with a kitchen lightly filled with fresh bagels, my favourite cream cheese, very yummy looking salad stuff, a temptingly crusty baguette, Tesco's organic English goat's cheese, three types of olives and a handsome looking Merlot.

In other news, the Day's Big Headline is, of course, that Alan Johnstone has finally emerged safe and well in a video on t'internet. Now, this is very, very strange; why now, after so long? I honestly assumed he was dead and had been for months, otherwise, why not parade him for the cameras and make a point of the fact you've kidnapped him? Very, very strange indeed...

Anyway, Mark's birthday cake smells done.... Exits, following nose