You're a beautiful woman probably...

Traditionally, the August Bank Holiday marks the end of summer - or at least, of summer holidays. As August often seems a lethargic, almost stagnant kind of month, I'm not usually sorry to see it go. Like last year, though, the summer seems to be ending before it's even properly begun. We've had a few days recently when the temperature has approached the usual August values but overall, the last couple of months have been cold and extremely wet. Watching a TV programme that showed that plants coped less well with waterlogging in summer than in winter - the opposite of what you might expect - makes me wonder if that's why the monardas (bergamot plants) in our garden haven't made an appearance this year. For the first couple of years they were great - two to three feet high with unusual, spiky red flowers. Apparently they like boggy ground and seemed very happy in our clay soil with so-so drainage. By last year they seemed to be taking over, having divided into abou...

Being a member of UNISON (one of the major local government unions) unfortunately means I have to go on strike this week - for two days. The Prime Minister has said we have to show restraint, and while his own MPs have rightly concluded that they just wouldn't get away with awarding themselves huge pay increases at the moment, they have just voted to keep their very generous and non-transparent "allowances" package that allows them to claim thousands of pounds per year from the public purse. While I agree that the two-and-a-bit percent pay offer is not enough with the way the cost of living is increasing - and everyone knows that government figures in no way represent "real world" inflation - I voted against striking. This is because I don't think the strikes will achieve anything. The employers are unlikely to increase the offer in a hurry, and how long will it take us to earn back the two days of lost pay - let alone the money lost from any future strikes,...

Our holiday has moved on to the south coast now. Our initial impression of Brighton wasn't great, as it was cool, grey and windy when we arrived, and the hotel was in a rather run-down square with peeling paint, surrounded by tower blocks and a ruined, burnt-out pier. Of course, it's not all like that. It's turned out to be a very colourful town, a strange mix of elegant and tacky, often in the same street - a bit like London crowded into a much smaller space. I have to give a black mark to Brighton Museums. Although they charge £8.50 admission to the Royal Pavilion for tourists, they say "Filming and photography within the Royal Pavilion is not permitted anywhere in the building. However, access may be agreed for professional projects." There are already unofficial restrictions on photography in many public places (because of illogical fears over terrorism and child protection) and the last thing we need is for museum administrators to take a mean attitude. Visit...

I'm back in Torquay again, having last visited 32 years ago. Obviously, looking at the number of years that have passed (already) since I was last here tends to make me feel old, but it's also been an opportunity to indulge in a bit of nostalgia. When I last came here I'd only just left school. It was my first proper holiday (without the parents). My companions were two old school friends, one of whom I'm still in touch with and the other sadly not, as he now lives in a far-off country. Amazingly enough, the place doesn't seem to have changed much since August 1976 - the year of the big drought. Although the harbour area is still looking slightly down at heel, most of the streets are very well kept and attractive, and the coastline is just as spectacular as I remembered. We had a great coastal walk today from Daddyhole Plain to Anstey's Cove, with views as fascinating as the names. We also found a good hotel and an excellent restaurant, and the weather has stay...

It's nice to see that some rain and (at last) some warm weather have brought out the best in parks and gardens. I'm pleased to see a healthy number of bees buzzing around our garden, and that the local tits are keen on my nuts (fnarr fnarr) - although they don't seem to be nearly as enthusiastic about the seeds put out for them. See more (perfectly respectable!) photos on my Flickr pages .

I've just spent a weekend in London, and looking at the cost of using the Tube brought home to me the shortcomings of the Tyneside Metro - specifically the cost. Using an Oyster card, each journey on the Tube costs £1.50, compared with £1.30 for a single stop up to a maximum of £2.80 on the Metro. Unlike Travelcards on the Metro, an Oyster card requires no great investment - you can charge it up with as little as £5 per time. I know that the London Underground is a vastly bigger system, but this makes me wonder how it can afford to charge lower fares when it has such enormous overheads, including staff at every station. Metro trains are almost always crowded and stop running from Newcastle city centre at about 11.45pm - in a time when we're all encouraged to use public transport, fifteen minutes earlier than they used to. My feeling is that we have much more to complain about than users of the London Underground: infrequent, crowded and dirty trains (my 11 minute wait today a...

I haven't been anywhere for fun this year except Berlin, at Easter. Unusually, I've had two trips away with work, to York and Preston, and it was nice to get a brief change of scene. I'm looking forward to a trip to London at the end of this month, though. Of course, there are lots of things to do indoors there, but it would be nice to get out and have lunch in a riverside pub, or see the wildlife at Richmond Park - that kind of thing. I can put up with cold and dull weather for another week or so, but I hope it improves by then, both there and here.