Oh yes, time for an update on Coward on the Beach. Absolutely ripping stuff, exactly my kind of book. Funny, very English, historically convincing, and intensely moving. I was really, really enjoying it, until I heard the author (James Delingpole) on Womans Hour today (long story). They were talking about who's better at bringing up kids, men or women. James, who sounded quite a genial sort of chap, as you'd expect from his work, made a comment about how some Dads sort of pretend to be 'new men' and put on an act about enjoying time with their kids when, really, they'd rather be doing something tedious instead, like mowing the lawn. What an odd view. I've been lucky enough to participate fairly fully in my family's development, and whilst I didn't relish changing hideous "I've been dipped in a barrel of chocolate" nappies any more than anyone else, it's all part of it. The idea that one sex is somehow better prepared for that kind of thing is absurd - sure, some people cope better than others, but to say that's down to sex is monstrous. Plenty of women are rubbish at child rearing, just as plenty of men are rubbish at bring home the bacon (as Delingpole put it). I shall continue reading his oeuvre in a new light.