This is how hot it’s been: Kipper lying on his back in front of the fan, feet in the air. Undignified. I hope it’s not like this in England, but the truth is the last couple of years it has been ungodly hot. I am taking one sweater along just in case (Manchester might be chilly at least at night) but I doubt I’ll use it much. Here’s the vague schedule:

Land in Manchester, stay for a couple of days where I will lunch with a friend and see THE FALL! Then it’s off to Great Dunmow to visit friends, then London where I’ll idle for some time seeing museums, plays, concerts and of course, many friends as well as attending the Great Writing Conference. Next I’ll be off to Littlehampton and the shore. A first for me (as is actually being *in* Manchester as opposed to passing through), then I’ll head up to Derby and the Alt-Fiction conference which ought to be great fun. After that I’m staying with my friend Adele in Leiceister before flying back from Manchester. Whew! It’s going to be fun — and far more relaxing than it sounds because I won’t be doing any work but writing.

I’ll set up the Twitter feed for a bit until I’m somewhere that I can post actual coverage of the trip. We’ll see if–like Robert–I end up with any LaCroix, sweetie darling (doubtful but I just wanted to say that).