Raven

I'd usually adjudge myself to have been unlucky to have been rained on once when walking into/home from work in any given week. This morning I was rained on for the 5th time in 7 days (and I've been rained on going home for three of those as well). It's getting a little old now! Looks like tomorrow will be dry, however...

Has anyone watched the Fox/Canal+ version of War of the Worlds? I came across it on Disney+ last night, and ended up watching the first four episodes. This is a joint US/French production with half of the story set in France and the other half in London. So far the adaptation has very little in common with the book, or other adaptations, but I've found it entertaining enough so far (it's kind of an odd mix between a Scandinavian crime drama and the reboot of Battlestar Galactica (the parts set on occupied Caprica). Will probably burn through the final four episodes this weekend, and have just read that series 2 will also be on Disney+ mid-July.

Never heard of them before, but just looked them up and I have to ask - at that price - are they magic pencils? Do they write your thoughts as you think them? Do they draw pictures as you imaging things in your mind? According to the site I found* they are made of Genuine Californian Incense Cedar - is that the most expensive substance know to man after ambergris and Deliveroo coffee? *Amazon

I've got a little more tolerant to this as I have grown older, because I can see the evolution of different authors books covers on my shelf, as I have bought their books over time (Iain M. Banks, for example). What does annoy me is when an older series of books is reprinted not long after I get into them (Raymond Chandler, The Witcher novels etc.) and I end up with books of both the old and new versions!

There are worse ways to go! I've put the buying of Penguin Classics on hold for the moment, as they are once again updating the range (subtle this time, just a change of fonts, but I'm planning to buy some and I want them all to match!).

We had rain last night, but no lightening - that seemed to pass to the east of me. Very muggy through the night, though, and only slightly fresher this morning. Got caught in a very heavy shower on my way into work.

No until Friday, unfortunately...

Slightly cooler over night last night, but storms and warmer again over night tonight. Joy...

Clear blue skies and very warm when I walked into work, but the cloud cover has now rolled in and the temperature has dropped noticeably. There is also a nice breeze flowing through the office, which we didn't have yesterday.

Getting to be a little too hot for me; my flat doesn't cool down when we have this kind of weather, but it looks like it is going to break by the end of the week. I've only used my oven once in the last week.

There are seven Doctor Who Target novelisations on the Kindle today for 99p each. Worth a look is the novelisation of the The Pirate Planet, which was originally written by Douglas Adams.

Robert Harris' book V2 is 99p on the Kindle today, and you can get the whole of The Hunger Games trilogy for just over £6.00.

Solar eclipse today! So, of course, it's currently 100% cloud cover...

The original radio series is still the best version of Hitch-Hikers, I would recommend tracking down a copy of it if you can!

I'm probably going to get this wrong, but I believe that something like £4.00 out of every £5.00 bottle of wine in the UK is tax, so if you buy a £5.00 bottle of wine, the bottle only cost £1.00 to make and transport etc. Therefore, if you buy a £6.00 bottle of wine, the wine itself should be twice as good. This was all explained by Alan Davis on an episode of QI, but I'm struggling to find the video of it! Either way, I'm off to find some now...

Sounds like an episode of Lewis...

Call for the Dead (an early George Smiley novel by John le Carré) and Cormac McCarthy's The Road are both 99p today on, you guessed it, the Kindle!

I watched the last series of Landscape Painter of the Year, and the Canadian version that followed on, and enjoyed both. Not the same things at all, but have you been watching Bob Ross on BBC Four? I've also been watching the Great British Photography Challenge on BBC Four (Mondays, 9pm), which has been interesting but I'm not getting as much out of it as I had hoped!

French was the language used for diplomacy at the time.

I like the idea, but I have been a bit distracted with some moderation issues over the last day or so, so please don't take the lack of a thoughtful reply personally! (I'm only in the market for drive-by pithy posts as things stand!) So no change from usual, really...

The rain has cleared through, but it is still overcast. It's feeling a lot fresher though.

Had one last Sunday! (Zinfandel is another one I have on occasion). Don't ask me about vintages and estates, however, I usually go for something preferably a couple of years old and not too expensive!

Raining now, so I'm guessing that is the end of our summer.

Started reading Dune last night. Read for quite a while, so I was disappointed when my Kindle informed me I had only managed 5%...

I'm surprised I've not replied to this before. I usually have a bottle of red once a week, usually on a Sunday with a roast or pasta dish, and very occasionally a bottle of white (which I don't have very often because it goes down like lemonade!) Usually buy a Shiraz or Pinot Noir when I buy red, usually American or Australian. I'm more of a real ale drinker though.