My first time ... This is the first time I have ever logged on to the internet on Xmas Day I think ... and after wishing everyone merry christmas I'd like to say that I spent a successful day yesterday avoiding the result of Strictly Come Dancing, a patheric programme on BBC television in which people described as celebrities learn to dance with people described as professional terpsichorists. We are then invited to gawp at them in awe. Through force of circumstances I watched a few of these a year or two ago and found the following:

• these people don't do badly if you like that sort of thing but who wants to watch it?
• the panel of judges are psycholically interesting subjects
• the audience hoots and bawls at every score given to every couple

Anyway, it's a knockout process and on Saturday they held the final. What I managed to avoid is the result. You won't believe it but this result made headline mainstream BBC news on the telly. Luckily, they they gave warnings that they were about to tell us the result and since remote controls have been invented I was able to press the button sufficiently quickly. Well done! DW