What's new? I had a week from hell last week - loads of really urgent, but not especially interesting stuff that required me to be in the office until the early hours most days. Things picked up on Friday when I had my birthday celebration in honour of my 27th - cocktails and sushi, and a humidor containing 25 assorted Havana cigars from my friends. All in all, I was spoiled rotten and loved it. Then a long weekend in Brussels eating enormous meals of moules frites, oysters, lobsters, mountains of chips, steaks and drinking loads of beer. Belgian beer is excellent, but it all starts at about 8 percent alcohol. Stella, known in England as "French fighting lager" (incorrectly, Stella being brewed in Leuven, Belgium) or "the Wifebeater" is regarded as a soft drink in Belgium and is available from vending machines on station platforms. Great stuff tho'. The hotel was cool - the Astoria on Rue Royale - a really old-school 4 star with loads of nice touches - reminded me of the Paris Ritz on the odd occasion - all part of an all inclusive lastminute.com deal with the Eurostar. So thanks to April for organising it and being the ideal companion for the trip and to Sharky for showing us around while we were out there. The visit also gave me a chance to play with my new toy - a digital camera - maybe I'll put some stuff on here if the pictures turn out alright.