South Park

South Park made free on the web : Broadband TV News

Excellent - it's South Park on demand. Get yours here.

Dales

The official Yorkshire Dales web site

For escaping at Easter. This was the view from our cottage:

Fountains Abbey

Fountains Abbey, Studley Royal, Garden, Historic Ruins, Yorkshire

Well worth a visit.

Can be a bit cold at times though:

Yorke Arms

The Yorke Arms: Restaurant with rooms

This wasn't bad on Sunday, despite it taking them absolutely ages to get the coffee ready!

Five years

Iraq invasion: What they said | Features | The First Post

Read and cringe.

Eddie Thompson

Pretty depressing view of marriage from Dundee Utd chairman Eddie Thompson:

'When I met my wife I was wearing Italian suits, brothel-creeper shoes and had big sideburns. I must have looked like a bloody crook to all those I was doing audits for. So Cath turned me into a professional; she slowly got the sideburns down, the gloves on and the umbrella out. She shaped me.'

Sounds more like she turned you into a whole lot of no fun, Eddie.

Forget free CDs

Sound advice, but I don't think the papers are ready to give up their CD & DVD giveaways just yet.

Express again

Lying scumbags (hacks on the Express Group newspapers, not the McCanns).

Minghella

Oscar-winning director Minghella dies | News | guardian.co.uk Film

Very sad news.

Keeping fit in London

Unbelievable. The fitness guru cited on this page is someone I knew at primary school in Loughborough. Looks like he's developed quite an empire.

Jerusalem artichokes

We're getting free Jerusalem artichokes from Riverford this week. Shudder.

Delia

My reaction was the same as that of Alex Renton's wife: 'It's just sad and crap'. I wouldn't burn the books though, far too useful.

Great poets of the 20th century

The Graun is having a week of poetry. But could their choice of poets BE any more conservative?

3am

Just in case you haven't seen it yet. Hilarious.

Russia expo

I am now one of the seven million billion people who have seen this exhibition. Most of these people were there yesterday. Here's one of the highlights:

And another one:

La Petite Anglaise

Catherine Sanderson: The blog, the Frog and la Petite Anglaise - Telegraph

"La petite anglaise" is absolutely everywhere at the moment. It's stomach-churning to see a PR machine being this successful for something so inconsequential. She married a French bloke, shagged an English one, got sacked. Who cares? Especially when the story is so badly written:

Late in the evening I found myself staring at his hands, which were resting on the table in front of me, long-fingered, elegant yet strong-looking. Maybe some hint of the longing I felt showed in my face, because James said in a strangled voice: “I’ve been trying to keep myself in check all evening, out of decency, out of respect for the fact that you’re in a relationship, but I’m sorry, I can’t not say this, I just can’t.”

“Go on,” I half whispered, wishing I had drunk less.

“Ever since I started reading petite anglaise, I’ve felt drawn to the girl who wrote it. I was seeing a French girl for a while, but my heart just wasn’t in it. I couldn’t get you out of my head. Even though you were in Paris, and with someone. And even though I had no idea what you actually looked like . . . And then you walked into the bar tonight, and – well, this is going to sound corny, but to hell with that – any doubts I had just vanished when I saw you.”

He had started falling for petite anglaise before we had even met? This was either utter madness, or the most romantic thing I’d ever heard.

I was exhilarated. Terrified. Thrilled that he wanted me as much as I now knew I wanted him. Panic-stricken at the thought of what could lie on the horizon.

It's like a random printout from the central computer lying deep in the bowels of Mills & Boon, churning out slush, hour after hour. Vomit, vomit, vomit.

La Quincaillerie

Restaurant, Brasserie La Quincaillerie | Contact & Plan d'accès | La Quincaillerie vous accueille pour tous vos repas d'affaires ou entre amis

This is where we went to eat on Tuesday night. Recommended, if you are ever in Brussels.

Alain Robbe-Grillet

Alain Robbe-Grillet | Obituaries | guardian.co.uk Books

Hm. An obituary written by a dead man. Very strange. How many of these did Douglas Johnson file before he passed away, I wonder?

PVR

Top Up TV unleashes monster PVR | Electric Pig

Should this be our next TV investment?

Business cards

Predictably I didn't get round to sorting out any business cards before travelling to my conference this week. I wish I'd ordered some with this picture on the back, like Alan Reiter:

London

Matt T: London in colour in the 1950s and 1960s

Nice photos.

Saoirse’s return

Saoirse’s return

Oh dear. Sounds like things have not worked out for the 'community pilgrim'.