Peartree Pantomime is one of those endurance tests you would only put yourself through for the sake of your children, or a good friend. You needed both criteria to get through this year's. Lou was, once again, one of the stars of the show ( along with the Villain, and Wishy Washy). It was am dram at its best. I mention it, only to have in a public place recorded that Lou told Hattie to 'shoot me if I talk about doing it again next year.' Lou, we loved you, you are the best Aladdin Bitterne could hope for and I will shoot you if you DON'T do it again next year.

Peartree is really a posh suburb of Bitterne or Woolston, two towns that are special to me, and which coincidentally I visited on Friday. A needed new shoes and we went to Mitchell's of Woolston, a Clarks shoe shop like the kind your mum used to take you to. You know: smell of new shoes; boxes of them stacked up around the edge. Ladies in white blouses and black tight skirts who bend down to measure your feet with that thing which is metal and cold on the bottom and a bit tickly on the bit they put round your foot. When you get a bit bigger now they stand you on a super spacy thing that laser measures your feet, but A is still small enough for the old fashioned system.

Yoga with Marion on Friday. We did some lovely things which are alleged to help you get towards a state of bliss. I ached in the morning, if that helps anyone else get there. Thursday night there was nothing at the right time for me to go to a class, so I had to make do with BLC gym, which was busy and full of young men looking keen. They should go to Body combat! That would take the smiles off their faces.