This morning, I wondered about creating a fictional character who kept his Jaguar XJ while he was in prison. I decided that he could be the ex-ambassador sacked and imprisoned for some perhaps never properly explained misdemeanour or mishap.The car is not his ambassadorial car but one he bought quite cheaply after the sacking but before the imprisonment � maybe it is left-hand drive and reflects the hero�s unfashionably atlanticist sentiments.

The imprisonment is the result of a secret trial and so the people from the past who meet him don�t know about the trouble. On the radio on the way to work I heard about an organisation of ex-diplomats who sell their services to groups on the receiving end of diplomacy � I wonder whether this could be extended in some way. For example diplomacy and espionage go hand in hand � maybe our hero sells his service to those who think they might be on the receiving end of espionage. This might incude journalists, religious leaders or other civil servants,

The details of the booking for Valencia have been requested. As I have never been to Spain I am wondering about staying an extra two days. The answer to the questionnaire has now reached 9 pages. I have fixed a date with T Dann for our talks in Brighton � 21 February 2007. This is all relatively eventful in terms of my dairy and to add to the excitement I have been asked to have a crack at the emerging Regional Economic Strategy at the end of the month.

I have been listening to a 3 cd history of Atlantic Records � the items vary from those that are just played out through over-familiarity to those that are unfamiliar and unexceptional. But there are a lot which just sound great or which have novel elements that come into focus as you listen. ETBG Idlewild has arrived and started to charm.

There are two new a-vs. Just You Just Me seems to be finished and a fragment from that has developed into a further piece which has become a soundtrack. Just You Just Me is the title to a classic Lester Young improvisation and the title itself easily sets out visual resonances which can be developed. The latest fragment currently exists as an a-v which is between one and two minutes long and the text is about the idea of the multiverse � why we have let ourselves be coaxed into taking the idea seriously. I wonder whether this theme is too broad, even by my standards.

Mrs C is off to see Mother Courage tonight.