poppyshake

'Marley was dead, to begin with' ... Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol 'Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much' ... J.K. Rowling 'Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit' ... JRR Tolkien 'the Hobbit 'I have just returned from a visit to my landlord, the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with ... Emily Bronte 'Wuthering Heights' 'If I should die, think only this of me, that there's some corner of a foreign field that is forever England' ... Rupert Brooke 'the Soldier'

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke

'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' by Susanna Clarke.. I loved it and am still stunned by it's originality. I loved 'The Book Thief' too .. very moving.

I think Gino will win it by a country mile .. does anyone actually like Kim? I'm not liking Joe Swash on ITV2 ... he has been quite vile about Justin

It's going to be a tough week this week and anyone could go ... loved the charlestons last week .. but thought it would've been fairer if they had all done all charleston or rock'n'roll.

I hated Alesha's remarks .. there was no need to say that to him in front of all his family. It was the public that kicked Zoe out and kept Craig in .. not Craig It was right that he should go though. Loved Ali and Brian.

Galvanise - The Chemical Brothers Hey Joe - Jimi Hendrix So Real - Jeff Buckley California - Joni Mitchell Waiting in Vain - Bob Marley Cave - Muse (at last!!) Changes - David Bowie Knights of Cydonia - Muse .. yay! Paint it Black - The Rolling Stones Lacrimosa - Regina Spektor

Chicken Tikka Masala with rice and naan bread

Ooh how's it going?, this book had a bit of stick for not being one of Marian's best, are you enjoying it so far?

"There are some upon this earth of yours," returned the Spirit, "who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all out kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us." A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

Oh me too .... I find reading this kind of literature just weighs me down .. even if it has a positive outcome. Obviously a biog may have parts in it that are distressing .. I can cope with that, but I couldn't read a book that was based on someone else's distressing life experience. I have an aversion to anything Jackie Collins/Danielle Steel .. I dipped in to them when I was younger and even then found it all too glossy/artificial and hollywood for my liking. As for Jane Austen, I've read her and re-read her so many times with great pleasure. Whatever you watch on screen of hers .. is only a taster, the original is so much better.

Hi Iain .. welcome Glad you're enjoying it here

It's 'stress awareness' day today I'm going to tell my hubby how stressed I am .. maybe he'll make the tea!

Gracious!! your dinners sound fantastic!

'This Morning' gave us the four suspects and the 'Radio Times' said be prepared for a shock ... I did a bit of simple arithmetic (pie chart etc) and realised it had to be Darren (moral of the story .. don't read or watch anything prior to a big soap storyline). It seems so unlikely though that it doesn't ring true.

Rebel Rebel - David Bowie Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits Jump - Flo Rida/Nelly Furtado Planet Telex - Radiohead Don't Upset the Rhythm - The Noisettes Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve Paradise - Sade Lola - The Kinks God - Tori Amos Meadowlarks - The Fleet Foxes So .. no Muse at all .. shame on you i-pod

I was shocked at last Saturday's bottom two but then as I don't vote I can't really complain ... although I'm going to .. grrrrrrrr! I think they saved the right couple (I would say that .. I love Ali and Brian) but it's a shame to see a good dancer go out when there are lot's of mediocre dancers still left. I can't dislike Craig though .. he so want's to do well and he does put the hours in so he is trying his best (unlike people like Fiona Phillips who really just couldn't be bothered). Hopefully now he has got to Blackpool .. the viewing public might just decide to let him stay there. I doubt Ali and Brian can win as obviously their public support isn't large. People are saying that Ricky Whittle isn't popular either (taken from the on-line polls I think) .. so maybe the best dancer in the competition won't win either (though I think he would be saved by the judges in any dance off .. unless he was off form). If it's down to popularity then I wouldn't be surprised if either Phil or Natalie won .. but I think .. at the moment .. they are far from being the best dancers. But it's not all about the dancing is it (and don't mention the 'j' word)? .. it's about who the public connects with.

That's what I had today .. you can't beat it on an Autumn day

I'm still liking Ali and Brian best. No professional has ever won the competition twice .. but as all the past winners have gone now .. that doesn't help narrow it down any further. I doubt it will be Anton and Laila as Anton's latin isn't good enough ... it won't be Craig and Flavia .. cos bless him he has no rhythm whatsoever. I don't think it will be Zoe and James cos they have already been in the dance-off (but I think Alesha was once so who knows). After that it really is anybody's guess .. who knows how much Ricky Groves or Chris Hollins might improve .. and Chris and Ola have a great chemistry/partnership and according to Darren that is the key to winning.

Ah, you ladies! Always on the spot when there's something happening!. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

PopCo - Scarlett Thomas Waterstones synopsis: Alice Butler has been receiving some odd messages - all anonymous, all written in code. Are they from someone at PopCo, the profit-hungry corporation she works for? Or from Alice's long lost father? Or has someone else been on her trail? The solution, she is sure, will involve the code-breaking skills she learned from her grandparents and the key she's been wearing round her neck since she was ten. "PopCo" is a grown-up adventure of family secrets, puzzles, big business and the power of numbers. Methinks: I picked this book up as a result of reading Scarlett's 'the End of Mr Y' .. which on the whole I had enjoyed (although I thought the storyline kind of fizzled out and didn't live up to it's cracking beginning). The narrative of 'PopCo' moves between the adult Alice and the child .. there is lots here about codes, puzzles, paradoxes and maths, so much so that .. unless you are mathematically minded .. your head will be in a twirl just trying to understand it. Alice works for the third largest toy manufacturer in the world .. 'PopCo' .. and the book is largely about her attending a conference in the depths of the Devon countryside .. there is also a sub plot concerning codebreaking and hidden treasure. On the whole I did find it interesting although sometimes it felt that the author was getting a bit too preachy .. covering all sorts of subjects from capitalism, exploitation, slave labour, animal welfare, veganism, homeopathy (which was also key in 'The End of Mr Y'), consumerism .. and a lot of other ism's. But it is intelligently done and thought provoking (what is the real cost of some of our home comforts?). Alice is intriguing though and I was interested in her story from beginning to end. Again, I don't think it ended as strongly as it began .. I wanted more from it .. but that might just be me. It left me thinking that one day Scarlett Thomas will write a phenomenally good book because she has all the right ingredients, it's just not quite there yet (imo). 7/10

I'm so looking forward to the 3D 'A Christmas Carol' .. the trailer looks fantastic. Also 'Alice in Wonderland'

I love 'Spaced' .. and have the entire lot on DVD. I'm glad they are repeating it cos it deserves to be more widely known .. advert breaks ugh .. they ruin everything!

I agree I love Karen, I'm really enjoying 'choreography corner' with her on 'It Takes Two' though it would seem she's like marmite .. you either love her or you hate her .. I love her