poppyshake

I don't think there'll ever be a couple that capture my imagination more. Their Argentine tango (as per your avvie) was sublime .. and so was their salsa. Mark had everything .. he was a great dancer but he also was vulnerable and a bit insecure (not to mention gorgeous).

'The Wind in the Willows' cos it's got it all but I'm very fond of 'Winnie the Pooh' too .. and when both of them are read by Alan Bennett .. fantastic.

Well Ryan is out *gobsmacked* ... and Ludo. It's going to be an interesting week.

'Coraline' .. and I put my 3-D glasses on .. but everything turned pink and green and there wasn't that much of a 3-D effect .. and so I put the normal disc in. It was brilliant. Can't wait for that 3-D 'Christmas Carol' to hit the cinemas.

Oh dear .. Anton's jive!! .. he looked almost as amateur as Laila. I'm not keen on Anton, though I do like Laila .. Brendan has just been in a perpetual strop since series two ... I think it's only Jo's popularity that will keep them in the competition. I'm not keen on some of Alesha's remarks .. thought she was very rude to Laila. I'm still loving Ali and Brian .. and Jade and Ian .. also like Ricky and Natalie. I agree that Chris and Flavia were awful .. but there's something endearing about his willingness to try .. he really wants to do well and I was glad in a way that he didn't have to endure the dance off (Flavia .. what were you wearing??). I doubt he'll last much longer. Zoe and James shouldn't have been in the dance-off .. but I don't think they're that popular with the public (obviously). James has been trying to live down his nasty guy image ever since he showed it to us in glorious technicolour in series 4, and although Zoe is nice .. she's a bit competetive .. in the way that Gaby Logan was. She did look absolutely shattered by the result of being in the bottom two though ... it must be difficult because they got such good marks and comments from the judges, meaning that the public couldn't have given them many votes. But that could be because they didn't think they'd be in danger .. and so voted for those that were vulnerable. I don't vote .. the last time I did was for Mark and Karen.

Yes and he says 'I'd be quite happy to finish off the whole plateful' .. as if that's a revelation to us!! We know it probably takes a huge effort of will and Monica's/Michel's steely gaze to stop him from shovelling down the lot .. bless him! He likes his food!

Yes, there doesn't seem to be an out and out winner yet which is good .. I guess a lot of people might think James and Zoe .. but there are quite a few others that could step it up a bit and be in contention. It all hinges on who is the most popular with the public out of the more accomplished (and even the less accomplished .. who can forget Chris Parker!).

I'm loving Ali and Brian

ahh thanks for that tip chesil

Carry on Jeeves - P.G. Wodehouse

You won't regret it. I had them originally on tape .. but some of them got worn out and started misbehaving .. I've now got some of them on CD ... the first three and the last two .. the longer books are quite expensive on CD though (and by the time I've got them all ... they'll no doubt be available on another format) .. but I wouldn't be without them. Interestingly though .. they're not available for download on Audible.

... the last one was great .. lot's of drama and someone tried to poison Monica

oh you would ... Stephen Fry is just fantastic at bringing all the characters to life .. I count it as one of life's great luxuries that I can listen to Stephen reading about Hogwarts.

I really enjoyed it .. I've read it and listened to Neil reading it also .. magical and with a central character that you care about which is key.

It's something that they have done before (and I think it's been done by other radio stations/Audible etc) They get an acclaimed writer to write a two minute first episode and then they hand it over to the public to write the next two minute installments (I'm not sure how many episodes about thirteen I think) ... they send in their entries and each week one storyline is picked and dramatised (aired on Saturday evening on BBC radio 7). They then get the original writer of the first episode .. to write the last episode (he dramatises all the others too), they are usually thrillers with lots of twists and turns. I'm absolutely useless at anything like this .. I'm always amazed at how they've managed to come up with their storylines (especially within the confines of the two minute episode). This stories writer is Robert Shearman who apparently bought the Daleks back into Dr Who. I love listening to Radio 7 ... at the moment they have readings of 'A Suitable Boy' by Vikram Seth .. 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by Khaled Hosseini .. 'Frenchmans Creek' by Daphne Du Maurier and 'Adolf Hitler .. My Part in his Downfall' by Spike Milligan amongst others.

They are .. I've seen Justin Lee Collins, Frankie Boyle, Ant & Dec, Fernando Torres, Chris Evans .. a new one by Richard Hammond another tome of wisdom from Katie Price (of course) and probably something from Peter Andre.

'Mock the Week' with the brilliant 'News of the World' by 'The Jam'

I couldn't agree more .. I didn't stick it out. I'm loving your book lists .. great books.

I do love Michel Roux Jnr .. I would take his word for anything regarding food. I didn't like Monica to start with but she's grown on me .. and I think she's fair. Greg is so funny ... he almost quivers in ecstacy before he puts a forkful of food into his mouth, and then, more often than not, he repeats exactly what chef Michel has just said .. he needs a sign to save him the bother ... Obviously Ryan is very talented but his confidence is bordering on arrogance and there's no warmth there. My money would be on him though if I was a betting gal.

Have you seen this edition of 'Pride and Prejudice'? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pride-Prejudice-Fine-Jane-Austen/dp/0955881862/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255077873&sr=1-3 It's beautiful .. and though I don't like hardbacks I am a sucker for beautifully illustrated cloth bound books. I've got multiple editions of 'A Christmas Carol' .. one of my favourites is the one illustrated by P.J. Lynch ... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Carol-Charles-Dickens/dp/1844280373/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255078087&sr=1-3 it's stunning.

I loved, loved, loved 'The Mitfords, Letters Between Six Sisters' and Susanna Clarke's 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell'.

I re-read .. as in I listened .. to the Narnia books recently. They are so magical, my faves were 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe', 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader' and 'The Magicians Nephew'.

Well, I love 'War and Peace', 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and 'Bleak House' ... and the rest I haven't read (two are in the cupboard waiting though) so going on that I'm prepared to trust in your taste

I don't dislike it .. it's just that it seems to have turned into some sort of 'Lark Rise to Candleford' version of Emma .. it's lost a lot of it's sharp wit. Visually it's beautiful though .. but Mr Knightley!! .. he's supposed to be seventeen years older than Emma!!