Okay that's not the greatest picture of George ever - he's not doing that grin that shows off the sparkly white teeth and crinkles up his face around his eyes - but it's from the film I'm going to waffle on about so at least it's appropriate.

On Saturday night in Cardiff we went to see Up in the Air. I'd seen a trailer for it the previous week and thought it was going to be a romantic comedy with lots of airports. They need to remake the trailer - it's so much more than that! It absolutely turned me upside down! It's probably the best film I'll see all year!

Lovely, handsome George plays a man whose job is to travel round the country firing people because their own bosses are too weak to do it - can he come to where I work please, I have a few people in mind! He loves the travelling, the airports, the hotels, the gold cards that get him priority treatment, living out of a suitcase, and being single. Then he meets two women who change that - a younger one who works with him, who intends to replace him with a piece of software, and an older one who - and I'm quoting from the film here - is him with a vagina. It's hard to say more without giving away the plot but he ends up questioning all the things he thought were important.

It's all beautifully filmed - lots of aerial shots of America that make it look stunning!, glamorous airports, luxury hotels, and handsome George. It has a lovely soundtrack. And the actors are great, and I don't just mean George! I'd never seen either of the actresses in anything before but they're both amazing - the younger one is all buttoned-up and controlling but fab, and the older one is stylish, sexy and smart. (And I apologise for describing them as 'older' and 'younger' but that's how they're presented in the film.)

So far so good. Sounds like a fun night out in the cinema. But somehow it touched a nerve with me and really knocked me for six. It's really a grown-up film about being single or not: George loves the single life - sound like anyone you know?! - but meets someone who makes him wonder if it's worth giving it all up and settling down. Well this is a debate I've been having with myself on-and-off for the last forever, and also more specifically something Andrew and I talked about all weekend - I'm wondering whether to give up being single, and he's wondering whether to give up being coupled. By the end of it you're left in no doubt which one is best, although don't let that make you think there's a sappy Hollywood ending, because there isn't.

The line that stayed with me was, "Everyone needs a co-pilot". So now where's mine?

If you haven't seen it you must. And if you go see it and think it's alright but nothing more then don't come back because we have nothing in common!

I ♥ Wales!

Don't let rumours of rain, sheep and strangely spelt places names put you off: Wales rocks! (Although it has to be said there's a lot of fun to be had listening to an announcer at the station saying 'Llanhilleth' - I laughed every time!)

I headed to Cardiff on Friday, arriving mid-afternoon and went straight to an arts centre/cafe called Chapter to meet Andrew - it's just round the corner from where he is living at the moment and is full of interesting people so it was the perfect place to rendezvous once he'd finished work.

We headed back to his, stopping en route to buy Hobnob creams, which I haven't seen in years, then settled down on opposite sofas for tea and a good gossip. Once the biscuits were finished we nipped round the corner to the Indo Cymru Curry House - fabulous name don't you think! - for curry. For the second time running I'd eaten too many popadoms/snacks beforehand and ended up wasting most of my main course - I need to stop doing that! Then back to Andrew's for further gossip (we've got a lot to catch up on!)

Saturday morning found us back at Chapter for breakfast, because it's silly to dirty a cooker when you can let someone else do it! Then we headed across the big park, in a very roundabout way (i.e. slightly lost), up to Llandaff, where we had a pub lunch. The woman doing the cooking came out to talk to the barmaid and sounded exactly like Nessa from Gavin & Stacey. Tidy.

We walked back, then had a little rest - all that food is exhausting! - before heading back into the centre of Cardiff. We went to see a film, which was so good I'll write about it fully tomorrow because it completely turned me upside down.

Afterwards we went to Yo! Sushi to eat. They're the sushi chain where the food goes past on a little conveyor belt. I've always wanted to go but was scared I'd do it wrong, but Andrew had been before so was my guide. It was lovely, particularly the strange little drop scone sandwich pudding thing, which I doubt was in the least bit Japanese but was fun anyway! Then we walked back to Andrew's, and just because we could we went for a late night Tesco shop.

Sunday began down in Cardiff Bay with coffee and a walk round the bay looking at the splendid modern buildings and pausing to look at the impromptu shine to Ianto from Torchwood at the place where the entrance to the Hub should be. Then we went up to Pennarth for a walk along the cliff top before heading back to the centre of Cardiff for lunch in Wagamama. I went to Wales and ate nothing but Asian food - how unlikely!

And then it was time for my train. And who should be on the same platform as me? Jimmy bloody Carr! He looks less of a twat in more casual clothing. I saw 'less' but of course he's still a twat.

So Wales was gorgeous! It was lovely to see Andrew and gossip our way through three days! I can't wait to go back!

I know it's only the fifth week of the year or something but I've got another day off and am going away for the second weekend in a row. Watch out Cardiff!!

I secretly don't approve of all this running away, it would be better to stay and face the shit like a man, but when the shit is a job that's driven me mad for 22 years and will probably drive me mad for 22 more I guess running away is the only option!

So instead I will be exploring a glamorous city, eating well, drinking lots, and catching up with Andrew (formerly Thom) who is now permanently in Cardiff. Oh, and by the way, belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!!! XXX for yesterday.

Have a great weekend!

I've just got back from seeing Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll which turned out to be a strange evening out. I'd been warned that the film is a bit tricky but I still wanted to see it, and tricky it was: it turns out Ian Dury was a complete and utter c*nt.

The film is made by people who admire and respect him, people who are fans. It was also made with the involvement of his family, so when he comes across so badly you can only assume that that's exactly how he was. Thankfully I only know his music very casually so he's not on some pedestal in my mind, but it's hard to watch a film where the person you're supposed to root for is such a relentless fuck-up!

My second problem is with the actor playing Ian Dury, Andy Serkis, who previously played Gollum in the interminable Lord of the Rings and King Kong in, well what do you think?! He's a very physical actor but I just don't get him. Admittedly he's totally convincing in the part but is it acting or impersonation?

The film itself is very stylised, right from the beginning with the title sequence by Sir Peter Blake, who apparently taught Ian Dury at Art College. There are flashbacks, and he meets younger versions of himself but it feels like it's trying too hard visually.

It's not a complete disaster though: the performance sequences are genuinely thrilling, and Ray Winstone is surprisingly restrained as his father. But on the whole I'm not sure I feel any better for seeing it. So instead here's a clip of the man himself:

I'm not having a great week work-wise so this evening's plans to go out have been hanging in the balance all day. One minute I would go, the next I wouldn't. Then Andrew in Wales texted to say he was going out again and I felt such a dullard I decided I simply had to go out!

I went to Cambridge to see a student production of a musical called I love you, you're prefect, now change which I knew absolutely nothing about but the title is fabulous and I hoped it would be a very New York show about dating. And I was pretty much right.

There's not a plot as such, just sixteen scenes/songs about dating. Each scene is sung by different characters although they're all played by just four actors (two men, two women). But the whole thing has a vague shape to it: the first half is about dating, leading up to a wedding, and the second half is about married life, leading up to a funeral.

It's obviously not your standard sloppy romantic musical about love: it's cynical, smart and funny, the sings are full of great lines but it's realistic about love and dating. And yet somehow it creeps up on you and by the end you just can't help thinking, "aaah" and feeling just a little bit mushy inside.

The cast were all students, which was something of a worry to me: we've all sat through teeth-grindingly awful amateur productions that make you want to die, but this cast was fantastic! Their voices were amazing, and their acting was fantastic too. And these aren't drama students - they're all doing very academic degrees: some people really do have it all!

So a fab night out, well done! Here's a song from it:

So filled with romance I came home and rejoined Gaydar. Not for shagging you understand, because I'm more than a bit bored with that, but in the hope of finding a date or two. Do you know I can't remember the last time I went on a date! That's a bit rubbish isn't it.

I was going to go to the cinema tonight but then the washing machine broke down so I didn't.

I don't want you to think I've spent the evening hand-washing things because that wouldn't be true. But I have had to tidy up before the repairman comes on Thursday. I don't live like a pig but the washing machine is in an outbuilding* (although I fondly call it my shed) and as with anything like that it does tend to get a bit dirty. So I brushed away the cobwebs, swept the floor and then washed it. It's so cold in there you could see the steam from the hot water as I mopped the floor. It looks tidier, I just hope the repairman appreciates it! Since then there's been ironing, paperwork and general tidying. It's actually been a really productive evening.

*Don't get excited when I use the word 'outbuilding' - it's not a barn! It's got a fireplace in it so I guess it used to be where people washed when the house was first built. In fact next door in the holiday home they still use it as an outside bathroom. But then they're from London and she's the kind of woman that gives Guardian readers a bad name so they probably think it's authentically 'country' to have an outside toilet. She also tells me off about the guttering. Silly cow.

MY BIG BARCELONA BLOG

If you're expecting lots of touristy stuff I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed - the nearest I got to that was seeing Tibidabo from the plane, and Placa d'Espanya from the airport bus! I went to see people and that's just what I did, and they were lovely!

Thursday

Sarah's boyfriend David met me from the airport bus, although because of a demonstration the bus had stopped a couple of streets away from where I wanted to get off. No matter - I recognised a department store and found my way by the power of retail!

We headed back to Sarah & David's new flat, which is gorgeous and grown-up! Sarah was at work and before she came back David's sister Jane popped round. Wine was opened then drunk. Pizza was cooked then eaten. Jane left after the first bottle whilst the rest of us lasted until 2am after three bottles of wine and two bottles of cava. Luckily for me I wasn't working the next day, but Sarah & David were...

Friday

I got a lie-in unlike Sarah and David who both had to teach English to strangers whilst battling with hangovers. How brave!

After a late breakfast we met Jan, Josh and their youngest child for a Japanese buffet. We went last time I visited and I just couldn't resist the as much as you can eat sushi! I'd hate you to think it was all healthy though: the starters were all deep-fried and I ate too much pudding!

After the meal I went back with Jan to pick up their daughter from school, but before that we had to draw some lips for her for World Peace day - cue glitter! Then we spent half an hour in the school playground listening to children read things about Peace, but of course it was all in Catalan so I'm none the wiser!

Then Jan suggested a drink: it started with a Baileys, "how about a shot of Kahlua?", "and some vodka to make it a White Russian!" Turns out it was a Mudslide but after two of them I wasn't in the mood to disagree! The trouble with Baileys is that it looks like chocolate milkshake and you know how easy it is to knock that back!

I headed back to Sarah & David's and as soon as I got off the Metro I got completely lost! Sarah had drawn me a fab map on the back of a chopstick packet but somehow I managed to head in exactly the opposite direction and must have taken twenty minutes to make a two minute journey. Doh!

We then spent the evening bickering about punctuation although I feel my authority was undermined slightly as I was wearing a stove pipe hat at the time.

Saturday

Another lazy start to the day, possibly related to the previous night's alcohol intake!

We headed down to the beach, picking up Pirate Jo on the way, and met Jan, Josh and family at an all-you-can-eat salad place. That's right: salad! Don't panic, there's was pizza and chips as well, plus pink cake and frozen yoghurt.

Then, because it was a lovely sunny day, we went to the beach:

As it started to get cool we headed back to Sarah's. There were snacks and drink, a debate about Tintin's parentage and some nailpainting, then it was time to party.

David's sister's newest flatmate was having a birthday party and as Sarah used to live there she was invited too. He was 33 so him and his friends hung out in the kitchen, drinking beer, eating vegan food and breakdancing. The older English people hid in the living room drinking spirits and moaning about feeling old.

The more sociable English people prepared for a night's dancing but about midnight Sarah & I headed home. I'm the square, she just came to keep me company. We ended up gossiping, eating pizza and watching a few episodes of Spaced, which was rather fab.

Sunday

Last day, and another lazy start. David stumbled home mid-morning and was charmingly wasted. Sarah and I gossiped over toast and got slightly obsessed with a website about beards - more about that another time.

When David surfaced we had beans on toast and watched Operation Petticoat - Cary Grant and a pink submarine: perfect Sunday afternoon TV! And then it was time to head home.

That might sound like the dullest break to you but for me it was perfect, exactly what I needed! It was ridiculously relaxing and lovely to see everyone! I particularly loved Sarah's new flat and spending time with Jan & Josh's son, Sebastian, who is one of those lovely smiley happy babies you don't see often enough.

I finally feel like my year has begun! It was fabulous to see you all! xxx