Went to the London Aquarium in County Hall on Saturday. I really enjoyed it -- loads of cool-looking fish! Also, Bas sponsored a piranha in my name as a birthday present this year, so my name is up on one of the Sponsor plaques dotted around the walls!!! If you're there any time in the near future, look out for me! I'm always amazed by the variety and types of sealife that you find in a good aquarium. Of course land creatures are just as incredible too, but the bizarre quirks of nature are emphasised, I think, in an aquarium, where you can see so many wondrous forms of life in close proximity to each other. I mean, how the hell did stuff like this evolve?!? Can it all just be a fluke of nature or is it the work of a greater power? An aquarium might seem like a strange place to find yourself asking big religious questions, but I've been mulling over the majesties of the universe for most of the last 36 hours, inspired by my sight of sea horses, sharks, rays and co ...

Flaw back home to Ireland in the afternoon. Picked up fish and chips along the way (seemed like the most appropriate meal, given my morning's expedition!), and ate them while watching a horror film called "The Dark". It was nothing special, but it did have some creepy scenes, and a nicely gloomy finale. Sorted through my post and had a long, relaxing bath later -- my first of the autumn. I tend to avoid baths in the summer, preferring showers, but now that the coolers, longer nights have arrived, it'll be long, hot soaks from here till April or May!!!

Did some office work this morning, then went to pick sloes. Bas and I have started brewing sloe gin every year -- it's something my Granny has done for a long time, and I like the idea of keeping up the tradition. So off I headed about 3.00pm with a plastic bag and a long umbrella with a hooked handle in case I needed to pull down any high-up branches (I didn't use it in the end). Picked 2kg of sloes before I decided to call it a day -- that will be good for 4 bottles of gin, though we're only keeping one for ourselves -- 2 went to my Granny, and one to my next door neighbour, Sheila. I love a glass of slow gin in the winter, especially when I'm having a bath -- it's WAY better than bubbles or bath oils!!!!!