Glastonbury pulls the plug on defeat

Good ol' Bosch Customer Service. The fridge had problems, the pressure was on to excel with some macho mechanics ... and the online help pages came to the rescue! The big question: "Why's the floor of the main refrigerator section always wet?" The answer: "Possibly because the condensation water drainage channel is blocked. Clean it with a cotton bud." And magic - out popped a slimy plug of formerly edible vegitation. One happy missus. Little things like that have help balm the hurt of the last-minute Lions defeat - little things like the English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh real ales quoffed by our gentleman visitors as they settled down for our front-room Sky Sportfest. Little things like TV's Glastonbury coverage too. What a fabulous event it looked - small screen highlights were The Specials and Madness, of course, but also Bat For Lashes' Daniel, Bon Iver's Skinny Love, Prodigy's Smack My Bitch Up, Blur's The Universal, Tom Jones' Delilah, Kasabian, Springsteen, Quo (yes, why not, Status Bleedin' Quo!), the bum cheeks of Lady Gaga and the enthusiasm of the Beeb's presenters. Mark Riley, take a bow. And happy birthday.

Lions outshone by George to Somethingth

So the British Lions' second-half fightback fell just short but I reckon they showed enough to suggest a monster-monster effort next weekend as the second Test dawns. Good luck, boys, especially Stephen Jones and Matthew Rees who'll both start or my name's Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela *. Saturday was rescued by a remarkable night out down The Railway (Killay), Swansea's greatest basic boozer. A few peppery Lancastrian jars of Phoenix White Tornado, a summery session ale from Heywood, between Bury and Rochdale, were complemented by one of life's more surreal pub quizes. Okay, the congregation raised £40+ for Barnardo's ... but, by 'eck there were rumblings about the obtuse nature of the quizmaster's take on Saturday night "fun." Here's a couple of his gems: "If the Queen died tomorrow, what would be the official name of he new monarch?" And, no, the word "Charles" doesn't enter the equation. "Who was BB King's favourite singer?" How should we know - and why should we care? (Answers: George to Somethingth and Frank Sinatra, in that order ... and * is Winnie Mandela, quizheads)

From Aldenham to Cape Town thanks to Sky+

The Faces of Stradey Park - the world's greatest book about rugby union - has now made it into the window display of Killay Newsagents. I noticed it on the way past to pick up today's Observer and a handful of delectable pink grapefruits, the breakfast of choice here this summer (along with passion fruits when they're a decent price at Lidl). Thanks go to the friendly shop assistants for their thoughtful approach to plugging it at a topical time for rugby.
I caught up with the SkyPlused Lions today - that tight but welcome win against Western Province. As they were getting soggy in Cape Town yesterday I was on the way back from Aldenham, Hertfordshire, with Terry Morris, my photographer pal. We'd been to meet John Williams, a splendid South Shields exile who's now one of the UK's finest chefs.
He's top man in the kitchens at The Ritz and he was photographed by Terry and interviewed by me at his home as we begin to create a great new UK-wide portrait collection for the very worthy Academy of Culinary Arts.

Thanks, British Lions

The record of three wins in three hides a few concerns for Ian McGeechan, Stephen Jones, Matthew Rees and co. But it's no time for pessimism (the England 20 Twenty cricket XI are monopolising that field).
Indeed, there's a splendid reason for Lions-related optimism, albeit a reason based on selfishness - yes, the South African tour has triggered interest from bookshops in the fine rugby tome Faces of Stradey Park. I know because I'm the author.
To date it's been sold exclusively through Scarlets outlets but now it's been picked up by multi-national bookseller Borders. I was equally chuffed to see it in Killay News, my local newsagent deep in the heart of Ospreys country.
The book's done well in the Scarlets heartland and it'll be given another boost this October when the first anniversary of the momentous move from Stradey occurs.
If you know of any sports loving booksellers who'd like to stock the Faces of Stradey Park, give me a shout!