Greetings from Malta! I'm sitting in an internet cafe on the promenade in Buggiba.

It's Very Hot Indeed. We were expecting it to be dry, European-style heat rather than humid, British-style heat, but it's the latter. Which, to be honest, is a bit hot for doing much during the day. We haven't managed a run yet, as it never really gets cool enough, and by the time we've made it through the hot days, we're too worn out to drag ourselves out at 10/11pm, when it finally gets cool enough. Ah well.

We haven't done much so far- we've had a day at the beach, and one in Valetta, and hung around the town we're staying in for a couple of days, and that's about it. I've never done a full two-week package holiday before, and must admit, though I know you'll all smite me 'cos I'm on holiday by the sea and you're not, that I'm really very bored. Hopefully I will get into it soon, or I'll drive Felbrigg mad! On the first day I was sitting on the beach going 'yay! we've got two weeks of this!', and by the fourth day, I'm feeling more 'yikes! We've got another ten days of this, I'm going to go mad!' It doesn't help that the buses stop running at about 6, so we have to eat in Bugibba, every night, and it's just like Benidorm, full of tacky bars and loud Brits-abroad.

Oh well. I have read three books so far, plus we're 200-odd pages into Harry Potter, so that's good.

God, I really need to chill out, don't I?

Hope you're all well. I'll probably be back later in the week to mither you.

Oh, and think twice before booking a 'special deal' with Thomas Cook. Turns out that they just give you less luggage allowance than everyone else (without making this clear) and then sting you for excess baggage when you get to the airport. Pah. I mean, who can manage on 15kg for two weeks? How are you supposed to take any books, let alone the number of books I typically get through on holiday?