The So How Was It For You? Post.

Well, there were three things that got in my way. The first was the hospitalisation of one of my aunts for kidney failure - she's at home now, and on dialysis. Happily she's doing fine and in good spirits.

The second was the sudden passing of Brittany Murphy, which also threw something of a downer on my spirit in the runup (it must have made viewing of Happy Feet somewhat bittersweet for her British fans - ITV1 aired said movie on Christmas Day).

The third was my housedust allergy coming into play while helping Sharon clean up. The aggravation intensified my asthma, and so I spent a fair amount of the big day coughing, wheezing, feeling weary and bringing up phlegm. Though on the upside, it did keep me from feeling stuffed.

Fortunately Mum's with us, and though she was and is on at me a bit much it's only because she cares for me and loves me. If she didn't give a damn she wouldn't tell me to take the inhalers, sleep away from the window, clean up my (somewhat stuffy) room... so that's a good thing.

In spite of all that, it's okay - no massive arguments! Yay!

The It's Nice To Go Travelling Post.

In 1975, I went to my mum's homeland of Nevis with her and her by-now-estranged sister (long story and one I'm not going to go into here). Dad told me last week that I wrote to him all the time begging to come home. Having been back there over the past two weeks, I believe him.

A few facts about Nevis; it's small. Very small - only 35 square miles, and so titchy it's allied to its next-door neighbour St. Kitts. (Not that it's the only small island in this part of the Caribbean - you can see Anguilla from the place as well.) It's also very hilly; no matter where you go you can see the big mountain in the middle of the island, and good luck going anywhere without having to go uphill or down dale. Oh, and did I mention my uncle used to be the premier?

True. Uncle Vance's party was kicked out in 2006, and the new people in charge haven't done as good a job - according to Mum, and the frequent power cuts and water shortages certainly back her up (you have to buy even more bottled water here than you do in London, amazingly). Gah. But hey, at least I can claim to have a relative with an airport named after him (Vance M. Amory International Airport). And no matter where we went, there always seemed to be somebody we were related to... flipping heck, getting married there must be tricky.

On the downside, it was very quiet there (well, apart from all the loud music occasionally - and guess who didn't bring any of his own stuff along? You guessed it, muggins here! So no escape from the musical offerings of Voice Of Nevis, the soundtrackings of the people plugging mobile network Digicel, etc... thank goodness for YouTube in general (and Randy Edelman's NFL theme and Hayden's music video in particular) or I'd have snapped!). A bit too quiet, in fact... I'm not a country person. It suits plenty of people, true (visiting the Botanical Gardens for lunch, I talked briefly with a Jerry Springer-lookalike who'd moved there from New York - the pace suited him fine, and to each his own), but me, I'm a city boy. Or at the very least a suburban boy.

On the upside, it was with family... and there ain't nothing wrong with being around your parents and sisters. At the end of the day you need some people, and I do love them. (Also on the upside, I got to see most of Cindy Crawford's Meaningful Beauty infomercial on TV Guide Network. And CNN's Soledad O'Brien and Kiran Chetry...)

IN MEMORY OF: My being unspoiled for season 3 of Heroes. Darn you, Hayden Panettiere, for being such a fox... why couldn't Ali Larter, Dania Ramirez (yes, she's back) and Kristen Bell be the only women on the show? Then I wouldn't be so compelled to Google all the damn time.

I like Sunday Sundays

What Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is to Defamer, Gilmore girls is likely to be to The Jay - so the CW's announcement that Lorelai the Elder and Lorelai the Younger are leaving the lineup this year will no doubt lead to a celebratory post from him any day now, as well as making the chances of Veronica Mars getting a fourth season slightly better (this is their third hour-long show to be axed after 7th Heaven and Runaway - what are they going to do, show more reruns of America's Next Top Pandering To Tyra's Ego?). Shame on those of us who like both shows, though - but at least Veronica's back on UK screens. Even if it is on Trouble. (Thanks for letting it go, Living - no room for Miss Mars on the lineup but endless hours of Most Haunted, Tyra and the girls, and a reality show with Abigail Clancy and Janice Dickinson? Cheers.)

Meanwhile, Sharon's under more and more financial pressure, and the guilt's weighing on me because I need to move onto something that pays more, so I can help her more... but can I do it? Apparently not.

I need something to perk me up, please. Ah, here we are - two of my Hall of Famers: Rosanna Arquette tying in with What About Brian. And the queen.

S! A! T-U-R! D-A-Y! Er... Morning?

Cindy: Casino Royale getting all the Oscar nominations it deserves.

Feltz: The inevitable tabloid buzz over a British Invasion. Forgotten what happened the last time someone claimed the British are coming? (If Penelope Cruz wins I'll take a page from Bruce Willis in The Last Boy Scout and dance a jig.)

Cindy: The thought that some sucker who bet three thousand pounds that Craig would get an Oscar has gotten burned beyond recognition. (Fact: Thunderball is the only Bond movie to ever win one.)

Feltz: Lily Allen and Natasha Bedingfield being reported as "refusing to change for America." So they're still crap, I take it.

Cindy: Abbey National only taking £50 out of my account next month for overdrawings. On pay day. By my standards, that's dodging a bullet.

Feltz: My Auntie Joanie giving Sharon and Mum grief over land in the family. Let's just say I have the same warm feelings for her that Jen has for her mum and leave it at that.

Cindy: SNOW! It never snows at Christmas, but it does in January. Snow is rain with sex appeal. Snow makes nights brighter. Snow is soothing. I like snow.

Feltz: It might wind up like a few years back when six inches fell and turned getting home into a freaking nightmare. Not so much fun.

Cindy: Erica Campbell. Just because.