Rowan Tree and Red Thread

I read Matilda by Roald Dahl aloud to Rowan over three or four nights last week. It's a great, typically Dahl, story about terrible parents, a monstrous teacher and one girl who gets the better of all of them. It's got a lot of the Dahl touches (magic powers, unreasonable adults, school as POW camp) and the Trunchbull, Matilda's grotesque headmistress, is wonderfully drawn.

I read from the Folio Society edition we have, a lovely book to hold and nicely illustrated by, of course, Quentin Blake.

We're in the middle of The BFG now. Roll on Roald!

I played Lost Cities for the first time on Friday night, another of the haul of about six games I got before Christmas that we're gradually making our way through.

It's one of those games well known in the hobby and recommended in many places as an ideal two-hander for couples. I bought it with the idea of having another quick game for sammywol and me to play of an evening after the kids have gone to bed.

We played the default three hands quickly, finding it an easy game to learn. It's pretty random and sometimes hanging on for the card(s) you need just doesn't pay off, but the quick play means you can have another go and hope for better luck.

I'm not sure what kind of longevity Lost Cities will have. It's quick, doesn't rely too much on bowbing your opponent and is two-player, all of which recommend it to this wife and husband team. I'm not sure, however, if the game play will have enduring appeal once we've played it a few times.

Good filler and ideal for couples trying not to watch endless repeats of QI and Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

Final score last night: Sam 127, Myles 85?