Great news. Not only was my car vandalised in the early hours of Sunday morning (passenger wing mirror broken off by two guys who did the entire street) but I've just learned that my policy doesn't cover such acts.

Which makes you think there's two types of criminals at work, the ones that do the damage and the ones who ...

This after my mother was informed of a 300 pound hike in her AA car insurance for the coming year.

Someone's making money out of all this & it sure ain't us.

*

On a brighter note, there were two volumes waiting for me in the post room this morning - that old trick of deliberately ordering before a holiday to have something to look forward to on the return.

The first: Charles North's selected prose 'No Other Way' - the very first essay on Bloom on Ashbery is worth the cover price alone. North reads (and writes) well. Right up there with that Alice Notley collection.

The second: the new Penguin Classics Arthur Machen - perfectly timed to fit in with Belbury Poly studies etc..

It's just as well I sneaked these in earlier. Bang goes next month's book budget on a bloody garage bill.

Not happy you'll have gathered.