Anyone else love this show? It has been such a great series – and, judging by the cliffhanger ending, there has to be a second one next year surely.

This is probably a cliché that’s been trotted out in relation to this show, but it really is a good old-fashioned sitcom – bit silly at times, yes, but feelgood and escapist. I love the ‘You have been watching…’ end credits – clearly an homage to the great Perry & Croft sitcoms.

Miranda Hart looks like my boss too, which is quite funny.

I have.  I did the majority online this year – and intend doing even more next year in order to curtail even further the time I have to spend battling through Merry Hill or the sea of heads that is Birmingham city centre.  I have found friends and family much easier to buy for this year, though, in the main.  Nobody has any money so they are not being demanding.

I actually braved a circuit training class last night.  Due to the ominous mention of things like ‘running’ and ‘equipment’ being involved, I imagined being haunted by flashbacks of horrific PE lessons, but actually it was great.  I thought I would be intimidated when faced with weights and mats on which to do press-ups, but it turned out to be fun and the trickier activities were all explained.  I have a worrying lack of strength in my arms, though – clearly an area I need to work on.

Bet my vile PE teachers from school would be amazed to see me actually enjoying partaking in sporting activity and keeping fit.  Amazing what can be achieved by a person who is given a bit of encouragement and isn’t being told they are a useless waste of space simply because they can’t hit a hockey ball, eh?  They can choke on it.

Core stability and spinning classes tonight.  In case you’re wondering why this sudden gym activity, my lovely MIL has bagged us a couple of 12-day passes for a nearby fitness centre so we are making the most of it!

My writing has sadly gone to pot, as it always does this time of year.  I just haven’t the time to focus on a novel when my weekends and evenings are taken up with wrapping presents, putting up lights and writing endless cards (and doing things like circuit training classes).

Apologies for not updating this thing in absolutely ages.

I have a new chapter to share with you now: we have reached Wednesday (AKA Chapter 3) in The Four Matthews saga.  Romance fans may be in for a treat with this one, as things start to hot up on them thar hills!

Hope you enjoy…

See page 117 of this fortnight’s (20th October to 2nd November) issue of Yours magazine!!! My short story Flash Harry – which they have re-titled Where Did You Get That Hat? – is there in its glory, along with a piccie of me!!

I am over the moon. I was flashing the mag at everyone today: all my workmates, the lady in Spar from whom I bought the magazine, the lady in the hairdressers next door, total strangers at bus stops (well the latter isn’t true actually)…

Woo-eeee – my fiction is in print at last!! Does this mean I have arrived?

By coincidence TV Spa-Dom was, if you recall, set to appear in the 17th October edition of My Weekly, under a new title Girlie Weekend. However, it was dropped at the last minute to make way for an ad! I guess that happens a lot in the magazine world. Advertising revenue will always take precedence. I was gutted at the time, but appearing in Yours makes up for the disappointment.

Here are some pics:

My review of the Lara Beach Hotel in Antalya is now on the Trip Advisor website: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g297962-d568401-r46018065-Lara_Beach_Hotel-Antalya_Turkish_Mediterranean_Coast.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT – I penned it under my username of SooWestMidlands!

I feel that think Nathan and I were extremely lucky to have gone to that hotel.  We only booked it two weeks before we flew, but we absolutely made the right choice.  It truly is a special place.  There is something magical about the Lara Beach that just rubs off on you and makes you feel you will never be the same again somehow!

I know that sounds a very deep way of describing a hotel, but it’s true!

Here (because I need any excuse) are a few more of our holiday piccies:

Oops, haven’t updated this for a while.

My hubby and I have just returned from an unforgettable week in wonderful Turkey. We are still on a high from the experience – well falling from it fast now we are back at work and have had to crash back to earth.

I will say I can heartily recommend the Lara Beach Hotel in Antalya. The food and drink were first class, pools and activities excellent, staff great fun and entertainment utterly superb.

It was our first time in Turkey but will definitely not be our last.

Here are a few holiday snaps to brighten up this dingy October day:

I had a lovely day at Ludlow Food & Drink Festival today. The weather was glorious – it really could not have been more perfect. Our climate seems all to cock but hey, I don’t question it – I am loving this current late surge of sun.

Anyway, it was a great day, featuring hundreds of stalls selling (and in many cases giving away free samples of) local produce. Cheeses (my favourite), ciders (second fave), chutneys, nuts, crisps, pies, sausages, jams, coffees, mayonnaises, salad dressings, ales, different varieties of honey and fudge.

Most of the stalls were inside the grounds of the 11th century Ludlow Castle, though there were also many spread out throughout the beautiful Shropshire town. The place was heaving, and there was a lovely community atmosphere.

An event like that is, I feel, every bit as good as the BBC Good Food Show, which take place at the NEC – if not better in a way. All the produce is local, everything is out in the fresh air; there may not be celebrity chefs wandering around, but everyone shares a passion for good food and drink.

I have finished Chapter 2 – or Tuesday for the purposes of the fictitious walking break schedule – of The Four Matthews and uploaded it here.

I always think my writing is rubbish, then I reread a chapter when I’ve completed it and suddenly – without boasting – it doesn’t seem such drivel after all.

I love writing this novel.  I feel so much more relaxed with it than my previous efforts.  I have lived and breathed it for the last few weeks.  I am quite proud of it thus far.

So this year’s Strictly couples have been announced.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/couples/

To be honest, I’m a bit ‘hmm?’ about this line-up.  I had to look up who some of these people are.  Is Ronnie Wood’s ex-wife actually famous for anything other than being ditched by a Rolling Stone?  I actually think the professional dancers are more well-known.

These celebs seem a bit ‘ITV’ – more like the calibre of contestants you’re more likely to see on Dancing on Ice (a show I also enjoy and am not slagging off).  Perhaps due to the credit crunch the Beeb can’t afford anyone A-list?

I am sure they will grow on me, though.  And I know, whatever I say about the celebs, and about the fact that the wonderful acerbic Arlene has been sacked as a judge in favour of Alesha Dixon, that I will not miss a minute of the series, which starts on 18th September.  It is still my favourite programme by a mile.

Yesterday I saw the wonderful We Will Rock You at the Birmingham Hippodrome. It was truly spectacular – probably, I would say, better than the London production we caught back in 2005.

This touring production stars Kevin Kennedy, alias Curly Watts of Corrie fame, who does a great job as the old hippie Pop, former X Factor finalist Brenda Edwards, who has such unbelievable energy, as the Killer Queen, and Jonathan Wilkes, famous among other things for being Robbie Williams’ best mate, as the evil Khashoggi who wears sunglasses indoors and sports a Hitler Youth-blond quiff.

The two leads, Alex Gaumond as Galileo and Amy Hathaway – who, unbelievably, was actually the understudy – as Scaramouche, demonstrated incredible gusto, as did Wayne A. Robinson as the incongruously named tough guy Britney Spears and Georgina Hagen as Meat (as in Loaf).

The storyline – though derided by critics as silly – is a satirical dig at the increasingly ‘manufactured’ nature of modern music and the consequent dearth of ‘real’ music featuring instruments, and features plenty of typical Ben Elton humour.

A vast number of songs – to name but a few, Radio Ga Ga, Killer Queen, Under Pressure, A Kind of Magic, Headlong, One Vision, Who Wants to Live Forever, These Are the Days of Our Lives and, of course, We Will Rock You – are woven into the story in a skilful, non-cheesy way.

This show is so much more than a musical. The experience is more comparable really to a gig. The fans are encouraged to clap and sing along. Yesterday’s matinee crowd were really up for it, and gave three standing ovations.

I’ve said it before, but the theatre provides a truly addictive buzz for me. I would go and see a show every week if I could. For uplifting escapism the experience cannot be beaten.