One of the things I like about Brighton is that even a two minute walk to the greengrocer's is far more eventful than a week spent in Shotley Gate. Apart from the week we were in the Daily Mail. I only popped out briefly for some popcorn kernals yesterday afternoon, but in the space of about fifty yards I encountered:

1. A man in handcuffs on his knees in the road, being restrained by a policeman who seemed to be trying to get him run over.

2. Matt Irving, former keyboard player with Squeeze, Manfred Mann and The Senators. Possibly. It certainly looked like him.

3. A 'penny for the guy' boy, who demanded money from me on the grounds that he'd successfully managed to put a scary mask on a pillow.

I then arrived at the greengrocer's where, despite only wanting an 89p packet of corn, was forced to hand over an extra pound and enter their 'Guess the Weight of the Pumpkin' competition. Apparently it's for charity, and I'd have had the deaths of numerous children on my hands if I'd said no. So having read Crash n Donna's Pumpkin Challenge blog post the day before, I made the educated guess of 58kg, and left my phone number for them to call me with my inevitable winnings. Though unfortunately I forgot to ask what the prize is.

I then left the shop, was hassled again by the 'penny for the guy' boy, who really ought to have an ASBO by now, and made my way home past a newly arrived police van into which the handcuffed criminal was being bundled head first. Meaning the only way past was to walk under some nearby scaffolding and a ladder. Fortunately I'm not superstitious, so I'm sure it won't affect my chances of winning the pumpkin contest. Touch wood.

In other news, I've checked my website referrals for the first time in three months, and found that I'm getting hits from the University of Lyon in France, which is apparently "Europe's leading University in Humanities". Making it all the more surprising that I now seem to be part of their English syllabus. I'm sandwiched neatly between Ernest Hemingway and Joseph Conrad. They're the bread and butter, I'm the jammy filling.