Strange week for me this one. There was a Liverpool CAMRA trip to Derby and I chose not to go. I am still pissed off with them that they've gone to a booking system which requires you to purchase a ticket on EventBrite in advance rather than just telling them that 'Yeah, I'll be there on the next trip' and then paying them on the day. It really does disenfranchise some of the older customers who never, and don't want to, buy things over the internet. Ho hum.

So I was off on Friday instead of Saturday. And I went for my bi-annual haircut (ok, not quite that bad) and then went to Southport to see me dad for a chat and a couple of pints in the always excellent Tap & Bottles. The beer was excellent there as always but the day was marred by some bad news. It's not for this place though.

The haircut was speedy and spot on. I do like these efficient Turks. A mother coming in with her daughter mid-haircut proclaiming loudly 'Can someone do my daughter's nose, please?' was a new one on me. By the time I left with my smart new cut the young girl was sat in the window with two long sticks up her nostrils. Like I said, a new one on me.



I'd finished reading the excellent 'Sapiens' by Yuval Noah Harari in the morning and started on David Landford's book about Josh Kirby's art 'The Cosmic Cornucopia'. I love Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and I love the covers that go with them - especially the Kirby ones. I was lucky enough to go to the Kirby exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery a few yers ago. Brilliant stuff. Anyway the haircut was quick and left me time to pop into Henry Bohn's second hand bookshop in search of SF or a Pratchett. There was less SF there than usual is there and no Terry Pratchett at all. So I walked downstairs disappointed, only to see a wee bookcase on the stairs which only had TP books in it. Result! Or was it? As I've not many left to get. I ended up consulting my own website to see my list of TP books before confirming that there was one there that I don't have on my shelf: 'Mort'



I knew I'd read it. But I've no idea where it's gone (or who has not returned it). Anyway, £2 later I've one less Pratchett to complete my set. In fact I've now just got six to get, namely:

• Soul Music
• Witches Abroad
• The Fifth Elephant
• The Last Hero
• The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
• The Wee Free Men

I didn't have to get too far into Mort to confirm I had read it, for on page one it has my favourite Pratchetism ever, which I've paraphrased myself often:

'Scientists have calculated that the chance of anything so patently absurd actually existing are millions to one.

But magicians have calculated that million to one chances crop up nine times out of ten.'

I mean, come on. That is awesome, and completely right. Probably.