Weather

It's very cold and very bright here in the West of England. Perfect weather as far as I'm concerned, but there is a slight flaw in that I prefer to come out of the perfect weather into the warmth, and we don't have any of that because the central heating system has run out of oil and we can't order any more because it's Saturday and this is Somerset, where things move gurt slow.

I suppose this is nature's way of telling me to smother myself in bacon fat and sew up my clothes. However, we do have fireplaces and a large supply of firewood, due to me finally getting to grips, though not literally, with the bandsaw.

Reading matter

For fun, Iain Banks' RAW SPIRIT, which is a must for anyone who enjoys whisky and Scotland.

I've also just finished Elizabeth Hand's MORTAL LOVE, which is an excellent 'Belle Dame Sans Merci' re-telling. Liz Hand writes exceptionally well, IMO. She's also done a lot of research on late 19th century Victorian painters (I can bear this out because of doing a short story on Conan Doyle's father) and it's a fascinating read. It's loosely conected to her 'St John the Divine' novels, which are also very good. When ever people say they don't like fantasy, or find fairies twee, I recommend her books - a very dark, fin de siecle sensibility.