Forza Italia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I had a cracking trio of gigs in Leicester with what seemed to be an everchanging line-up of fellow acts. Over the weekend we had the fabulous Jason Wood, lovely Stephen Grant, Phil Walker, Quincy, the always excellent Tim Clark and my old mate Steve Gribben. All of us had a great time onstage and a few laughs offstage too.

The only downside as always in Leicester was the godawful Grand Hotel. The heating wasn't working all weekend, everytime I emptied my sink, the dirty water bubbled up through the shower drain, two of the lights were blown and the remote was knackered. Bizarrely no matter how many times I asked reception to fix it, they just never got around to it.

It was with great relief therefore, that Jason offered to give me a lift back to London last night. I'm always glad to get back early, but moreso to this weekend, my bits were starting to drop off from the cold!

I was even more keen to get back this weekend, cos tomorrow I am off on one of my little jaunts. This time to Venice.

I've never been before and other than what I can remember from my O-level studies of The Merchant of Venice, know very little about the place other than the obvious. I'm not very good with boats (vertigo) so I expect to be doing an awful lot of walking. Luckily I treated myself to a pair of fabulous black boots on Friday. They're sooooo comfy and really cute too.

The thing that prompted me to pick Venice was reading about the newly refurbished Palazzo Grassi, the gallery of modern art. The building itself looks incredible and they have the most amazing collection. Added bonus, there's a fabulous Picasso exhibition on at the moment. I also plan to visit the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and I'm so excited about that too.

Add to that a fabulous deal on a 4* hotel right off St Mark's Square, and just the sights of Venice itself, this promises to be a wonderful trip.

I've got my "Learn Italian" on the iPod, my guide book and my camera at the ready....ooooh I can't wait for the morning!