The world from my window

Well, it's been a month since my last blog. And after saying I was never going to blog again, three things have happened: * I feel guilty because so many people tell me they miss it * I just saw the film Julie/Julia * I'm in the most incredible place right now So while the world from my window is as misty as ever, it's not Crowman I see going into the village shop for fags and beer or even Celebrity Farmer for a loaf of bread or Mr Grigg for a Ginster's pasty. Outside my window, on the 23rd floor, I can see lots of human ants scuttling around below. A sea of Chinese faces on the underground, all of them different. In the land of the very short people, Mr Grigg, at 6ft tall, is king. We are in Hong Kong on our way to Australia and New Zealand to see family, friends and go to a wedding. It's also a bit of a personal quest - Australia is the place to which my mother and father nearly emigrated in the 1960s, I nearly emigrated in the 1980s and it's the place where ...

There is a power struggle going on in this house, hence the long time since my last blog. We have just taken in a springer spaniel from a rescue centre in Devon to keep our howling dog company, only to find the old dog hates the new one. It's getting better, but there have been fights every now and then, whenever the old dog thinks the new one is getting attention and he isn't. And when I say old dog I don't mean my man. My man is surprisingly stress-free, although he starts to swear when he has to clear up the crap from the patio. I have cleared up several bloodstains from the kitchen floor but lately the two dogs have been cuddling in to each other. It's only when a familiar human comes on the horizon the fur starts to fly. We have been told new dog has a wonderful pedigree, so we're hoping its field trials ancestry will come to the fore when we go beating in the autumn. Until then, I am doing my damndest to keep the bloody thing under control on a lead. I cannot...