Under wild East Anglian skies

I'm fully settled into English life again. I've watched Jeremy Kyle and the Wright Stuff almost every day, I went to Felixstowe for fish and chips by the sea (and scorched myself a very patriotic shade of red in the process) on Wednesday, last night Mum, Tammi and I watched Charlie sing in Bury St Edmunds Cathedral before coming back to Haverhill for Mum's first Indian in six months (my last was far more recent) and today I went into Cambridge to go shopping. Unfortunately, in my excitement, I ended up with a size 7 and a size 5, neither of which are ideal, so have to go back on Monday, but the joy of being in the lower end of the size spectrum was infinite.

The only thing missing so far is a picnic on Hampstead Heath, but I can make do with a pasty up by Haverhill reservoir. The dogs would prefer it, what with Billy being car-sick.

Tomorrow I hope to find a pub to settle into to watch the football. It will be the first step of my new programme to reclaim Britain from the louts. I'm going to take it back. A friend sent me this, which is inspiring me further. I particularly like the barman's Churchillian quote:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17302491&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=beer-we-go-name_page.html

This afternoon I went down the Woolpack to watch the predictable English quarter final penalty defeat against Portugal and that vile thug Rooney acting like a spoiled hooligan and bringing the team down to ten men, although ten men who upped their game considerably once they were missing Beckham and Shrek.

I've just got back from seeing Alan Carr, and a few local faces, at the Arts Centre (formerly known as the Town Hall). Missing nine months of the Friday Night Project didn't matter at all. It was bliss to enjoy comedy that didn't revolve around someone falling over or goofing around (funny faces have always been a sophisticated part of British humour and were most likely stolen by the Japanese...). Now I'm taking my premature hangover to bed with a large glass of water and some Richard and Judy recommended fiction. Good night.