Falling With Style

Larry lived in a normal house with normal parents, but as he approached secondary school he became increasingly aware of his special powers. In the womb eleven years ago, Larry's number one X chromosome had developed differently from the others, leaving him with magical powers of memory and a raised X scar on his forehead which he hid under his thick mop of unruly hair. Unfortunately for Larry, the other children began to notice that he was different, and hiding his special powers was becoming more and more difficult. Professor Mumblemore had invited Larry to join Vogwarts from September, (a special school hidden away from the authorities beneath the South Downs that could only be reached by a flying taxi). However, He who must not be named at the Ministry for Education thought that Larry and his parents were absolute Muggles. Conspiring with Larry's current school they hatched a secret plan to shut Larry in the PE cupboard until he was 16 so that Professor Mumblemore and...

I'm really looking forward to being back in Greater Manchester this weekend. Almost 10 years in the great county of Lancashire has been interrupted by the last 8 in equally stunning Sussex. However,telling friends that I'm returning north this weekend has produced expressions of pity and a looks of concern on our behalf! We all know about the poor weather, the funny accents and this stuff they have up north called 'industry' - but for the benefit of my champagne drinking, sun kissed southern soft friends (also a caricature in case you were wondering!) let me give you my top 5 from the most excellent city of Manchester! 1/ The Museum of Science and Industry. In my view this eclipses anything that London has to offer. It tells the story of our social history magnificently, focussing of course on the dual horrors and splendours of the industrial revolution. From the biggest machines to the best interactive displays for kids - MOSI is a must visit place. That the gover...

We are continuing our Marriage Central seminars this weekend. One of the books that we have been recommending to our couples is the excellent, 'Mars and Venus in the bedroom', by John Gray. He takes the well known Mars/Venus analogy of Male/Female differences and applies them pretty frankly to the most intimate parts of our most loving relationship as husband and wife. Essentially, the old generalisation that 'he wants sex and she wants romance' means that it does seem as though we have arrived on earth together from different planets. Nowhere is this seen more clearly than behind the bedroom door. Most of the book is definitely for 'couples' reading only, and not subject matter that I would quote liberally from on my blog! However, this simple passage about the magic art of buying flowers ends up explaining some of our differences in ways that even us Male Martians can begin to understand - ladies, really, we do need it explaining to us at this kind of level ...