Sausage Dogs!

I'm pleased to report that, despite the solicitous concerns of the airport staff, I was not taken out by a killer cappuccino or blasted by a cup of builders best.

Nor was the beautiful perfume LP had bought me for Valentine's Day found to contain 'radiation'...despite comprehensive checks by zealous customs officers!

Even better, after a cursory 'elf and safety check of LP, on initial meeting, no risks were identified. However, I have noted for future reference that I must keep an eye on the amount of champagne he insists we consume and - Triad money laundering joint aside - the great restaurants he takes me too!

If we carry on at this rate, I'll definitely need to destroy my donor card as no one will want my liver and my waist will have expanded to such a degree that he'll have to enrol himself on a training course on the safe handling of heavy loads!

My latest trip to Paris was wonderful. There was only one dubious moment when I read the menu in the fantastic restaurant where we lunched (www.lacoupole-paris.com) and it boasted Alsatian sausages....brings a whole new meaning to sausage dogs! An alternative to horse burgers, perhaps!

Continuing the equestrian theme, I'm a fan of the racetrack and on sunny days at Ascot and Epsom, I often place a few quid on the outsider in a race; every so often it comes in! Whilst this one started as an outsider, the odds of having backed a winner seem to be shortening all the time!

Aside from the canine delicacies, we had an amazing time in Paris. I have to confess to a few wobbly moments over the last couple of weeks, when the whole scenario seemed surreal and I was not finding it easy to set aside dating disasters past and enjoy the here and now (known as 'catastrophic thinking' apparently), but I'm pleased to report that the magic continues...

A good job really, as LP and I are about to disappear off on a 15 day holiday to sunny climes. Some friends ask whether I'm nervous about spending two weeks with a man I've only recently met; others insist I will have the time of my life. And me, well, I'm just enjoying the here and now and avoiding 'catastrophic thinking', as directed by those who know about these things!

However, one thing is for certain..two weeks of each other without distraction or dilution will certainly prove, beyond all reasonable doubt, whether what we have found has a chance of being sustained over the miles, seas and continents ....

Meeting him in our hotel in an exotic location in 48 hours....progress report will follow later....