At 05:00 on 25 August 2110, Counselor Mishima leads the 8 members of Group Green to the tau-field area of L'Auberge du Portail, just outside Lyon in France. On arrival in Exile, Group Green discovers that the Pliocene Earth is under the control of a dimorphic alien race: the Tanu and the Firvulag.

Group Green comprises:

• Elizabeth Orme: a former Grandmaster farsensor, redactor and instructor.

• Aiken Drum: a young ne'er-do-well and trickster.

• Felice Landry: a young woman with apparently incredible but violent athletic abilities.

• Richard Voorhees: an ex-space freighter captain.

• Bryan Grenfell: a cultural anthropologist.

• Stein Oleson: a former planet crust driller, part of the Lisboa power grid repair crew.

• Claude Majewski: a retired exopaleontologist.

• Anna-Maria (Amerie) Roccaro: a former nurse assisting end-of-life patients.

I've no idea how it got twisted but it was pulling itself off the pulley at full extension. I just untied the rope and re-threaded it again.

Apparently, 'The Blue Danube' by Johann Strauss was requested for the Arrival, specifically the version played during the film '2001 - A Space Odyssey'.

What they actually got was a piece of music by Richard Strauss called 'Sunrise' (taken from 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra'), which was the film's main theme.

The thought still makes me giggle: imagine the pall bearers walking solemnly into the crematorium to the sound of this awesome rendition!

And yet people tell me Flemish is a tough language to understand.

Almost 1,000 drones lit up Belfast harbour on Monday with a recreation of the RMS Titanic, to commemorate her leaving the city on 2nd April 1912.

I suppose there's a faint chance we might see her up and about again on Sunday.

My wife wondered if we are reaching the limit of human ability in athletics; I think we're only reaching the limit of people who actually take part in those sports.

Everyone needs a Bob in their life, but few of us are that fortunate.

"I don't think Charlie is such a bad choice of name, even for a girl," I told her.

"You should talk to my sisters, Alfa, Bravo and Delta," she replied.

Breakfast: Greek yoghurt and honey, a ham and mushroom omelette, croissants and coffee. Don't want to overdo it.

Lunch: chicken souvlaki and ouzo. Careful, let's not ruin my appetite for later.

Dinner: three of everything from the buffet, multiple bread rolls, a large bowl of chips, seven desserts and a beer.

It's got notes in the margins too.

In Herefordshire at least. They're fucking everywhere!