What a mess! Kids and poster paints are not a very clean combination.

Oh, Jesus! She's eating the brush. And, now it's in my ear.

Ace.

If you've been trying to get hold of me for the last couple of days - which, let's face it, is unlikely; I just want to make out that although I'm a geek out of the top drawer of the internet, I have thousands of friends and loose acquaintances... - I'm sorry I have been unavailable... I've had a new laptop to play with and my wife has been away in Edinburgh pretending to work.

Which means, I've been on advanced babysitting duty.

I'm shagged out.

;0)

Today I took Ava to the Blue Planet Aquarium in Ellesmere Port. It's a bit effing steep. £17.95 for a fat adult and a small child; but it was worth it...

pike, sand sharks, blue sharks, clown fish, angel fish, anenomes, rays, scorpions [!]... and thousands of others varieties too ugly or Latin too remember.

Even the ironic plate of fish 'n' chips in the overpriced caf wasn't too bad.

"Daddy, are we eating his mummy?" said Ava, pointing at one of the fish swimming past the observation window.

"No, darling; we're eating his daddy."

"Oh, daddy!" she said, dead serious look etched across her face, "I hope no one eats you!"

Me too, darling, me too.

If Jo gets back in time, I'm off to see The Voices and Camera in Telfords tonight.

If her flight isn't delayed.

[crosses fingers] Back to the top of the page...