Thursday 17th April 2008. My Mother's Birthday. Robert Plant

Today is my mother’s birthday. My mother is 68. I have been on the internet and have arranged for a chiminea to be delivered to her house by Gardens4Less. com.

Most chimineas are overly Mexican with carvings and Mexican motifs, but I have found a really nice one with a simple, naive flower design. I hope she likes it. 

I have also sent her some little brushes, one for cleaning mushrooms and on for cleaning vegetables. I don’t need brushes like that because all my vegetables come ready washed from Waitrose.

In the evening, Abigail, Maisie and me watch Come Dine With Me.

Come Dine With Me is such a good programme. Four people who don’t know eachother take turns to cook  for the others. They invariabley hate eachother and are rude about eachother’s decor. When the doorbell goes and they invite a guest in , they say things like ‘Welcome to my home.’ They usually can’t cook either.

This time, a man brings a bunch of flowers as ‘A gift.’ His host says ‘Oh thank you. Are those for me? No one has ever bought me flowers before.’

Maisie snorts with derision. ‘What a loner.’ she says.

Abigail says she thinks all the kitchen equipment in the Welsh contestant’s house comes from Bid Up TV. 

Later, John rings from Nashville. ‘You’ll never guess who I had dinner with.’ he says.

‘Jason Donavon?’ I guess.

‘No’ he says ‘Guess again.’ 

‘No!’ I say ‘Who ?’

‘Robert Plant !’ says John. ‘I was just ging into a restaurant with a PR when I bumped into him in the carpark. He spent the whole evening with us.’

‘That’s nice.’ I say. 

We saw led Zeppelin at the O2 in a box with Jeremy Clarkson and Tessa Jowell. Tessa Jowell fell asleep out of stress and Jeremy Clarkson said he really didn’t like Piers Morgan. It was a good evening and I liked Robert Plant. he is a very good dancer.

Much later, I go to bed and lie diagonally.