I'm experiencing a whole new variety of jetlag. Some time between midnight and 4am I'm being woken by the rumbling of my stomach. Not content with the three meals a day I'm already feeding it my body is looking for an extra dinner around 8pm EST. This morning, when it should have been sleeping it craved toast and eggs. We struck a deal. I allowed it a cup of tea, a mandarin orange and a couple of hours of catch-up on the computer. That's the other thing. While I'm traveling life piles up. I probably should get a secretary or something, but secretaries tend to expect a salary and a coffee machine and a twirly chair.

My friend Tone has a neat business idea for people like me; a Virtual Personal Assistant, on call at the end of a computer and paid by the hour. I recently gave it a try and it's a service that really has only one problem: the client who can't let go. That's me. By the time I've explained what I need I'm already thinking, 'I could have done it quicker myself.'
But enough of my time-zone zombie control-freak ramblings. Let me tell you about my diamonds.

My children, aided and abetted by Mr F, sprang a wonderful birthday surprise on me. Diamond earrings. They bought the stones, drew the design and had the earrings made for me by that ace teller of shaggy dog stories and all-round Good Egg and master goldsmith, Peter Page. I've never owned a diamond before. Now I do I quite agree with Marilyn. Twinkle twinkle.