I watched Spurs lose 2-1 at home in their opening match of the UEFA Cup tonight. It was an awful result, especially as we've had such a terrible result to the season -- it really makes it hard for us to do well from this point on. Our manager, Martin Jol, was already under a lot of pressure, and I found out after the game that he'd actually resigned before it started -- so that's it, he's gone. I'm quite sad to see him leave. He's a great character, always enjoyable to listen to, and just a really nice guy. He did a great job with Tottenham over the last two seasons -- we played better football than we've played since the late 1980s/early 1990s, and finished 5th two seasons in a row. We also had very strong cup runs last season. But we've been weak in defence for more than 15 years (!!!!) and he never managed to iron out our defensive kinks. Last year we scored loads of goals, which masked the cracks -- but the cracks WERE there, and this season they widened to the point where I don't think he had any choice but to go before he was fired. I think most Spurs fans will agree with me in wishing him well, and will be really sorry that this had to happen -- but football is a harsh game, results are everything, and this season's been a disaster since day one, so ... c'est la vie!!! Goodbye, Martin -- I really do hope you do well in your next job.

Sorry to go so much about football. I know lots of you reading this don't care a fig about the game, but to me it's important, and since I try to let this blog reflect all the important things in my life, I have to focus on the Beautiful Game every now and again!!! Apart from that, I had another day of doing bits and pieces in the office -- it's been nice to take my time doing it all, and not rush and try to edit and catch up on everything else at the same time. Forgot to mention yesterday that Bas and I went to see "The Dark is Rising" at the cinema. I'm afraid to say it's one of the poorest fantasy films I've seen in a long, long time. Virtually nothing about it works -- the script is awful, the direction is plodding, the pace is terrible, the story is a crock, the acting is for the most part paper-thin. This is a prime example of how NOT to make a fantasy film! It also goes to show that it doesn't matter how strong the source material is (the Susan Cooper books are widely accepted long-standing classics of the genre) -- a film always depends on what the people involved in the adaptation do with it.

Bas said to me, as we were walking out, "I hope Universal don't do that with Cirque Du Freak!!" To which I had to reply, "They might!!" Now, before you go getting worried, I don't THINK they will. I'm very happy with the creative team involved with the film at the moment, and I have a feeling they're going to create something special. But at the end of the day it's something I can't control. No writer can. That's why I don't get involved closely with the film studio -- knowing I can't influence the fate of the movie, I prefer to stand back, leave it in the hands of those who know what they're doing, and keep my fingers crossed that they do a good job of it!!!! That might seem like a strange stance to take, but it's the same approach Stephen King has taken for many years and he's had a perfectly happy relationship with the movie industry because of it -- from interviews I've read with writers who tried to get more involved, I've concluded that those who stick their fingers in the fire of movie-making almost always get burnt and come away frustrated and bitter about the entire business. Some writers like to think they can tame the beast of Hollywood and make it do their bidding. I know better and I'm more than happy to just toss it the bones of my books and stand back and watch with the rest of you to see what it does with them.