Sunday

The clocks go forward this morning announcing the beginning of British Summer Time and letting me think I'd slept in until 10am when in fact I hadn't, really. Although I had.

The hens who stayed over spend the morning waking up at various speeds so I head to Tesco to get extra bacon for a round of sandwiches. They're off to a spirit-tasting place in South London for hen-do-part-two at 12pm so we sit for a while in front of my computer watching movie trailers on Front Row which is quite fun and I should do more. When the girls finally bundle out of the door at midday I spend some time faffing around on the computer, trying to get down to starting the book pitch but instead end up heading out to Sainsbury's to do the weekly shop solo. This is good in that with only one person involved the shopping becomes more streamlined and less prone to impulse buys. Also I get to choose all my favourite brands, which is rarely allowed.

I get the bus home at the point when the day is really warming up and feeling very spring-like indeed, so after a late shower I head into Wood Green unusually coatless to have a look for some new trainers, having finally become frustrated with the sheer amount of water my old Stan Smiths are currently letting in at all sides. I don't really manage to find anything that takes my fancy in WG's few shoe shops - I'll probably have a proper look in town next weekend.

Later on I make some chilli and K and I sit down to watch Gran Torino, this week's Lovefilm Blu-ray. An award-winning Clint Eastwood project (written, directed, produced, starring) it tells the story of a bitter, racist, recently-widowed Korean War veteran who has seen his neighbourhood become dominated by Asian immigrants and various ethnic gangs. After saving one of his young neighbours from a violent gang he develops something of a father-son relationship with the boy and teaches him how to "be a man" while standing up for the boy in the face of escalating violence and tension. It's a piece of very economical filmmaking - in that no shot feels surplus to requirements and shows that Eastwood is in fact a very talented director; something I hadn't known before. It's a fairly harrowing film and fills me with the sort of sickness I get when I see people fighting or weaker people being bullied for no reason other than the bored amusement of the aggressor. It's also very good.