Samantha R.I.P.

Sad news. Samantha, our black and white cat, died on Friday on the operating table. He had injured his eye in a fight and the infection was so bad the vet concluded the eye had to come out or the infection would have killed her. No sooner had they started giving her fluids prior to the operation than she dropped like a stone. The vet's have all been very sympathetic.

Samantha's gave us fifteen years of companionship and I'll miss tripping over her in all the dark places she managed to find to lie. Whether Meek misses her we don't know - He's taken it all lying down so far.

Jo's job with Merseyside Youth Association is drawing to a close and neither of us will miss it. She had supposedly been part-time but it's taken an awful lot of hours each week. These can now be devoted to her own business which is progressing well.

I've finished my novel - though I'm sure I could play at revising it for years. Now comes the hard part - finding an agent or publisher.

I know folk are interested to know how I'm enjoying my Kindle. The answer is - a lot. It's proved ideal for things like the vet's waiting room where I wouldn't have bothered taking a book for fear of getting it all bashed around in my pocket. I'm finding it easy to read. The less easy part is referring back from one page to another but I think that's just a case of getting used to creating 'bookmarks'. I'm currently reading a book that simply isn't available anywhere else. That, for me, is one of the key things. Once a book goes out of print it can be hard to find it but once it's 'kindled' it will be there for downloading any time in the future. I think it's well worth having.

Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain' blasted out from the TV again. The Boys Are Back In Town! Formula One is back. The season begins in Australia today and there's no sign of rain! David Coulthard (Birthday Boy - aged 40 today) joins Martin Brundle in the commentary box. There's a third British driver this year - Paul Di Resta - reigning DTM champion with a history that includes beating Vettel in the Formula 3 Euroseries some years ago.

In 2011, the main hope for excitement lies, as usual, with one variable that nobody – not even Bernie Ecclestone – can influence: the weather. More precisely, rain. But Bernie isn't a man to take no for an answer. The phrase 'Formula 1 circus' took on new meaning earlier in the year with Ecclestone's announcement that he intends to introduce a computer generated sprinkler system to liven up boring races. Ecclestone told the BBC, "At some time during the race, it will be raining. Maybe rain more than once." The pinnacle of motor racing is to be reduced to a demolition-derby-style circus fiasco. Those millions of pounds spent on research to produce the cutting edge technology of today's racing are about to be washed down the drains by Bernie's rain. Hopefully that idea has gone down the drain where it belongs.