It's good for you!

Everybody is talking about Guinness.

Landlady came in to see how New Year's went, and let me know that the fireworks in Funchal were the largest in the world, according to Guinness. Apparently they just beat the fireworks in Sydney harbour. Everyone's very proud. Don Amaro has all the facts here, and great footage taken with a camera not covered in champagne...

Mrs C. also came in to tell me about Guinness, and to return Ian McEwan's The Innocent; I thought she might like the counter-intelligence plot. I forgot to tell her about the, ahem, graphic body-cutting-up scene. Anyhoo, she did like the spy stuff, but said 'If you believe what's in there you'd believe anything' (I did; I would). She went on to wonder if GPM was in fact Hitler with botox. The conversation didn't really have anywhere to go from there, and she left assuring me that I could use it as the plot for my next novel.

But back to Landlady, because the police called while she was in with me. They want her to come in to talk about the South African who sent the 5K money-laundering cheque. Back in October. Wheels turn slowly here, but mark my words, they turn...