A cold morning. There is frost on the table in the garden. Will be taking the dogs out shortly, all of us wrapped up warmly. Tomorrow, some fellow greyhound people are coming over for lunch to have a chat about websites and so on. They're a gay couple who are planning their Civil Partnership (so, engaged? Is this the appropriate word? Advice welcome. ) so it will be interesting to hear about that, and compare notes on wedding planning. Had a pleasurable browse through the cook books last night deciding what to cook. Was tempted by our old standby, ham in Coca Cola, which we do regularly, as it is so lush, but eventually decided on a very slow roast shoulder of lamb, followed by a meringue served with pears, chocolate and hazelnuts. Both recipes are from the new Jamie Oliver, which we got for Christmas and have already enjoyed some of the recipes. I made some bread yesterday evening, so that will be waiting for us when we return with the dogs, probably to enjoy with some bacon. Not sure what else we'll be doing today - need to do a supermarket run, and will probably do some housework, but otherwise a day of gentle pottering. When the weather is cold and grey, that is sometimes the best way to spend the day, snug indoors.

I've also added some new links. They include the Guido Fawkes blog, which is a wonderfully refreshing and scurrilous political site, with all the news that doesn't go on the BBC. Also, CIWM, which is my chartered institution - it's a boring website in many ways, but can be useful if you feel like browsing the world of waste. The New York website is a model to us all in local government, and when I read this one and then look at Cardiff's I feel like kicking someone. Check out their pages on cleansing, recycling etc... the Dept of Sanitation (NY's Strongest) are awesome. We have a long way to go before we can be this good. And of course, the inspiration for me to start blogging in the first place, cousin Jonathan and his words of wisdom. I'll continue to add links of interest as I feel like.