And now for something completely different...

...tea towels. That's right. Tea towels. What could be more boring than that?

As everyone knows, tea towels are given as presents. Dull presents, like calendars, from people who have given up trying to think of something more interesting to give. But I have a problem. All - and I mean all - our tea towels are worn out. My rule of thumb is that if there is more hole than tea towel, the time has come to throw in the - well - the tea towel.

So today. I shall have to go out and buy some. For us. Something I've never done before. But they won't have that lovely softness of a very old tea towel. They'll be all unforgiving and stiff and resistent. I shall avoid witty/picturesque/silly tea towels. I want the kind with stripes on the ends.

But I bet I won't be able to find any.

(A final thought. How on earth have we managed to WEAR OUT tea towels?)