When I did move, it was with the radio glued to my ear to catch the latest from Eton Dorney or the Equestrian events at Greenwich. The true weirdness of sports such as handball (a walkover for the Argentines, you'd think - they can always be relied on to put a ball in the back of the net using their hands) and the unconfined hilarity of the Olympic Walk where everyone looks like Donald Duck were revealed.
Now it's all over, I feel like putting up hula-hoops in the form of olympic rings, in the hope they'll be tempted back, like some Greater Manchester version of a cargo cult, but reason tells me that the only thing to do is to sit it out until the para-Olympics.
Apart from anything else, it was brilliant to see everyone looking so cheerful all the time. Even - get this - Andy Murray. Come to think about it, we were all ,ore than a bit cheerful about that one. In his 28 Days Later thriller, Murray bit back. Wow.
There's been an awful lot said about the Olympics "inspiring a generation". All I was really inspired to do was to Velcro myself to the sofa for a fortnight, but I get the point. It was like a shop window for all sorts of sports that look soooo much fun. Anyone for Beach Volleyball?
When I did move, it was with the radio glued to my ear to catch the latest from Eton Dorney or the Equestrian events at Greenwich. The true weirdness of sports such as handball (a walkover for the Argentines, you'd think - they can always be relied on to put a ball in the back of the net using their hands) and the unconfined hilarity of the Olympic Walk where everyone looks like Donald Duck were revealed.
Now it's all over, I feel like putting up hula-hoops in the form of olympic rings, in the hope they'll be tempted back, like some Greater Manchester version of a cargo cult, but reason tells me that the only thing to do is to sit it out until the para-Olympics.
Apart from anything else, it was brilliant to see everyone looking so cheerful all the time. Even - get this - Andy Murray. Come to think about it, we were all ,ore than a bit cheerful about that one. In his 28 Days Later thriller, Murray bit back. Wow.
There's been an awful lot said about the Olympics "inspiring a generation". All I was really inspired to do was to Velcro myself to the sofa for a fortnight, but I get the point. It was like a shop window for all sorts of sports that look soooo much fun. Anyone for Beach Volleyball?
Here's the cover of the new book! It was up on Amazon on Friday and I think it looks really good. When I first thought about the title, a friend wondered if "Frankie's Letter" made it sound a bit too much like a saga. Hmm. It isn't a saga, of course, it's a First World War spy thriller, and I'd hate to give anyone the impression we're in Catherine Cookson land. The thing is, that the whole story is about Frankie's letter - what it is, where it is and, most importantly, who is Frankie. So the title stayed, because I liked it and it's directly related to the story. There's a line in the first chapter said by a bloke who's just about to pop his clogs. "Frankie's letter... Read Frankie's letter." I hope you do!
Sometimes you just find yourself doing something completely different! I was absolutely delighted when I was asked to be the expert speaker (!) on a podcast broadcast by the massive Harry Potter fansite, Mugglenet, about the links between Harry and classic detective fiction, as exemplified by the works of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers and the like. It was co-hosted by two very big names in the Potter fan world, Keith Hawks, who runs Mugglenet and John Granger, who’s written a great series of books about the literary and philosophical influences in the Potter books. John (bless him!) is also that rare and discerning creature, a lover of Jack and his adventures. So, get your literary magnifying glasses out, pick up your deerstalker and magic wand and join us all for what turned out to be a fascinating literary discussion!