Seachain an duine a bhíonn ina thost

Today I went climbing. I feel quite proud of myself really, it was only my second time climbing ever but I managed to progress to a grade 5 climb. Still basic, I know, but rather satisfyingly referred to as a 'hard very severe' grade in the adjectival grade system. Don't get too excited, there's still ten grades above that.

[just a quick interlude, there's a man on TV having his penis bitten by a snake ... why???]

So now my arms hurt but I had a nice time. And on Tuesday we're off for a bit of a stroll in the Yorkshire Dales.

In other news, it's Mum and Dad's thirtieth wedding anniversary today. They have celebrated it in style, removing all the tiles and some plasterboard from the shower in a quest to find the source of a damp smell.

Those of you who keep up with this sort of thing will know that today is also the thirty-first anniversary of Elvis's death, and that the wonderful Ronnie Drew died today. A quick look on Wikipedia tells me that Robert Johnson (American blues singer and guitarist), Wanda Landowska (Polish harpsichordist, re-popularised the harpsichord in the 20th century), Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Pakistani musician), Pee Wee King (American country musician and songwriter), Vasser Clements (American musician), Vicky Moscholiou (Greek singer) and Max Roach (American percussionist, drummer and composer) also died on August 16th. See a pattern? You've been rumbled, Mum and Dad, we're on to you.