An early visitor

At Dorking Deepdene station on Wednesday, I spent a happy few minutes watching a pudgy little robin basking in a sunny corner of the rather tatty shelter. Clearly used to people, he hopped closer and closer, driven away only the vibrations of the arriving train.

Kind of Blue - the great Miles Davis

It's astonishing how music can lighten the mood. Here was I, knackered, disillusioned and sore of foot and back - and all it took to sort me out was a spot of the incomparable Miles Davis. Kind of Blue, to be precise - the album that introduced me to him, more years ago than I care to remember. And I never forget how privileged I was to hear him live.

Small bottles of wine - why are they so vile?

When it comes to drinking, I am very much of the 'quality over quantity' school - these days, at any rate. And as the only white wine drinker in the house, if I buy a bottle of decent vino (Gruner Veltliner being my tipple of choice) it rarely gets finished, tending instead to get chucked out at the end of the week.

So in the Guildford M&S today - a relatively large branch - I decided to treat myself to a small bottle of something white and easy on the palette. At first glance it looked as if they had a fairly comprehensive range. Not so. Despite not being a fan of Chardonnay (scarred for life by Footballers' Wives, perhaps), that's what I ended up with. And as soon as I opened it, I knew it would end in tears.

Why, why, why, particularly when the government is always banging on about people in the UK drinking too much, can't they make it easier for us to drink less but better? Surely it's not too much to ask?