Formula 1

For an F1 fan, the week before the first grand prix of the season is probably the most wonderful time of the year. It's the last time we can pretend to ourselves that all the cars and drivers might stand half a chance at actually winning something and that it won't just be a two horse race featuring whichever manufacturer has the best car (it's going to be Mercedes this season).

You can still, at this point, lie to yourself and say that if the team you like have done poorly in testing, they have been sandbagging, and if they've been doing well, it's because the car is good, not because they've been running light on fuel.

As a Ferrari fan, I am trying not to be optimistic. I have been here too often. Because the car looks good, and looks to be performing reasonably well and ... if the Mercedes hit each other often enough Ferrari might, might, might just win a few races and then and then ... and you'll note I said trying not to be optimistic, not succeeding.

Miss Marple

It's no secret that I do not like the vast majority of the ITV Miss Marples (to the point that I should probably apologise to my twitter peeps for complaining about them at least once a week). Because they keep changing the story, and I know most of Agatha Christie's work barely hangs together, but it does and there is normally a reason for things and changing everything (including the murderer, the motive, the settings, the characters and/or all of the above) means they tend not to work at all.

Oddly enough, the ones where they mess with the original story the least are the ones that work the best. I'm watching their take on The Mirror Crack'd From Side To Side right now, and in it they barely change anything, and it's the best of the lot.

And Nigel Harman's version of Jason Rudd is probably my favourite take on the character out of all the different versions.