Wimbledon started four hours ago. Are there any British players still in it? Personally I've not yet had a chance to watch any plucky Brits battling their way to failure in straight sets, due to being out in the Brighton sunshine all day.

Yes, that's right, I've been in seven charity shops. But I've only bought one shirt. And it fits me. Probably. I also resisted the obvious temptation to buy a secondhand copy of Michelle McManus's first (and probably only) album. It may have been for charity, but even I have limits.

Oh, have I mentioned that I'm back in Brighton? Lisa and I returned here yesterday afternoon. I'd won another £14.50 on the final day of Royal Ascot, making an overall profit for the week of £80. So the mathematicians amongst you will be able to work out exactly how much I lost on Friday.

Before leaving for the sunny south coast, I spent an enjoyable couple of hours moving heavy bookcases in extreme heat. I'm being forced to clear my hallway so that my landlord can fit new carpets. Not that I don't want new carpets, but where am I supposed to store thirty foot of shelving and books, not to mention a vacuum cleaner with a thick layer of dust, in a flat where it's already difficult to swing a cat. Unless you shave her first. She takes up a lot less room now.

Anyhoo, we left Shotley Gate at 3:30pm, dropped in on my parents to deliver a limp Father's Day offering, and made it to the outskirts of Brighton at 6:35pm. Lisa's flat was little more than four miles away. Unfortunately those four miles of Brighton streets were gridlocked due to the London to Brighton bike ride. I know that, because after crawling at less than walking pace for a mile, we finally reached a sign saying "Advance Notice: London to Brighton bike ride, 19th June", which advised us to avoid Brighton for the day. So that was nice.

We eventually made it to Lisa's flat at 8:10pm, so those four miles only took an hour and a half, and the temperature in the car wasn't much over 90 degrees. So I can't complain. It beats a home sauna any day.