Sugar's All Booked Up...

I shall firstly apologise for being so lax on the blogging front, I am afraid I have been away. No not away on some sort of jolly holiday but steadfastly stuck in the Victorian era, deeply embedded, deeply engrossed. Puzzled? I have been reading the epic novel by Michel Faber ‘The Crimson Petal and the White’. Therefore I have been lost in a world of back streets, murder, madness, brothels, perfumeries (which I admit was a bit of a slog) and then ascended to the upper classes. Seriously this book is one I would recommend to everyone, and I don’t normally rave people to read a book on here! Thanks to the delightful heroine and (prostitute) of the novel Sugar, it’s been an exciting few days.

Though I admit I have closed off the world a little for this novel (the writing is small, its over 800 pages, takes some serious concentration and I get grouchy if a book takes me longer than a week unless its Wilkie Collins) that’s not all that I have done. Friday I definitely did something I just simply cannot remember what. Please note if I seem a little rambling and forgetful one thing I haven’t been doing is sleeping I have some serious insomnia.

Saturday I spent the morning in one of those ‘I have had nowhere near enough sleep’ morning which involved lots of cups of tea, Malteaser’s for breakfast, cuddles with Hoyden (the cat) and Sugar and her frankly filthy escapades. Sunday was the Walk for Life, the weather held off and though it wasn’t as sunny as last year it was a lovely day. Met Juliette and Matt there, we randomly lost them somewhere in the 10k of London streets, we did however catch up with Dannii Minogue who was extremely lovely! My people are going to talk to her people and something Bent might happen. Mr S surpassed himself with a fabulous opening line to Miss Minogue ‘Oh I thought you meant Kylie… I like her a lot… oh, erm and you on the X Factor, lots.’ God I love him!

Muffintop met us afterwards and we went for a lovely lunch of Dim Sum, I recommend Lido in China Town whole heartedly, for £20 for the three of us we ate like kings, or queens, and couldn’t finish everything. After that we tried to get tickets for Sex & The City, nowhere in central London could we do this, we ended up getting a later performance in Angel. Meaning we had to spend some time mooching around book stores in Angel, Mr S was so unimpressed. I was impressed I bought nothing. The book ban is working! Sex & The City is brilliant. Muffintop cried several times, Mr S laughed almost non stop and I did a bit of both. Its only going to be a sentence review as I don’t want to ruin it for everyone it been worth the wait though, unlike Indiana Jones & The Stupid Storyline.

Monday was a day of more reading and then the change over of Newspapers that I am testing out. I’ll give you more on that soon. It was also book group it’s always nice to get together with the other book geeks. We discussed ‘The Book of Dave’ at a lovely random Greek/Aussie/South African restaurant on James Street, really nice. The next book is ‘The God of Small Things’. I am a bit book talky at the moment, sorry, I am building a new blog all about books at the moment, nothing to do or be shown on myspace, and blame that. I’ll let you know when it’s sorted, it’s already getting hits and it’s not finished. I want it all sparkly before the unveiling.

Today combined domesticity and work. I met Mr S at Oxford Circus at 3 for the joys of John Bloody Lewis. I hate John Lewis, I think it’s a childhood thing; I was dragged round them endlessly by my mother and grandparents a little too often. Mr S also hates John Lewis you could imagine WWIII was coming, it didn’t. Despite the amount of emails and telling everyone how we didn’t want wedding presents, and if people must they must not get John Lewis anything guess what? Yes, people either a) didn’t get the emails/didn’t know/didn’t care/don’t know me and Mr S very well. Ha, ha, ha I am joking… look at me complete ungrateful c**t!

No seriously… we are grateful as despite the fact you cant get a kettle in there for less than £40 and a double duvet starts at £40 and the pretentious vile people there, we came away with two gorgeous sheepskin rugs (oh my god does that count as fur?!) and the complete Delia Smith collection, a good shopping trip. We have however vowed never to go there again. Why do people always rave about it and Waitrose, overpriced and outrageously so, I mean you can get four kettles in Sainsbury’s for the price of one in JL. Oh it vexed me, you all know I am a bargain boy; this was a treat however and shall be overlooked!

This evening I had a boozy media meeting with the new Magazine I am going to be working on. I have also in the subsequent tube journeys after finishing ‘The Crimson Petal and the White’ managed to read another amazing book ‘The Diving-Bell &The Butterfly’ I think we might all be a bit booked out by now lol. So I will say farewell before I do some research on Chaka Khan and get into bed with George Clooney/Michael Clayton!

P.S For the person who reads this who got the John Lewis vouchers, I love you dearly and the Kylie Collection towels have been our favourite present, and you so know it!