...and I flew from Joburg to Dubai sitting next to a girl who had never flown before and was nervous from the moment she sat down. I felt bad for her, so I spent the time before take-off talking her through flying and (I think successfully) calming her down. I gave her use of my arm for gripping tightly at worrisome moments. The blood will begin flowing again in a couple of months, doctors assure me.

On the flight I saw quite the most amazing thing I've ever seen out of a plane window. There was a huge thunderstorm going on, and the best thing was, we were flying over it! Truly a majestic experience. Despite our speed, we seemed to hover over the storm for a good twenty minutes, and these were action-packed minutes: at least once a second a bolt of lightning shot out somewhere. Most of them I couldn't see directly, but I wasn't disappointed because instead I saw whole clouds glow delicate shades of cream and yellow.

I can't do this storm's beauty justice with mere words; but I'll try because, let's face it, I do like the sound of my own narrative voice. Floating above this maelstrom and looking down was a bit like seeing those deep-sea flourescing jellyfish on a documentary, only times a million because the TV screen was replaced by the canvas of the whole heavens. It was also like watching a party in a lightbulb factory, where all the humans have gone home and the bulbs just go for it, rubbing against one another and flashing all over the place. And you're really a fly on the wall (okay, on the ceiling) because you're tiny, they're big, and you can see a different bulb in each facet of your eyeball. I felt humble before prodigal Mother Nature.

Dubai was nothing special, after that. I pretty much stayed in the hotel or on its private beach and read the book I'd borrowed from Gary & Mercia. It's a cracker: sci-fi meets horror in a bloodthirsty quest for galactic domination. And it's bloody long (1300 pages). And it's only the first in a trilogy! If you're looking for a big read, look out for Peter F Hamilton's "The Reality Dysfunction". It's better than you think, up there with the Iain M Banks Culture novels.

The UK was cold. That was my first impression on landing at Gatwick. Cold but not freezing. I went my way to Guildford and spent the next few days with Chris, Kate & the girls. I was lucky enough to be around for Livi's fourth birthday.