Good evening, dear Friends and Followers, wherever you may be.

Well, first of all, I'm glad to report that 'cesca's trial day went very well indeed, and that Isla seems entirely happy with the arrangement. In fact, she almost shed a tear when her little companion (who is, to quote my eldest daughter, 'sooooooooooooooooooo cute') when she left. So yes, I think all will be well. And you will see her before the end of term.

Yesterday, though, I was in London all day, attending a Board meeting of the music college of whose gubernatorial team I am a member, and that went rather well, too. The enconomic situation seems to be picking up slowly but positively, to judge from our examination entries, and whilst we were all a tad perturbed six months ago, we're not now. I think that's indicative of the situation generally - but I'm no expert, and I know that many of you are, dear Followers, so I will desist from taking this matter, and my opinions, any further. Suffice it to say that we're doing OK.

I'm always entertained by train travel, though. It just makes me LOL. The number of people who can't resist the opportunity to ring their partners and say fatuous things like 'Yeah, I'm on the train', or, 'I'm just pulling into the station now' makes me wonder how on earth we ever managed in the old days. I wanted to ring Mrs C and say, in a very loud voice, 'Hi. I'm just ringing you now'. And then there was the chap who was ostensibly having a conversation with himself about nuclear physics. It took me some time to realise that he was, in fact, talking to someone else, whom he could hear in his earpiece. Anyway, I just recited the pluperfect active of amo out loud as we entered Paddington Station (the rhythm goes perfectly, including the 2nd person plural across the points), which drew a few rather curious glances. If you can't beat them ......

I continue to be amazed by the attraction of 'The Fisherman's Apprenctice', which we watched en masse tonight. It's incredibly popular, especially with hot choc, ginger nuts, shortbread and fruit, which were all on offer tonight.

Did you know that Newton is the home of Silent Reading? It was initiated by Mr and Mrs Balding when they were lodgeparents, in 1977. It soon caught on, and now all lodges do it.

So there you are. Your fun fact for the night.

Goodnight.