Yes, OT is OK now:) Happy to report that in my bit of England it has been raining. That means the snow has been disappearing fast. No, I'm not dreaming of a White Christmas. One that doesn't involve sliding around on treacherous ungritted roads and pavements will do me fine.... By the way, anyone who has tried emailing me recently may have had issues. A lot of emails were being mistakenly junked, and I have also had problems setting up a new internet connection.

Sorry to hear about your own troubles on the home front, BTW. How are those naughty Bombays of yours?

Thanks, aussiemarg. Of course it had to coincide with the worst weather period of the year - stranded at home today as trains could not run due to icy tracks. And how's the weather in Oz?

...what's with TypePad not showing a 'leave a comment' box right away after posting a comment?

Hi all. Suffering from culture shock at the 'new' TW look....actually that's not my excuse for not posting lately - I have had bronchitis (actually still have it) and was quite poorly for some days. Very interesting article about the IW tournament. Though I have to say that my key question is that given where it's located, why not play it on lovely clay? :-)