Is it just my computer but I seem to have lost all pictures on stories and blogs. Only the adverts seem unaffected.

I'm beginning to get the impression that I could be doing something right either that or my eyes are playing up, because according to my kudos counter, I have 140,000 of the little darlin's.

As I fly towards my dotage at the speed of light, I seem to have gathered another anniversary of my emergence on this planet. All it seems to bring these days is another ache or pain somewhere new which seems an awful price to pay for a few birthday cards. Such is life (or my one appears to be).

Then again, I'm living the dream and have been for a very long time, so perhaps I shouldn't complain.

I went to see Philomena, starring Judy Dench and Steve Coogan, based upon the book written by Martin Sixsmith about an Irishwoman's search for her son who was taken from her when he was a toddler and adopted by some Americans in about 1956. It was very good, some funnies and lots of sadness - a chick flick.

Judy Dench was excellent as always and much to my surprise, so was Coogan as journalist/author Sixthsmith who was originally reluctant to get involved with this mad Irishwoman. For those who don't know the story, I won't spoil it other than to suggest you go and see it.

As we speed towards episode 2200 of Bike, do I detect people are getting bored with it? It seems comments are fewer than usual and even the kudos are a bit lower than I usually get - or am I being a little hypersensitive? Do readers want me to continue or has it had its day?

As for the number of transgender people in a single dwelling in Portsmouth, I was in a house with six others, which makes seven last week, so perhaps my storyline wasn't quite so preposterous as it may have first seemed, just a tad unusual.

To my dear friend, Annie Galliver, and all round good egg who completes her sixth decade today.

Sorry folks, the day has caught up with me and I just don't have time to write an episode tonight, hopefully normal service will resume tomorrow.

It would appear that the Gulf States Cooperative Council are considering a Kuwaiti proposal to carry out sex tests on immigrants wishing to work there with the intention of preventing entry by transgender people.

I do wonder if I came to the wrong planet because I was seeking one with intelligent life forms!

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/11/gulf-countries-...

I wonder if you can spot my comment? (no prizes).

It was good to meet up with Mads and the rest of the crew on Friday evening for dinner at a very reasonably priced carvery to fortify us for the stresses of the next two days.

I had the day off and drove over the county border into Devon. The reason for my quest - see below.

I don't believe in muses, writing is a cerebral thing and it's something I've always done. I've written Bike most days for the past six years to prove to myself it can be done without loads of drama, or special conditions - I just sit there for an hour/ ninety minutes and out pops the next episode. In some ways it's easier than writing from scratch because my characters are well established and I have plot lines I can continue or even pick up from a while back.

A blog on the Guardian based upon an article in the NY Times. I hope this is one trend that doesn't cross the pond, it's plain stupid and the parents should be prosecuted, it's tantamount to abuse.

Got lumbered with a long phone call from my needy friend and haven't got time to do Bike tonight. Hopefully tomorrow will be easier.

Angharad.

We're probably having more new material every day than ever before, so it's easy for earlier works to be forgotten. I asked Sephy to resurrect Stephanie's Deal as a retro-classic to remind readers who might have missed it before. I just finished reading Torey's 'Switching Playing Fields', and its sequel, 'On The Flip Side'; two stories with a lovely feelgood factor about them. I highly recommend them to those who haven't previously encountered them.