Hasta la Manana

Thanks to the fabulous Alistair Barrie, I got home from Leicester last night...hoorah! He was kind enough to stick around till the end of the show to rescue me from having to spend one more night in that godforsaken dump that is the Grand Hotel - so called because that's how much it cost to build - on Granby St.

I must've stayed there about 300 times over the last 10 years, and not once have I been able to accept the first room they've given me. I'm not *that* precious, but I do kind of demand that the light bulbs work, stuff like that.

I also implimented my new 'smoking in a non-smoking room' policy. I checked in dead on 2pm, the earliest you can check into this place - and requested a smoking room. This was immediately dismissed, and for once I didn't put up a fight, just said fine.

It was weird, cos the decent part of me felt bad about smoking in this room, although I have to say I don't thinkI was the first person ever to do so judging by the stench. Still at least the smell of stale smoke detracted from the heady aroma of urine in the bathroom!

My guilty conscience made me think about every single cigarette I lit up. 'Did I really want one right now?' 'Could I wait another half an hour, or till I left the room?' As a result, I smoked far fewer than normal, hmmmmmm who knows I may just end up quitting without really trying! All you non smokers better be prepared for your taxes to rise if I give up! Gordon Brown is gonna have to recoup that dosh somehow.

So this morning I woke up in my own clean, fresh bed...bliss! I'm all excited cos this time tomorrow I'll be in Madrid. Hoorah! I've never been before but I am soooooooo looking forward to it. Getting out of London to a place I really want to visit, great coffee, sunshine on my skin, and some fabulous art...I suspect my favourite gallery will be the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. I've been checking their website and they seem to have a fantastic collection. I've just spotted one by Juan Gris called The Smoker!