This is all very new. I'll have to have a play to see what's changed. It looks nicer, but I've already come across a passworded page that doesn't let me in when I want to read my own blog.

Which can't be right, surely?

Not much news to report - I've finally heard from my insurers' agents to tell me what they are doing to replace my stolen gear. It sounds as if there are a few things they can't replace which will have to be paid for with a cheque - but that's no bad thing, as I could use the extra cash at the moment (my gas and electric bills were eye-watering last week).

And having spoken to them, and done some jiggling about on what will and won't be replaced, they've agreed to upgrade to an XBox 360 at no extra cost. Which is nice!

Got next week off work while Julius Caesar is on - I am playing Mark Antony (and, with any luck, coming away from the contest with at least a draw) - so I may be able to post at greater length then.

EDITED TO ADD - Thanks Oink!

And I'm not one, so all the porn and viagra bots that are filling my guestbook here with utter spam can just fuck off please.

Julius Caesar last week was good fun. I'm utterly knackered now, of course.

We got a review in the local paper but the naughty tinkers haven't put it online yet. This is no particular surprise as it takes three days to get a review in the main paper. It might be there by Christmas.

And it's not over yet; we've got a miniature tour of two military-linked venues to come - the Royal College of Military Science and the US airbase at Fairford in Gloucestershire, whence the nice men of the USAF helped us out with our production of A Few Good Men last year.

While a couple of us had done army cadets over here, nobody was really sure how US service people move, march, salute, etc. Even though there were no US Marines around (busy doing stuff in Iraq, or something), several sergeants at Fairford really helped us out, and they turned out to the production to support us as well, which was nice. We'd wanted to do a daytime, preferably outdoor, production of Caesar on Sunday next, and our venue fell through. Someone had the idea of contacting our friends at Fairford, and they jumped a the chance.

We aren't selling tickets to either, but are hoping to make a collection at both. Hopefully, these two shows taken together will make up for the poor audience turn-out at the Swindon Arts Centre, where a combination of hot weather, no air conditioning and some sort of football tournament meant that the auditorium was never more than half full.

Sometimes it's hard to defend Swindon against the common outside perception that it's a cultural desert; most of the inhabitants seem to think it is, too, and would rather go to Bristol, Bath, Oxford or London for their entertainment, while local theatre withers on the vine (and in the heat!).

Part of me wants to rail at the philistine population, but then the local paper is read by barely half the people (and is occasionally barely 10 pages long, so can seem a waste of money), and the local radio stations are in the same boat.

Besides, most people's idea of theatre these days is either big West End musicals or an Abba/Queen tribute act. Ho hum.