Now that was a proper Test match. I’m not bitter or anything, but this could’ve been 2-1, you know what I mean? Or at least 1-1. That would’ve made things interesting.

Returning from watching Les Miserables, I was in an oddly cheery mood, given the subject matter of the musical. I’d seen a visiting friend off home, and was now returning home when she got on. She was with her friends, and they’d been sitting in front of me in Les Mis. It wouldn’t have mattered, because she was the kind I would have noticed across the theatre. Her hair was almost a cherry blonde, darker perhaps, artificial, a shining beacon that made her unmistakable. The vagaries of connections on the underground meant we made it to the same train, the same carriage, despite my earlier detour. Perhaps she recognised me, as she sat opposite, for she flashed a small smile my way. Perhaps it was just a brief courtesy when eyes met, for I had my headphones on. I turned the music down a little, eavesdropping on the conversation with her friends, sitting to the side of me, held across the carriage. From the accents of her and another, I imagined them to be tourists; her accent suggested Chinese, though her command of English was good - perhaps Hong Kong. Settled in the seat, she turned her attention to her shopping. The bags were unique, one suggesting a visit to the milliner, the other a Harrods bag design I’d not seen before, Harrods further enforcing the tourist image. ...

a) Don’t rush dinner. Really, take your time to prepare it. b) Whole wheat pasta is healthier for you, but it also takes longer to cook completely. 4 minutes more, in fact, according to the instructions on the packet. c) Al dente is intended to be a lot more al than dente. d) Carbonara sauce is the wrong sauce to pick for a vegetable pasta.

The Great Escape - An oldie but a goodie to start the year. Superb movie - if you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a service and have a look-see. ★★★★★ I Am Legend - Will Smith is the last man left alive, a virologist named Robert Neville who has survived a virus which turns people into aggressive, cannibalistic, vampire-esque zombies who cannot come out in the day. Great effects, especially the empty New York, makes the setting effective. Smith plays the character well, and the zombies for the most part live up to the hype, but the plot has some holes in it that you’re expected to ignore for the sake of the horror/action part of the flick. Very different from the book, apparently. ★★★ ...

More mid-summer/winter fiction! Esquire magazine mailed a napkin to 250 writers and asked them to write a short story on it. They got nearly a hundred back, and the results are available online.